The waiting is the hardest part, I think. It allows you time to eithor dream about the future or mentally sabatoge it. What surprises me the most about this, is other people's responses. I still get emails or comments from friends and family saying, "hurry up" or "when are you going to be pregnant already". In the beginning of this long road, I heard that all the time and even though the coments still hurt, they didn't surprise me. But at this point in the game, it shocks me that people still say that, knowing what we are going through. IVF has a 50% success rate per cycle. That is not a guarentee and there are plenty of people that have gone through it 6+ times with no luck. What goes through your mind, when you tell some one in my situation to "hurry up"? I am hesitant to tell these certain people when I should be finished b/c I am honestly worried that they will be on the phone to me the day I am done, asking if it worked or not. And that's insane.
Maybe I am just being overly sensitive. I do feel like my hormones are all over the place and I find myself crying to at least one show or comercial the last few nights. :-) And some of them are'nt even sad. LOL. I was reminded by my husband yesterday of his upcoming business trip, that I had forgot about. It will leave him away for most of his "month off". I hate that. Excpecially at a time like this. I will be done with the fertility treatments when he leaves, but only by a few days. Chances are he will be away when I get my pregnancy test. That sucks! I know I will be a wreck no matter which way it goes.
The countdown to monday (day 1 of Lupron) continues....
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Trying to conceive on birth control
Its still kind of humorous to me that you have to take birth control during the IVF process. Who researched that? Where did they get that idea? Its all so interesting to me. Anyway.... Before I began this whole journey, I never really new my body. I had no clue that there were symptoms throughout my entire cycle that were indicators as to where my body was in that cycle. For example, I had no clue that when you ovulate you actually get cramps, discharge and other period like symptoms. Once I identified what my body was telling me, it made "trying" at the appropriate times of the month much easier. Every once in awhile I would check myself by taking a ovulation test and sure enough every time I took one, I was ovulating. I never new these things before when I was on birth control. Sooo, this brings me to now. This is the first time in 3 years that I have been on birth control again. I just started about a week and a half ago in preparation for my egg retrieval. Weird thing is, I am still getting my ovulation symptoms. Not sure if that is normal or not, or if it takes more than a month for the birth control to change that, or if I just never noticed before b/c I didn't know. In my mind, I would think that since your not ovulating, you shouldn't have those symptoms. Birth control makes your body "think" its pregnant, so why would you cramp and have discharge while on the pill? Note to self, ask the doctor that next week. For my own curiosity and maybe yours....
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Day 1
So Day 1 has come and gone... I think I am at day 10 now, something like that. I started my increased Synthroid and have been feeling alot better, more energy, etc. They also started me on birth control for 4 weeks. I was told that the birth control organizes your egg in a nice neat organized line, which aides in the retreival process in a few weeks. Weird, huh? My husband has been awesome! He has come with me to my appointments and has been very supportive with everything including the thyroid news I was hit with last week. It has been so nice having him in this with me.
So I ordered all of my medications this last week. Luckily the doctor had collected some samples for me, which saved us about $1,500. THANK YOU! We spent about $1,800 for the remainder of the medicine. I am sure there will be a couple other minor things to get but that was the bulk. So yeah, the box arrives. I see it on the doorstep and think, wow thats a large box, there must be alot of bubble wrap in there... OMG!!!!! I am in shock. I actually called the pharmacy and asked them if this was all for one cycle. There is sooo much stuff. It scared the crap out of me. I told my husband, I am going to look like a human pin cushion. I know I am sensitive to medications, because of my past fertility experience and from some previous allergic reactions to unrelated drugs, so how am I going to do with all of this??? After my husbands quick pep talk - "well do you want a baby or not" :-) , I moved on. I think thats why I married him, sometimes I need somone to just be blunt about it. He is funny. Really there isn't anything I can do. Its scarey but, here we go....
I am not scheduled to start any shots until the April 20. So i am just waiting till then. I do plan on posting a picture of the rediculous amount of medications they sent me. I think it is important for anyone who hasn't started yet to be prepared b/c I had no clue.
