What a whirlwind launch week last week! Thank you to everyone who commented and shared posts – it meant a lot to me to see so many folks cheering me on 🙂
So, back to regular scheduled programming.
I’ve been quiet lately on my personal infertility journey. There have been some major updates behind the scenes yes, but I’ve been hush-hush about it here for a few reasons. Let me just be 100% clear: no, I’m not pregnant. Let’s just get that out of the way right now.
…But our infertility journey is moving forward. I hate to be so cryptic right now but I want to make sure that Larry and I have our ducks in a row before I start talking about it here.
(So, quick recap for the new folks: Me? Premature Ovarian Failure at age 26. Options: Build our family with donor egg and IVF. And that’s the teaser I’ll have to leave you with for now as to what’s next.)
However, I can share with you that I had a consultation with another infertility practice last week. About two years ago, we got a second opinion/initial consult from Doc Awesome at The Very Large Fertility Clinic*. Since then, I wanted to investigate what it might be like to work with a smaller clinic. After doing a little homework (but not ALL the homework I needed to, something that will be the subject of a post this Wednesday), I found Dr. Warmenfriendly*.
*In case this wasn’t obvious, I choose not to name physicians, clinics, or other professionals with whom I directly work in my personal infertility journey. You are welcome to ask me about them in an email, but I don’t want to have names or locations discussed on my blog itself.
We met Dr. Warmenfriendly last Wednesday. It was a bit of a hoopla to see him; I didn’t do the research I needed with regard to insurance coverage for that initial consult, so we had to drop a lovely $375 for the privilege of meeting this doctor for the first time. That said, it was money well spent. We met with the doctor for almost a half hour, then spent time with their Insurance Coordinator, Donor Coordinator and a nurse for another hour.
I’ve never felt more thoroughly prepared at just an initial consultation. The staff was warm, friendly, knowledgeable and responsive even for just our first appointment; if they didn’t have an answer to our question right away in the consultation room, they ran back to their offices to go grab us the info. Super helpful, super polite and all-around awesome.
I gave Dr. Warmenfriendly the rundown on my lady bits (spoiler alert: they’re all kinds of messed up). Before we can even dip our toes into the IVF waters, I have some work I need to do. First, we need to get my thyroid under control. As I mentioned earlier this year, my TSH values have shot up through the roof again.
So here’s the awesome thing about auto-immune thyroid disease: it carries a higher risk of miscarriage, especially late-term miscarriage. (FANTASTIC. As if a busted ovary wasn’t enough.) So Dr. Warmenfriendly wants to make sure my TSH values are nice and low – 1.0 to be exact. Which is great, because even though the recommended normal range for TSH is 3.0 and below, I function my finest when I’m in that 1.0-1.2 range.
He also wants to make sure that we not only stabilize my TSH values, but make sure I don’t begin any cycle while I could be experiencing an anti-thyroid antibody “storm” – which I’m afraid I might be right now. Hashimoto’s thyroiditis creates anti-thyroid antibodies that attack my thyroid. Over my lifespan, my thyroid will sputter out completely once the ATAs finish wreaking their havoc. It could be five years from now, twenty-five years, or even five months from now. There’s no way to predict just when it will stop working and thus, no way to know how many ATA storms I might face.
Obviously, anti-anything antibodies are bad, because they like to go after foreign things… like lovely little embryos trying to nestle their way into the soft endometrial lining of my uterus. So we need to make sure that a) I’m not storming and b) if I am, we get this shit under control and how.
That’s the first thing we need to get cleared up.
The second thing? He wants to take a look at that fibroid they found in January. Which means he wants me to get a hysteroscopy.
A hysteroscopy is a pretty simple procedure. The surgeon dilates the cervix and inserts a camera into the uterus. They get a good look around and even remove fibroids or polyps while they’re in there. The whole thing lasts about 15-20 minutes.
Cue me: freaking the fuck out.
I know it’s a routine procedure. I know I have the option to be semi-conscious or totally knocked out. I know that yes, it’s a good thing for him to remove the fibroid if he can. Rationally, I know all of this.
Emotionally, I’m terrified for two reasons:
- I’ve had 2 body parts removed – my left ovary and my appendix. Both were emergency surgeries. I had virtually no time to prepare mentally, because if I’d waited any longer in either scenario, this blog wouldn’t even exist. The fact that I need to schedule surgery is an entirely different beast, to know that the surgery date looms on the calendar instead of being sprung on me.
- I hate major diagnostic tests. Whether it’s ultrasounds or even non-routine blood work, like my Fragile X karyotype – I’m always paranoid they’re going to find something horrible.
Also, I have issues with getting a procedure that for the life of me, I cannot pronounce. Seriously, every time I’ve mentioned it to family, I get tripped up when I say it. I want to say “His-stair’-oh-skohpy” but it’s actually “Hista-rah’-skoppy.”
I have not yet scheduled my procedure because of insurance nightmares, which I plan to rant about on Wednesday. But that said…
Have you had a hysteroscopy? How was it? How was the psych out before hand and recovery afterward? Let me know in the comments or send me an email.
