tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24817087870863589632024-02-08T02:27:46.225-08:00How To Make A Girl: My Infertility ExperiencesThe trials and tribulations associated with infertility treatment, procedures, and infertility testing.Lorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12167044547192764198noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481708787086358963.post-31528336688015297172010-07-10T00:54:00.000-07:002010-07-10T00:55:09.319-07:00I Had Twins!!!I just stopped by my old blog here, sorry if I abandoned you all! I gave birth to fraternal twins, boy/girl, on January 12, 2010. Please visit me at my new blog: http://www.thebabybirds.com. Thanks for your support, and I wish you all babies.Lorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12167044547192764198noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481708787086358963.post-81821812208383304122008-05-16T14:35:00.001-07:002008-05-16T14:43:21.331-07:00Stimulation Day 9Went this morning at 7:30. Still the same 10 follicles but larger sizes. Left: 15,14,14,14,13. Right: 16,14,14,12,12. Estradiol was 2608. My follistim was lowered to 75iu for tonight.<br /><br />I go in tomorrow for another ultrasound and blood test, and we may have to do our "trigger" shot tomorrow night. Won't know til tmw afternoon. If we trigger tomorrow then I'll have surgery Monday morning!Lorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12167044547192764198noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481708787086358963.post-22141233078157533152008-05-15T17:02:00.000-07:002008-05-15T17:06:59.860-07:00Stimulation, Day 8My Dr. is out of town today through Sunday so his partner saw me today. His partner found 5 follicles on each side. Left: 14, 13, 13, 13, 12mm; Right: 16, 13, 13, 12, 11mm. My estradiol was 1712.<br /><br />My nighttime medication follistim was decreased down to 150iu, and I go back again in the morning. He thinks I might be ready for surgery on Sunday / Monday, so I have to bring my other meds in tomorrow so he can show me how to use them (the "trigger" shot).<br /><br />Feeling a little more full and bloaty today, but not in pain or moody.<br /><br />More to report tomorrow!!Lorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12167044547192764198noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481708787086358963.post-51944440394136406462008-05-14T13:57:00.000-07:002008-05-14T14:02:33.952-07:00Stimulation Day 7 UpdateHad a Dr. appt this morning, same routine with the blood test and ultrasound.<br /><br />Today I had 4 follicles on my left sized 11,11,11,11; and 4 follicles on my right sized 11,11,10,9.<br /><br />My estradiol level was 999. On Monday it was 235, on Saturday it was 66.<br /><br />My medications were lowered for this evening from 300iu of Follistim to 200iu.<br /><br />I go back again tmw!Lorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12167044547192764198noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481708787086358963.post-32906873064102758442008-05-13T16:42:00.000-07:002008-05-13T16:56:56.459-07:00Prednisolone During IVFEvery day I'm learning so many new things about this process.<br /><br />Yesterday I went to the Dr. and had an ultrasound to check the progress of my ovarian stimulation. He had already upped my dosage to the "max dose" for stimulation, so he was checking the size of my follicles to determine if I needed to stay on the max dose. Previously I had 18 follicles. This time he measured 6 that were responding to the treatment, ranging in size from 6mm to 8mm. The nurse assured me the others are still there, they just haven't responded yet, but they will.<br /><br />In addition to the shots I'm taking every day (5iu of lupron in the morning, 2 doses of menopur in the morning, one shot of follistim 300iu at night) I was also prescribed 7.5mg of prednisolone nightly.<br /><br />The nurse explained that the prednisolone is "because you're on max dose". I go back to the Dr. tomorrow and I'm sure he'll explain it better. From what I've researched about prednisolone, it is a steroid used to treat inflammation. Most likely he prescribed it to make sure I don't get inflamed, but I'm happy he prescribed it for another reason.<br /><br />There is a lot of controversy right now in the Fertility Field about auto-immune infertility issues. If you remember, Courtney Cox claims she couldn't get pregnant because she had anti-phospholipid antibodies which were preventing her embryos from implanting because her body thought they were invaders that needed to be destroyed. After taking medications to supress these cells she got pregnant. Prednisolone has been used to treat these same conditions. It is prescribed for women who have had multiple miscarriages due to auto-immune conditions, including lupus. The controversy lies in the fact that many Reproductive Endocrinologists don't believe there is enough evidence that these cells have that power. Most won't even discuss it with you, as I've witnessed on many websites.