So I ordered all of my medications this last week. Luckily the doctor had collected some samples for me, which saved us about $1,500. THANK YOU! We spent about $1,800 for the remainder of the medicine. I am sure there will be a couple other minor things to get but that was the bulk. So yeah, the box arrives. I see it on the doorstep and think, wow thats a large box, there must be alot of bubble wrap in there... OMG!!!!! I am in shock. I actually called the pharmacy and asked them if this was all for one cycle. There is sooo much stuff. It scared the crap out of me. I told my husband, I am going to look like a human pin cushion. I know I am sensitive to medications, because of my past fertility experience and from some previous allergic reactions to unrelated drugs, so how am I going to do with all of this??? After my husbands quick pep talk - "well do you want a baby or not" :-) , I moved on. I think thats why I married him, sometimes I need somone to just be blunt about it. He is funny. Really there isn't anything I can do. Its scarey but, here we go....
I am not scheduled to start any shots until the April 20. So i am just waiting till then. I do plan on posting a picture of the rediculous amount of medications they sent me. I think it is important for anyone who hasn't started yet to be prepared b/c I had no clue.
So here we go...
Last month they reran our basic tests to make sure there weren't any changes in me or my husbands fertility health. Everything cleared except my thyroid again. Your blood should measure a thyroid (tsh) btwn a 1-4 and I was a 3.99 which is better than I have tested for in the past, but it was still too high to be doing fertility with. They referred me to a Endocrine Doc to do further tests and get my levels around a 1.00. Why I wasn't sent to one earlier bugs me but whatever, I can't dwell on it. I go to the Endo. doc and they ultrasound my thyroid. She finds lumps on my thyroid and sends me for more blood work. I really have never had anything majorly wrong with me before, so that did make me nervous. I didn't know what lumps meant, nor did the physician really answer my question as to what that would mean. I went back about 3 weeks ago for the results. I was diagnosed with Hashimoto's Thyroiditis, a chronic thyroid disease, or autoimmune disease, that attacks your thyroid and causes scar tissue to form on your thyroid. If left untreated it causes a list of crazy issues, but if treated, you should be fine. The major issue that is of concern, is that it causes "increased frequency of miscarriages". So is this the cause of my fertility? Have I been getting pregnant and the fertilized egg can't attach? Who knows. I contacted my fertility doctor, who has assured me that if we can get my thyroid levels at a 1.00, and monitor it closely, it shouldn't interfere. Its only going to be a risk if I spike back up to a 3, 4 or more. For some reason, my response to all this was pure anger. I wasn't sad, I was pissed off. First of all, why hadn't this been diagnosed before. I was already at the point of having scar tissue, so I have had it for awhile. And second, IVF and miscarriages are unrelated, so if that is the cause of all of this, we could have a long road ahead. Meaning, IVF could get me pregnant but if my body doesn't want to keep it, than its not going to and IVF can't help that. But the fertility doc is optimistic that as long as my levels are good, it will work. So, I am trying to be optimistic. I stopped reading other people articles online about their multiple miscarriages with Hashi's disease b/c it was just making my mind wonder. I have to listen to my doctor over what I read on the internet. I think I am just trying to go through this experience with no expectations, that way if it works, great, but i it doesn't, I won't be let down again. Or maybe that is just what I am telling myself. :-)
Our history continued...
The only part about the first cycle that was hard, was the end. Not just the finding out it was unsuccessful, but my period. It was really heavy and the cramps were worse than normal. Ok, its worth it, its helping us try to get pregnant. I can handle it. I did have some water retention throughout the cycle b/c of the drugs but not to bad. So I venture back to the doctor. Whats next. They are going to up the drugs and this time instead of timed intercourse, they are going to do IUI (intra-uterine insemination), otherwise known as artificial insemination. With that, I do the same injections and medications as the first time, a little stronger, and for 2 days around my ovulation they "turkey baste" my husbands sperm deep into my uterus right at the entrace to my fallopian tube.
So I start the whole thing over again. Medications...dr's appts...blood work... I drive to their main facility both days and they do the artifical insemination. Again, my husband schedule leaves him at sea the days I go in for the insemination. It was no big deal, took about 10 minutes, 9 of which is laying on the table afterward before you can leave. Quick, easy, painless... I go home at the end of the second day and this time is it. I know it! I am going to be pregnant. My brain is wondering about what we are going to have, how I am going to decorate the room, lalalalala... Two weeks go by, and I am speeding to the drug store once again to purchase the pregnancy test that will go in my little ones baby album.
