Complications

So...I know I wanted to have the HSG last week, and I was so thankful to have an appointment on Wednesday despite the REI clinic's initial dearth of open spots. I hoped that everything would be clear and easy, and that we would move on to do IUI's this week (assuming that N and I would be in the same place at the right time, what with Thanksgiving and him needing to travel this week...).

But then Wednesday came, and the procedure, and the outcome was not at all what I thought it was going to be. I got there on time, and got my directions to diagnostic radiology without incident. I was even taken back within a reasonable period of time, once I walked a mile or so and got to radiology. Of course, I had to put on a lovely gown with a housecoat over it (and no undies...joy...). And then I had to wait for them to come get me for the procedure. Fortunately I was by myself in the waiting room, but for the VERY LOUD television blaring some weirdo soap opera at top volume. (Side note: Why do I never feel like I can change the tv's in waiting rooms or at the gym? Seriously. I never do it - unless someone asks me for help. Like this morning, two of the gym tv's had audible volume, but nothing that was annoying. But then this guy came in and turned both of them down and turned on another tv to another channel. I would never do that - what if someone were watching? Or listening? But in this waiting room, it was just me. Anyway...)

They called me back about 20 minutes late, but I still had plenty of time before my next appointment (for the irritating vibration in my ear, whole 'nother story). Two very nice radiology techs, who got me situated on the very hard table, which had a lovely disposable chux pad on it (that never makes me feel very comfortable... it implies that they think there will be fluid leakage from...down there). They took their preliminary pictures, and then the OB folks came in. There was a resident who would be performing the procedure, and the PA who is in charge of these sorts of things. The resident got himself situated at the end of the table, and I got to scoot down and put my feet on these weird knob things. Fortunately, someone gave me a sheet to actually cover myself, since, you know, my feet were on the knobs, and my knees were up, and well...let's just say that I didn't want to be sharing that with everyone.

The resident got all of the equipment - speculum, catheter, etc. etc. - situated, and then they brought in the radiologists to take the pictures. Nothing like a big group of people in the room while I'm laying there with my knees spread. :P I guess that's what I get for going to a big academic medical center.

The resident injected the first round of iodine, and oh-my-god...I thought I was going to die from the pain. Which made me think that something was going on, since everything I had read indicated that I shouldn't have pain unless, well, there was something wrong with at least one of my tubes. Before I knew it, I was crying from the pain and trying to just breathe to get through it. Thank goodness for the radiology techs -they didn't need to be doing anything, with the radiologists there, so they were tasked with holding my hand and wiping my tears. It was awful. I don't know that I've had pain that bad before. At least not in that area of my body - I mean, I've hurt leg muscles, and my knees, etc. before, but this was beyond anything that I'd felt before. They had me turn one way, then the other. Then they decided that they hadn't gotten really good views the first way, so I swear it felt like the resident was trying to pull my uterus out through my you-know-what. It was awful - absolutely awful. Finally, finally, they were finished. The radiologists left, the resident cleaned up, and I had to turn on my stomach for one last picture (not sure what that was for, but whatever...).

Then the PA came back in to talk about what they found. I have a hydrosalpinx on the right side - a bad one, apparently - and with no apparent risk factors. A hydrosalpinx is when there is an infection or other scarring in the fallopian tube, which leads to an outpouching of the tube, and fluid or debris collects in there. Basically, that tube is shot. And typically, this is not a unilateral thing. Having this on one side means that there is likely tubal disease on the other side - even though the iodine did not show that on the HSG. So the PA went through all of this with me - and talked about how we could still do IUI's this cycle, maybe with Clomid next cycle to get me to have more than one follicle, etc. She also talked about how we could move on to IVF now that we knew I had "tubal disease" (that's what she kept calling it) and that we would have to decide about that. She talked about my apparent lack of risk factors for the hydrosalpinx (never had a pelvic infection, or STD, or pelvic surgery) and their difficulty figuring out what actually caused this problem. She also talked about the potential for infection now that they had done the HSG - and said that I would have to take 3 days of antibiotics, just in case. If she said anything more, I don't remember it. I just remember her telling me that I had one bad tube, and probably 2, and that we would have to think hard about whether we should move on to IVF instead of the IUI's. She did say at some point that I should think about making a clinic appointment, since this was a lot of information to cover, particularly after the procedure.

I just wanted to get out of there. It hurt - still - and I knew I was going to be in pain and crampy for a while. And I knew that our path to having a baby was now getting more complicated and difficult - this wasn't as simple as some sperm that couldn't find their way, or were too poky in trying to get where they needed to be.

I got cleaned up - iodine! joy! -a nd went to my other appointment. Small favors - I apparently have the hearing of a 12 year old, and they had no explanation for the annoying vibration. None. So, whatever - I'll deal with it later.

N met me at home - we had dinner plans with friends - and I just said that I wanted to talk about it later, not before we went to dinner. I felt like I had been crying all week at that point...Monday with the appointment problems, Tuesday anticipating the appointment, Wednesday with the painful, awful procedure and the aftermath...etc.

Once we did talk about it, we decided that I should make a clinic appointment to talk through the different options. Neither of us wanted to pursue IUI's if there was little to no chance of them working. And having ultrasounds before each IUI to see if I was ovulating on the "right" side (actually my left side) could get very $$$ very quickly. So I called Thurs morning to make an appointment - and was shocked when the woman said they could get me in at 10:30, or how about 11? I was astonished - for a first appointment, it was a month wait!

I took the 11 am appointment, and did some reading online. It turns out that hydrosalpinx (or hydrosapinges, if you have more than one) can actually interfere with the success of pregnancies. Even if you have IVF, the fluid from the hydrosalpinx can flow back towards the uterus and make the environment for an embryo very hostile. So many of the websites that I read through on Weds night and Thurs morning said that the best course of action was to remove the bad tube...and the other tube if it was also diseased.

When I got to clinic, they again took me back right on time. I have to say, that is one of the lovely things about this clinic. I have rarely waited for more than 5 minutes in the big waiting room for someone. I've waited longer in the exam rooms, but still - to get people out of the waiting room that quickly is really good.

Okay, I'm going to continue this in a separate post, since I need a break.

Whew.