<br /><br />I think it's very possible that I could have some of these "natural killer" cells in my womb, which prednisolone combats. For women who have been known to have these NK cells in their wombs, a cycle of prednisolone has suppressed the cells and allowed the woman to conceive. The cycle is continued through pregnancy until the fetus is large enough that the body can't attack it. <br /><br />I wanted to take this medication when I first heard about it, so I'm glad it is being prescribed to me now, even if that's not why it was prescribed.<br /><br />Other than some really ugly stick marks and bruises on my stomach I'm doing fine. I've given in to the process because I'm determined to succeed.<br /><br />The doctor doesn't think I will have surgery before next Monday, so the timing is perfect because my job ends this Friday (my birthday!).Lorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12167044547192764198noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481708787086358963.post-44177768545354576112008-05-07T14:50:00.000-07:002008-05-07T14:57:14.647-07:00Dilation is Over, Starting Stimulation TomorrowI drank half of a 64 oz bottle of gatorade this morning before my appointment, but it wasn't early enough, so I got reprimanded for not having a full bladder. When I go in for my actual embryo transfer I need to drink 8 oz of fluid every 30 minutes before my appointment. I'm going to burst!<br /><br />I took half a xanax before my appointment, and the cervical dilation went fine. I was there about 30 minutes. He gave me a series of 3 lidocaine shots into my cervix to numb me, and then used a series of French dilation rods to slowly dilate my cervix. This is all going to help with the embryo transfer.<br /><br />They did a blood test to make sure the Lupron was supressing my hormones, which it is. Starting tomorrow I will still take my Lupron in the morning, but I will also take Menopur in the morning, and Follistim at night. That makes a total of 3 shots per day in my belly!<br /><br />The Menopur and Follistim will cause my eggs to grow. The Lupron will prevent me from ovulating on my own. Right now I have 11 egg follicles on my left ovary and 8 on my right. I don't really know if that number will increase or not, but the Dr. said 19 is PLENTY. Now we just need them to grow.<br /><br />My belly is going to start growing, the Dr. says I will appear 3 months pregnant by the time they actually transfer my embryos back. I go in to the Dr. every couple of days now so they can check how fast the eggs are growing to make sure I don't hyperstimulate.<br /><br />My next Dr. appt is on Saturday, for a blood test.Lorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12167044547192764198noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481708787086358963.post-68618189822992101332008-05-02T11:37:00.000-07:002008-05-02T11:46:58.413-07:00Lupron is Going WellI had my fifth Lupron shot today, and I have to say, I'm surprised at how well it's going. We started on Monday, Evan learned how to give the shots at the Dr. office. The shots go in to my stomach anywhere below the belly button, and preferably into fat. No problem there! Bruising is normal because you can hit capillaries in the process. I got one giant black bruise on the first day, and one on the third. 2 out of 5 isn't bad! The shots don't hurt at all, and so far I haven't had any of the crazy side effects the Dr. mentioned. I feel great!<br /><br />The trial transfer didn't go very well. As with in past insemination attempts, my cervical opening is very difficult to get through. Unfortunately, I have to go back next Wed. for another procedure. It's a cervical dilation, and the dilation will last through the next month.<br /><br />If you want to read about another woman's experience with the dilation you can find it <a href="http://embryomotel.blogspot.com/2006/08/too-much-i-say.html"><strong>here</strong></a>.<br /><br />Apparently if your cervix is closed too tightly and the Dr. has trouble getting the cathetar in to transfer the embryos then your success rate is greatly reduced. Something about having the embryos get "crushed" in the cathetar as they're in the process of being transferred. After this dilation my cervix will remain open enough for the cathetar to go in smoothly for the real transfer.