Negative.... Oh my god! I actually didn't cry, I was really upset but I didn't cry. I acted like nothing happened. I was numb. The fertility center requires that you come in for bloodwork regardless whether you think you are pregnant or not. So I make my appt, knowing its going to be negative, and go in for the blood work. I get to the office and sign in and literally start balling my eyes out at the counter. I felt so stupid but I couldn't control it. My "amazing" nurse that I was assigned to, came rushing out of her office to get me out of the waiting room of onlooking hormonal women. Probably not good for business. :-) LOL. I explained to her that I knew I wasn't pregnant and I just didn't want to be there. I didn't want to have to be "reconfirmed" that yes, I WASN'T PREGNANT. I just wanted to be home and not think about it. I was surprised that I got so upset, my emotions were finally crashing down. I mean, I cried a couple times over the course of the last 1 1/2yr but nothing like this. Plus, the increased medication had really taken a toll on me this time. I had alot of water retention, expecially in my ankles. I was swollen all over, even in my lips. I felt like I had Angelina lips, but really they were that big, just felt like it. To make it worse, and I personally think, more emoitional, the period was horrible. The bleeding was very heavy and the cramps were miserable. We were driving back from the beach, the day my cramps hit, and I had to pull over for my husband to drive b/c they were so bad. I road the rest of the way back curled up in the passenger seat. Had it not been for a weekend and us being out of town, I would have been calling the doctor requesting some sort of pain medicine. It was not fun!
I decided at this point that I couldn't keep doing this. I wasn't going to go through another expensive and uncomfortable cycle for it not to work. I couldn't afford it, I was affraid of it being more painful and emotionally I couldn't do it again. At this point, we had spent about $8k and we had no baby. The doctor recommended eithor one more try with medications and IUI, or going straight to IVF (in-vitro fertilization). The IVF program was $20,000 plus the cost of drugs, which ranged from $3k-5k per cycle. With the $20k, we get up to 6 attempts and if we don't deliver a live baby we get a full refund, excluding the cost of the drugs. HOLY CRAP, $25,000... Who can afford that? How are we going to every have children? This is so unfair! Why us? No way... We will look into adoption or foster care, something. Sticker shock!
I never I stopped thinking about our fertility but I stopped being active in it at this point. I needed a break and we didn't have that kind of money anyway. It was a good break...We did what we wanted, when we wanted... We went away...We decided to move... I stayed busy. Selling the house and moving kept me occupied. As the couple months passed, the urge to get back into fertility increased again. After 3 years of trying, it was time. It was getting harder and harder as more of our friends were catching up with us and getting married and getting pregnant. Pregnancy is running rampant in our group of friends. This was the point that I really saw a increase in the support from my husband. I am not saying that he wasn't supportive before, because he was, but I think his own desire really began to increase as his own "buddies" were having kids. It was different before b/c we were the only ones trying which meant we were going to be the first ones to give up our partying, bar hopping lifestyle. But now, everyone was settling down. Our friends and family were coming over for parties with the kids. And we were getting a little older, it was time. Our plan of having children young, and being able to have retirement kids free was starting to dwindle if we didn't do something soon. Eithor do it now, or wait a couple years, enjoy this time and do it later. We decide now is the time.
So I eagerly make the appointment to meet my new doctor. Same practice, but closer to our new home. He confirms what our other doctor had stated, but he pushes the IVF more than the additional cycle of IUI. More so because it seemed dumb to spend another $4k for a procedure that was guarenteed, when we had already spent so much. We spend the next couple weeks figuring out how we are going to pay for all of this. Thanks to the amazing care and suport of our family, we were able to avoid the rediculously high interest rates that the healthcare financing companys slam you with. Anyway, we make the exciting trip back to the fertility center to sign all the forms and write the big check.... So exciting!!!!
So I start the whole thing over again. Medications...dr's appts...blood work... I drive to their main facility both days and they do the artifical insemination. Again, my husband schedule leaves him at sea the days I go in for the insemination. It was no big deal, took about 10 minutes, 9 of which is laying on the table afterward before you can leave. Quick, easy, painless... I go home at the end of the second day and this time is it. I know it! I am going to be pregnant. My brain is wondering about what we are going to have, how I am going to decorate the room, lalalalala... Two weeks go by, and I am speeding to the drug store once again to purchase the pregnancy test that will go in my little ones baby album.