<br /><br />On a separate note, right after I sat up on the table after having my trial transfer, the Dr. started telling me about the next one and I started to have a case of vasovagel, which is basically where all the blood leaves your head and can cause you to pass out. I had it happen once before when I had surgery on my leg. I'm going to drink some sports drinks before I go in next time, because the sodium apparently helps. I'm also going to take a xanax!Lorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12167044547192764198noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481708787086358963.post-13596393727388139172008-04-25T11:29:00.000-07:002008-04-25T13:59:10.452-07:00Medications for IVFI did some shopping around for my medications, because I learned there is a wide range in pricing. My doctor gave the option of using either GonalF or Follistim, and we went with Follistim because it was cheaper at the pharmacy we chose.<br /><br />We went with Apothecary Shops, and the total was $1887. Below is a list of medications I was prescribed for the entire cycle:<br /><br />Follistim 300 (5 vials) <br />Menopur 75iu (7)<br />Medrol 4mg (16)<br />HCG(Novarel) 10,000iu<br />Leuprolide Acetate 2.8mL (generic)<br />Lupron 2.8mL multi-vial Kit <br />Doxycycline 100mg (10)<br />Progesterone in ethyl oleate oil (2)<br />Vivelle Dot 0.1mg Patch (8)<br /><br />My next appointment is Monday morning at 7:45am. We go in to learn how to do the shots, as well as for the trial transfer. The trial transfer is a procedure used to "map out" the shape of my uterus so the doctor knows in advance where he wants to deposit the blastocysts when the time comes.Lorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12167044547192764198noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481708787086358963.post-36565494741303718052008-04-25T11:28:00.001-07:002008-05-16T11:28:56.720-07:00Integramed Shared RiskWe were accepted into the Integramed Shared Risk plan, which allows 3 frozen and 3 fresh cycles of IVF.Lorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12167044547192764198noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481708787086358963.post-3957373857092743902008-04-16T17:59:00.000-07:002008-04-16T18:06:54.177-07:00How to Make a Girl, LiterallyThis post is about sex selection. Not whether or not to have it, but how to make a girl or a boy, and the ethical questions.<br /><br />We were given the option of "selecting" the sex of the embryos they are going to transfer. There are two different ways of achieving this. First, you can fertilize all of the embryos, and then take a cell from each to determine whether it is a girl embryo or boy embryo, and then only transfer the girls back to the uterus. There is a 100% chance of success with this method. Second, they can sort the sperm. Girls over here, boys go over there, see ya boys, you're dismissed for the day. There's a 90% chance of getting what you want that way. I personally think this is the better option of the two. The reason I think it's better, is because then you aren't discarding unused boy embryos, because all of the useable embryos are girls.<br /><br />We decided not to pick a girl. Our main reason for that is because there is a 50% chance that we are going to have twins anyway, and I'd like to take my chances that we'd get a girl and a boy. Another reason we decided against it involves spirituality and the belief that souls are chosen before birth. What if we were supposed to have a boy, and we stuck it in a girl body? Well I'd be fine with it, but it's just not fair to make a child live their life in the wrong body.<br /><br />Therefore, we will probably end up with a boy, because that's all that EF's family makes. We'll be happy either way, as long as we get a healthy one.Lorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12167044547192764198noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481708787086358963.post-44850647917627142152008-04-16T17:45:00.000-07:002008-04-16T17:56:56.088-07:00First IVF AppointmentI started my period on Sunday night, so I called the office Monday morning. My first IVF appointment was set for Tuesday at 7:15am. I had my blood drawn to test my FSH and estradiol levels, and then I had an ultrasound. I was given my prescription for birth control pills, as well as Zithromax 3-day antiobiotic. Both of us have to take the antiobiotic to clear out any minor infections we might have.<br /><br />The Doctor brought me in to the office to discuss the husband's sperm count. His counts have been fine all along, but when you are planning on IVF they do an additional test called "Strict Morphology", or "Kruger's Test". This test measures the shape of the sperm, but on a more strict basis than what is typically test for the other procedures. Normal range is more than 14%, and the huband's was 3%. The Doctor says this could be one of the main reasons we haven't gotten pregnant yet. <br /><br />We will have to include ICSI procedures with our IVF. With ICSI, each sperm is hand-selected to be normal, and then injected into the egg directly. Without the assistance, the sperm might not be strong enough to penetrate. You can look at photos of the procedure at: <a href="http://www.advancedfertility.com/icsiimag.htm">http://www.advancedfertility.com/icsiimag.htm</a>.<br /><br />I would like to advise everyone that is reading this blog before their IVF that they get this particular sperm test completed before spending a lot of money on inseminations. Had we known then that there was a problem with the sperm morphology to that great of an extent, we would have just gone straight to IVF. <br /><br />Later in the day the Doctor called to tell me my blood test results were normal. My FSH was 8.3 and my estradiol was over 20.<br /><br />My next appointment is a "trial transfer", where they pretend to put the embryos back in to my uterus, and this allows them to figure out the shape and depth so they know exactly where to put them when the time comes.Lorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12167044547192764198noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481708787086358963.post-90885751048171276552008-04-11T10:36:00.000-07:002008-04-11T10:44:52.790-07:00Cost of Invitro Fertilization IVFMy doctor offers two different IVF plans: one is "pay as you go", and the other is an insurance program offered through Integramed. <br /><br />If you choose the first plan, which is called Global Rate, you pay for all your services and medications on a cash basis for a flat rate. If you pay for two fresh cycles and don't get pregnant, they will give you the third cycle for free for the same services. The cost breakdown per fresh cycle is:<br /><br />$8100 for all services involving the doctor<br />$500 for anesthesia during the retrieval<br />$500 for embryo freezing at the end of the cycle<br />$2000-3000 for medications, per cycle<br /><br />If you end up with any extra embryos, you can freeze them for the next month, and then you don't have to pay as much. In that situation, the "frozen" cycle is about a total of $3500 including medications. This assumes that the embryos are still alive after thawing, which doesn't always happen. I believe there's a 60% chance that they will be viable after thawing.<br /><br />In the other option (the Success Program) you have to be 35 years old or less, and qualify medically through the insurance company. If you qualify you can get up to 3 fresh and 3 frozen cycles for a flat rate of $17,000. You have to pay for your medications and thawing separately. At the end of the 6 tries, if you haven't gotten pregnant you get 70% of your money back (70% of the original $17,0000). According to the insurance company there is a 75% success rate at the end of the 6 cycles.<br /><br />We're going with the Success Program.<br /><br />I have created a spreadsheet of costs that compares the two options, and if you would like a copy of the excel file you can leave a comment here with your email address and I will send it to you.Lorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12167044547192764198noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481708787086358963.post-22785452162139058272008-04-11T09:54:00.000-07:002008-04-11T10:35:59.579-07:00Invitro Fertilization IVF Consultation and ProcessI went in with my mother-in-law to have a consultation about the next step in our journey to make a girl. Dr. Rosen was very patient with us, and allowed us to ask a lot of questions.<br /><br />The per-cycle success rate at his practice is 65%. That takes in to account every woman with every issue.<br /><br />It's a 5-week process, and it starts on the 2nd day after I get my period. I will go in and get a blood test and vaginal ultrasound (yes, while I'm on my period, yuck) and they will start me on birth control pills.<br /><br />Throughout the 5 weeks I will be on birth control pills as well as 3 (I think?) different injectable hormones, including progesterone. All of these medications work together to create as many eggs as possible.<br /><br />When the eggs are ripe I will go to their Redondo Beach location to have them removed. They do this surgically, and I will be under general anesthesia. They put my legs in stirrups high in the air, and then use a needle to puncture the vaginal wall and "suck out" the eggs from inside of the follicle sacs they are held in. The number of eggs they remove determines how much pain I'm going to be in. More eggs = more pain. <br /><br />After they remove my eggs (and while I'm resting) Evan will give a semen sample. <br /><br />They then take the healthy eggs and put them with the sperm. Hopefully a bunch will fertilize, but there are no guarantees. There is an additional option called ICSI, which is where they make a tiny "nick" in the side of the egg so that the sperm can penetrate easier. This is only necessary if the sperm is too weak to penetrate on its own. We won't really know if this is necessary until after we try the process once.