Negative.... Oh my god! I actually didn't cry, I was really upset but I didn't cry. I acted like nothing happened. I was numb. The fertility center requires that you come in for bloodwork regardless whether you think you are pregnant or not. So I make my appt, knowing its going to be negative, and go in for the blood work. I get to the office and sign in and literally start balling my eyes out at the counter. I felt so stupid but I couldn't control it. My "amazing" nurse that I was assigned to, came rushing out of her office to get me out of the waiting room of onlooking hormonal women. Probably not good for business. :-) LOL. I explained to her that I knew I wasn't pregnant and I just didn't want to be there. I didn't want to have to be "reconfirmed" that yes, I WASN'T PREGNANT. I just wanted to be home and not think about it. I was surprised that I got so upset, my emotions were finally crashing down. I mean, I cried a couple times over the course of the last 1 1/2yr but nothing like this. Plus, the increased medication had really taken a toll on me this time. I had alot of water retention, expecially in my ankles. I was swollen all over, even in my lips. I felt like I had Angelina lips, but really they were that big, just felt like it. To make it worse, and I personally think, more emoitional, the period was horrible. The bleeding was very heavy and the cramps were miserable. We were driving back from the beach, the day my cramps hit, and I had to pull over for my husband to drive b/c they were so bad. I road the rest of the way back curled up in the passenger seat. Had it not been for a weekend and us being out of town, I would have been calling the doctor requesting some sort of pain medicine. It was not fun!
I decided at this point that I couldn't keep doing this. I wasn't going to go through another expensive and uncomfortable cycle for it not to work. I couldn't afford it, I was affraid of it being more painful and emotionally I couldn't do it again. At this point, we had spent about $8k and we had no baby. The doctor recommended eithor one more try with medications and IUI, or going straight to IVF (in-vitro fertilization). The IVF program was $20,000 plus the cost of drugs, which ranged from $3k-5k per cycle. With the $20k, we get up to 6 attempts and if we don't deliver a live baby we get a full refund, excluding the cost of the drugs. HOLY CRAP, $25,000... Who can afford that? How are we going to every have children? This is so unfair! Why us? No way... We will look into adoption or foster care, something. Sticker shock!
I never I stopped thinking about our fertility but I stopped being active in it at this point. I needed a break and we didn't have that kind of money anyway. It was a good break...We did what we wanted, when we wanted... We went away...We decided to move... I stayed busy. Selling the house and moving kept me occupied. As the couple months passed, the urge to get back into fertility increased again. After 3 years of trying, it was time. It was getting harder and harder as more of our friends were catching up with us and getting married and getting pregnant. Pregnancy is running rampant in our group of friends. This was the point that I really saw a increase in the support from my husband. I am not saying that he wasn't supportive before, because he was, but I think his own desire really began to increase as his own "buddies" were having kids. It was different before b/c we were the only ones trying which meant we were going to be the first ones to give up our partying, bar hopping lifestyle. But now, everyone was settling down. Our friends and family were coming over for parties with the kids. And we were getting a little older, it was time. Our plan of having children young, and being able to have retirement kids free was starting to dwindle if we didn't do something soon. Eithor do it now, or wait a couple years, enjoy this time and do it later. We decide now is the time.
So I eagerly make the appointment to meet my new doctor. Same practice, but closer to our new home. He confirms what our other doctor had stated, but he pushes the IVF more than the additional cycle of IUI. More so because it seemed dumb to spend another $4k for a procedure that was guarenteed, when we had already spent so much. We spend the next couple weeks figuring out how we are going to pay for all of this. Thanks to the amazing care and suport of our family, we were able to avoid the rediculously high interest rates that the healthcare financing companys slam you with. Anyway, we make the exciting trip back to the fertility center to sign all the forms and write the big check.... So exciting!!!!
Our history cont...
At this point, I am in shock. I could not believe that I was in this position. No pregnancy after 1 year of trying. This happens to other people, not me. The only thing that they did find on my blood work, was that I had a very minor thyroid deficiency. Not a big deal but they would put me on Synthroid to adj for my hypothyroidism. I should try for 2 cycles and come back. I was not an emotional mess like I know some people get at this point. I don't really remember crying about it. I just remember being so shocked and angry over it. At this point, I started telling close family and friends that we were seeking fertility help. They knew we were trying already so I think they knew there was something up after this much time, so I wouldn't have been able to keep it a secret anyway.
No one knows what its like to go through this unless they have gone through this! I think the most frustrating comments I get to this day is... 1) "your young, you have time"...Yes, we are young, but we have chosen as a couple to start a family and it is something we want now. And regardless of our age, this doesn't change that there is something wrong. 2) "it will happen, just stop thinking about it and relax"....ahhh! seriously! do you really think that the first 6 months I was even thinking about it. It wasn't until 6 months in that I actually starting monitoring myself and thinking about it. Either way, I am not the type to get all clinical about my "trying" experience. I know that these comments are good intentioned and people don't really know what to say, but I still get frustrated when I hear those 2 lines, and I still hear them all the time!