<br /><br />Hopefully a bunch of eggs have fertilized and turned into embryos. A lot of reproductive endocrinologists will transfer embryos when they are 3 days old, and so they usually transfer more than 2. My doctor transfers 5-day old embryos (referred to as blastocysts) that are already at least 16-cells in size. There is a greater chance that because they have made it to 5 days that they will implant, so they only put in two. If I'm not mistaken, I was told there would be a 50% chance of having twins.<br /><br />So anyway, after the eggs are fertilized I go back in and the embryos are transferred to my uterus. Hopefully they do their thing, and I go back 11 days later for a blood test.Lorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12167044547192764198noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481708787086358963.post-45220507686592357662008-04-11T09:49:00.001-07:002008-04-11T09:54:44.742-07:00IUI Intrauterine InseminationWell, I went through with 4 cycles of inseminations, all with no success. After my very first insemination I felt fine, and then at 5pm that same day my back started hurting. Within an hour I was in bed, in excrutiating pain if I moved my back, and I had a fever of 103. I called the Dr. and he thought it was too soon to have an infection, but he prescribed an antibiotic. I took Tylenol to control the fever, and the next day I was fine. It's a very similar experience to what happened after I had my hsg (hysterosalpingogram), so now I'm thinking it was my body's reaction to being messed with, and not necessarily an infection. That's very good news, because the Dr. thought it was possible that the hsg infection may have done damage to my tubes. Now there's hope that there wasn't any damage.<br /><br />I was very nervous when I first started the inseminations, but then they became no big deal. The worst part is the cathetar tube that has to be fed into your uterus. My body apparently takes a sharp turn to get to my uterus, so the Dr. asked me to have a full bladder because it "straightens out" my insides.<br /><br />Now that I have gone through the four inseminations with no success, we are moving on to invitro.Lorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12167044547192764198noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481708787086358963.post-82527735736777683162007-10-15T21:22:00.000-07:002007-10-15T21:26:48.264-07:00ProgesteroneAfter an hour in traffic this morning I arrived at Dr. Rosen's office late, and had my blood taken for a Progesterone reading. I got my results back late in the afternoon, and it was good news. Based on the timing of my cycle (one week past ovulation) my progesterone level is in the normal range. It should be above a 10 for this time in my cycle, and it was a 10.6.<br /><br />I was given the go-ahead to start IUI next month (intra-uterine insemination). Better yet, because my hormones are all normal and I'm ovulating properly I won't need to take any shots or supplements. We'll basically get the "natural" version of IUI, if you can call it that. Last I checked the turkey baster was reserved for turkeys, but maybe I am one!!<br /><br />Love you all.Lorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12167044547192764198noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481708787086358963.post-39405804724627629772007-10-10T17:15:00.000-07:002007-10-10T17:30:15.817-07:00New DoctorMy old Doctor called me to tell me that she had misinterpreted the hydrosalpingogram test results. She was unclear as to whether or not I actually had a hydrosalpinx (enlarged tube).<br /><br />My mother-in-law Denise called her long-time friend and gynecologist Phillip Brooks, and he referred her to a Reproductive Endocrinologist that he sends his clients to. We made an appointment.<br /><br />Dr. Rosen's office is in Beverly Hills, and in a small building that was easy to park at. On the door it says "Expect to Expect". Immediately I liked him better, and he has 20 years of experience. He was warm, communicated very effectively, and was efficient. <br /><br />He looked at my test results from the x-ray hysterosalpingogram and told me that the fallopiantubes were absolutely normal in the x-rays. He said that the fact that I got a post-procedure infection was just "bad luck" because they're so rare. He said that although my tubes looked good in the x-rays from the procedure that because I had contracted an infection I might have damage as a result of the infection. The only way to know this would be to do a laparascopy.<br /><br />After he looked through my other test results and discussed the game plan, we went in to the "table" room and he performed a vaginal ultrasound. He said that he couldn't see my tubes, and that was a good sign. If he was able to see my tubes it would mean I had an enlargement or infection still. It doesn't mean I am out of the woods, just not currently infected. He was able to see that I had an egg follicle on my left side ready for ovulation, and he was able to tell the size. He said everything else looked as it should be. I did have a couple of fibroids, but he said they weren't in a location that would cause any issues for pregnancy.<br /><br />The next test was a Postcoital test. He sent me home and instructed me to have sex and come back the next morning to examine the cervical mucous (fluid) under the microscope. I followed his instruction and came in the next morning. He took a sample and looked at it and told me that there were no "swimmers" in the sample. We failed. He said there was a possibility we had done the test too early, and I came back 2 days later to repeat the test. This time it was the exact day that I had ovulated, and the follicle had already ruptured which indicated ovulation had occured. Failed the test again!<br /><br />This is actually a good thing, because it means we have one factor defined as to why we aren't pregnant yet. It's not uncommon that in some women we develop antibodies to the sperm. It's a sign of a very strong immunological response, and in essence my body thinks the sperm is bacteria and kills it off. This is just one cause for the absence of the sperm, but because we already know that Evan has a healthy sperm count, it's the best explanation.<br /><br />I have a progestrone syrum test on Monday to test my post-ovulation progesterone levels, and then we can start IUI. In IUI (intera-uterine insemination) they take a washed and concentrated sample of Evan's sperm and place it directly into my uterus using a cathetar. This prevents the contact with my cervical fluid and puts the little swimmers where they need to be. If this one factor was the cause for infertility, then within 3 months I should be pregnant. If I'm still not pregnant, then we have to have a laparascopy to check the condition of my tubes.<br /><br />Let's hope the IUI works!Lorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12167044547192764198noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481708787086358963.post-34240950107647384522007-09-13T16:35:00.000-07:002007-09-13T16:48:35.300-07:00Infection from HysterosalpingogramSeptember 13, 2007<br />Two nights ago I woke up at 3am with a fever of 101. I hadn't been feeling like myself for a couple of days, and even though I was on antibiotics I was convinced I had an infection.<br /><br />I called the Dr. the next morning (yesterday) and she had me come in right away. They took my temperature and pee and also then we went into the exam room for a transvaginal ultrasound.<br /><br />In the room I layed down while she inserted the ultrasound device, and I was able to watch on a flat-screen monitor near the ceiling. I don't know how the Doctor can see the things that she can see, but she pointed out different areas to me on the screen.<br /><br />She saw all my female parts, and I have a fibroid. She said that it appears to be far away enough from the lining of my uterus as to not cause a problem with conception. <br /><br />She saw a "collapsed follicle" which signals that I had already ovulated and the egg was on the move. The follicle is what signals for your body to release progesterone. The progesterone heats up your body to keep it warm enough for the potential of a pregnancy.<br /><br />She also saw my right fallopian tube, which when healthy she shouldn't be able to see with the ultrasound. She told me that she hasn't seen the x-ray photos yet, but that based on the information reported by the radiologist I had a "hydrosalpinx". This was being confirmed by her seeing my fallopian tube in the ultrasound.<br /><br />A hydrosalpinx is typically associated with a blocked tube that collects fluid and ends up looking like a sausage. My tube is open but it currently holding fluid similar to a hydrosalpinx. I don't know yet if that means that it was created by the dye test and will calm down, or if it's permanently that way. She's going to call me after she looks at the x-ray images.<br /><br />Based on what she saw she took me off the other antibiotic and put me on 2 others that are general and very aggressive. She also told me that if my fever doesn't break by Friday that I may need to go in the hospital and get IV antibiotics. Scary.