I start my Synthroid and try for another 2 months. We didn't monitor anything or even think about it, we just functioned normally. Still nothing... At this point, the doctor decides to be more proactive. He puts us on fertility medication, monitors my cycle, times my cycle, and gives us a 3 day window to have intercourse. The medications work wonderfully, my body responds as it should to the hormones. I produce alot of eggs, I swell normally, and we are given our dates to do the deed. :-) I am so excited at the monitoring results and I just know this was the boost I need to get pregnant, even though I know it sometimes takes 3 tries for this method to work. I think we spent about $3,000 on this cycle. Our insurance only covered the initial tests but no actual fertility treatment. $3k is alot but no big deal considering this is going to work and I will be pregnant in a couple weeks. So the cycle ends, and I run to the store and by a pregnancy test. This is the one thing the fertility centers tell you not to do. They tell you to wait till you get your blood test b/c there are false negatives on the store bought test and they don't want you to get upset for nothing. SIKE! Who the heck can wait till there appointment and then wait for the blood test to get back. That's crazy talk. I get home rip open the test and venture off to the bathroom. Negative....
No one knows what its like to go through this unless they have gone through this! I think the most frustrating comments I get to this day is... 1) "your young, you have time"...Yes, we are young, but we have chosen as a couple to start a family and it is something we want now. And regardless of our age, this doesn't change that there is something wrong. 2) "it will happen, just stop thinking about it and relax"....ahhh! seriously! do you really think that the first 6 months I was even thinking about it. It wasn't until 6 months in that I actually starting monitoring myself and thinking about it. Either way, I am not the type to get all clinical about my "trying" experience. I know that these comments are good intentioned and people don't really know what to say, but I still get frustrated when I hear those 2 lines, and I still hear them all the time!
I start my Synthroid and try for another 2 months. We didn't monitor anything or even think about it, we just functioned normally. Still nothing... At this point, the doctor decides to be more proactive. He puts us on fertility medication, monitors my cycle, times my cycle, and gives us a 3 day window to have intercourse. The medications work wonderfully, my body responds as it should to the hormones. I produce alot of eggs, I swell normally, and we are given our dates to do the deed. :-) I am so excited at the monitoring results and I just know this was the boost I need to get pregnant, even though I know it sometimes takes 3 tries for this method to work. I think we spent about $3,000 on this cycle. Our insurance only covered the initial tests but no actual fertility treatment. $3k is alot but no big deal considering this is going to work and I will be pregnant in a couple weeks. So the cycle ends, and I run to the store and by a pregnancy test. This is the one thing the fertility centers tell you not to do. They tell you to wait till you get your blood test b/c there are false negatives on the store bought test and they don't want you to get upset for nothing. SIKE! Who the heck can wait till there appointment and then wait for the blood test to get back. That's crazy talk. I get home rip open the test and venture off to the bathroom. Negative....
My history...
It all began almost 4 years ago...My husband and I, 24 and 23yrs old, married in Aug of 2005. Yes, we were young but we had met in high school and had been together ever since. We already owned our first home and new that we were meant to be together. We also new that we both wanted children but wanted to wait a few months after the wedding before taking that big step of "going off the pill". By the end of the year, and some minor nagging from me :-), we decided that we would take that leap on Christmas day to throw away the pills and see what happens. I still remember going to bed that first night and being so overwhelmed with excitement, but then wondering, what if I can't get pregnant! That never crossed my mind during any of our conversations about having children, but now that the process has actually started, what if????
So the journey begins... Trying really wasn't a big deal b/c we were still in the "honeymoon stage". We didn't think about it much, we just lived like, it will happen when it happens. I guess a key piece of information that I left out here is that my husband travels for work alot! He works 4 weeks on and 4 weeks off. During the 4 weeks off, he is away at sea. So after about 6 months of trying, I decided to talk to the doctor. I think one of my concerns was that his schedule was affecting our speed of getting pregnant. I mean, what else could it be, I am 24yrs old, and I should be crazy fertile! Unfortunately, the doctor, tells me that my husbands schedule should not affect us b/c we have at least one ovulation period every month he is home, and as he says, a "normal" person of my age should get pregnant within 3 months. Nice, huh? So I leave the GYN, feeling less than normal, and with instructions to using a basal thermometer and a prescription to follow up in 6 more months. He also stated that he would refer me now except that insurance won't pay for anything until a year of trying. I think this is the start to my hatred of the insurance world. :-)
So the "trying" continues. At this point, the fun is starting to wear off, and I am getting alot more nervous about the road ahead. How is it that everyone in my family is so fertile and I am not?? My mother and my sisters got pregnant when they weren't even trying to. The months pass and I make the appointment with the fertility center in my area. I go and get all the lovely tests, blood work and internal ultrasounds, nothing.... My husband gets tested, nothing.... So then they run some more advanced tests. One of which is the die test. If you are reading this blog and you haven't started with fertility or you are just getting started, this is a test that I wish I had been better versed about before hand. Some people have a blockage in their fallopian tubes that blocks the sperm from getting to the egg and fertilizing it. Kind of like a garden hose that has a kink in it. To test for this blockage, they stick a catheter in your uterus and inject die into your fallopian tubes, at the same time they are x-raying your pelvis, to see if the die travels up the fallopian tube effortlessly or not. I was told when scheduling that this test was very easy and I may experience some "light cramping". I was talking to a girlfriend after scheduling the appointment and she starts telling me that she had the test done and she passed out it hurt so bad. Real nice! Why would you tell someone that??? Honestly! So by the time I get to the appointment, I was literally shaking. Of course, my husband was away at sea, so I was there alone and terrified. I would like to clear up this major misconceptions about this test. Here is the truth. 99% of the test is completely painless. When they inject the die, it does not feel good. Its like a pinching but it literally last about 4 to 5 seconds and then the pinch part is over. The pinch is strong, I don't want to lie, but its so fast. And then your fine afterward. I tell you the anticipation was worse than the procedure. Anyway, back to the story. Test, passed. Nothing wrong.... So frustrating.
To be continued....
So the journey begins... Trying really wasn't a big deal b/c we were still in the "honeymoon stage". We didn't think about it much, we just lived like, it will happen when it happens. I guess a key piece of information that I left out here is that my husband travels for work alot! He works 4 weeks on and 4 weeks off. During the 4 weeks off, he is away at sea. So after about 6 months of trying, I decided to talk to the doctor. I think one of my concerns was that his schedule was affecting our speed of getting pregnant. I mean, what else could it be, I am 24yrs old, and I should be crazy fertile! Unfortunately, the doctor, tells me that my husbands schedule should not affect us b/c we have at least one ovulation period every month he is home, and as he says, a "normal" person of my age should get pregnant within 3 months. Nice, huh? So I leave the GYN, feeling less than normal, and with instructions to using a basal thermometer and a prescription to follow up in 6 more months. He also stated that he would refer me now except that insurance won't pay for anything until a year of trying. I think this is the start to my hatred of the insurance world. :-)
So the "trying" continues. At this point, the fun is starting to wear off, and I am getting alot more nervous about the road ahead. How is it that everyone in my family is so fertile and I am not?? My mother and my sisters got pregnant when they weren't even trying to. The months pass and I make the appointment with the fertility center in my area. I go and get all the lovely tests, blood work and internal ultrasounds, nothing.... My husband gets tested, nothing.... So then they run some more advanced tests. One of which is the die test. If you are reading this blog and you haven't started with fertility or you are just getting started, this is a test that I wish I had been better versed about before hand. Some people have a blockage in their fallopian tubes that blocks the sperm from getting to the egg and fertilizing it. Kind of like a garden hose that has a kink in it. To test for this blockage, they stick a catheter in your uterus and inject die into your fallopian tubes, at the same time they are x-raying your pelvis, to see if the die travels up the fallopian tube effortlessly or not. I was told when scheduling that this test was very easy and I may experience some "light cramping". I was talking to a girlfriend after scheduling the appointment and she starts telling me that she had the test done and she passed out it hurt so bad. Real nice! Why would you tell someone that??? Honestly! So by the time I get to the appointment, I was literally shaking. Of course, my husband was away at sea, so I was there alone and terrified. I would like to clear up this major misconceptions about this test. Here is the truth. 99% of the test is completely painless. When they inject the die, it does not feel good. Its like a pinching but it literally last about 4 to 5 seconds and then the pinch part is over. The pinch is strong, I don't want to lie, but its so fast. And then your fine afterward. I tell you the anticipation was worse than the procedure. Anyway, back to the story. Test, passed. Nothing wrong.... So frustrating.
To be continued....
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