<br /><br />Even though she didn't want to say too much before seeing my x-ray images, she did tell me that I was not a good candidate for InteraUterine Insemination. She said that when you have a hydrosalpinx if you HAPPEN to get pregnant you have a high-risk of tubal pregnancy. This would be very bad and require a surgical abortion, in essence.<br /><br />She also told me that a hydrosalpinx can ruin a cycle of InVitro because if the embryos are in the uterus the fluid from the hydro can leak out of the tube and either 1) flush out the embryo trying to attach to the uterus, or 2) poison the embryo, because the fluid is toxic to embryos. <br /><br />This would mean that the most effective way for us to get pregnant now would be to have InVitro, but before that we'd need to deal with the tube. This would most likely mean removal. There are other women's blogs that I have read that say the Doctor "pierced" the tube when they went in for egg retrieval, and that way by the time they implant the tube is empty and the fluid is gone. My Doctor didn't mention that.<br /><br />I'm going to try not to worry about all of this until I hear back from her. Hopefully the news will get better, and hopefully I'll also heal from this infection. :(Lorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12167044547192764198noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481708787086358963.post-57935580345172402612007-09-13T16:32:00.000-07:002007-09-13T21:17:29.280-07:00HysterosalpingogramSeptember 11, 2007<br />Well we have been trying to conceive now for 15 months. This sucks!!<br /><br />I have been to the Reproductive Endocrinologist now (the Fertility doctor) and had a consultation ($275), and a blood hormone test for fsh and entradiol (both normal). Evan has had his spermies tested, and with the exception of some abnormal shaped guys his test was normal.<br /><br />The next test (which I had last week) was the hysterosalpingogram. A girlfriend told me it wasn’t a big deal, but it really really was. Cost of test: $350.<br /><br />I went to the radiologist’s office and was given a bag to put my bottom-half clothes into, along with an open-back robe to put on. I went into this large radiology room with lots of equipment, and a table in the center that resembled an autopsy table. I got on the table and the lab assistant explained the process to me, and gave me a box of CDs to pick one. I picked Stevie Nicks Greatest Hits.<br /><br />The doctor came in, and they had me lay down and they propped a pile of sheets under my rump to lift my bottom in the air. No stirrups here, but I just had to spread my legs wide. They did a couple of “before” x-rays of my abdomen, and I could see the screen from where I was laying. My belly-button ring became the only real point of reference.<br /><br />Next came the speculum. Most women are familiar with the pain associated with this metal “jack” being inserted into your vagina, usually during pap smears. During pap smears this device is only in for about 15 seconds. Well I had it in me for an hour! So he put speculum in and started screwing it open, literally like a car jack. Not cool. Then he got the catheter and started feeding it through my vagina. The goal is to get it in through the opening of my cervix into my uterus cavity. No such luck. Apparently I have a very small cervical opening, along with a uterus that is tilted forward and off to one side. He spent about 20 minutes trying unsuccessfully to get it through my cervix before removing it. Next came the French dilator. This knitting-needle like instrument is used to irritate the opening to your cervix into opening. I sat with that inside of me for about 10 minutes before he removed it and stuck the catheter back in. He thought he had it in, and thus removed the speculum, but it wasn’t positioned right and he had to reinsert the speculum. FINALLY he got through my cervix with the catheter and injected the dye into my uterine cavity, and up into my fallopian tubes. This didn’t hurt at all, but I’ve heard it does hurt some women. A series of x-rays were taken while the dye was moving through.<br /><br />The Dr. told me he believes that one of my tubes had been blocked but had subsequently been power-washed clean. The bacteria gets pushed further up into your tubes, so he wrote me a prescription for doxycycline to clear up any potential infection.<br /><br />I left with a CD-R of my images, and I mailed them to the Dr. A lot of women claim to have gotten pregnant just after this test, so we’ll see what happens. I’ll let you know what the Dr. has to say next.Lorihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12167044547192764198noreply@blogger.com8