I had one about 4 years ago. It was awful because they actually had to laser all the scar tissue from my 3 previous d&c’s from miscarriages. After they did it they said that the uterus cannot heal properly without afterwards putting a fetal catheter inside the uterus so it has nothing to stick too and heals in the correct shape. That’s about all i remember is the balloon ties hanging out for 4 days. Unfortunately I am due for another. I’m on MC #8 now and have thrown in the towel on IF. My doc wants to give me one last hysterscopy (she has an austrian accent so it sounds more like hyster SCOPE ee) which i will be doing in about 2 weeks. *hugs* to you and i hope it went well for you!!!
wait she calls it History-SCOPE-ee. wanted to make sure i got that right 🙂 we sound like morons when we ask others about it because we say it that way.
Had a laparoscopy and hysteroscopy and the hysteroscopy was definitely the easiest as far as healing time is concerned. Enjoy the drugs and milk the “I just had surgery” for as long as possible.
Oh yes. I will milk that hell out of that. Thanks for commenting Rachel!
sorry I missed this until now.
I am the queen of hysteroscopies and fibroids, unfortunately, I’ve had multiple procedures to diagnose and remove fibroids, so if you have any Qs afterwards, don’t hesitate to ask. seriously, I have over 10 yrs history with those bad boys and I’ve had them removed hysteroscopically, lapyroscopically and abdominally.
anyway, did I miss it? did it already happen? if so, ignore the next para.
hopefully everyone has assured you that it’s not a painful procedure, as unnatural as it sounds. at most I had cramps afterwards, and was advised to take serious motrin beforehand, which I think was good advice (and I never usually even take aspirin).
people always say its a “routine” procedure, but there’s nothing “routine” about it when you’re the patient and it’s your first time. good luck!
I am sorry that your royal status; I’d rather you be Queen of Fabulousness and Kittens rather than hysterocopies and fibroids. I haven’t yet scheduled my procedure pending new insurance. Thanks for validating my anxieties 🙂 It’s nice to know that yes, it’s okay to be scared!
I had one done too. Funny, I had forgotten all about it! I remember thinking the fibroid was the problem, and we’d get pregnant after the procedure. Yeah, not so much. I don’t remember any discomfort and they did remove a fibroid. I don’t know how big it was, though. I definitely was sedated and got Tylenol Plus after.
No joke: Tylenol Plus will knock me out for a full day. It couldn’t have been that bad if you had forgotten about yours. Right…? Right? Beuler?
I had a hysteroscopy… and you don’t want to know how it went, lol. Let’s just say I passed out in the hallway afterwards and it hurt like hell, but it was very fast. They also gave me no pain medications at all, no sedation — nothing. It was never even offered, and I don’t think in Israel they ever offer it, unless they plan to do surgery of some sort at the same time. But the saline somehow triggered a vasovagal response, hence the fainting in the hallway.
If they offer you something for the pain, or something to calm you down — take it!
Me + vasovagal response = happens all the damn time. Even when I get my eyes checked, if you can believe it (when they numb my eye and do the pressure test on the eyeball itself… Jesus, even typing that made me lightheaded). I even had that happen when I got the swine flu vaccine (and, as a result, had to be officially recorded as one of the people who had an adverse reaction to the vaccine). Duly noted about taking something beforehand for the pain – thanks Rachel!
I was supposed to schedule a hysteroscopy (I want to pronounce it the wrong way too) and an endometrial biopsy two months ago. I won’t have any anesthesia (yikes). I’m trying not to think about it, but one of these months I need to actually get it scheduled before the Doc calls to see why I dropped off the planet 😉 Good luck with yours!
No anesthesia? Seriously? I read that others in this comment thread didn’t have it either, but I can’t even fathom that. Better living through chemistry, as far as I’m concerned! Bring on the knock-out drugs. I’ll make you a deal – if you schedule yours I’ll schedule mine 😉
OK, deal. I have to go on a particular day of my cycle (for an endometrial biopsy done at the same time as the hysteroscopy) which means buying ovulation sticks rather than calling for an appointment, but I’ll go get them today 🙂 Your move!
Good for you for taking such proactive steps. You are so brave!
We’ve been trying for three years now to have children. I’m still taking it one step at a time and trying to get over my fear of hormone injections after the ovulation test gives us the green light.
My experience with scopes down there is limited to a kind doctor shoving an ultrasound stick in to measure the size of the ovaries to predict ovulation. (I’m sure there’s a more technical name for it.) It’s awful. I hate any kind of examination, so I really wish you all the best!
You have inspired me to go back to the clinic, and try again. Thanks!
Thanks for sharing Mel – wishing you much luck on your journey! I’m terrified of needles, too. I hear that you kind of ditch that fear once you get really deep into fertility treatments. Come back and let us know how your visit to the clinic goes!
I think it’s totally normal to feel nervous, or even down right afraid, to have a medical procedure like that done, especially if it might uncover something detrimental to your family building plans. I wish I had a story to assuage your fears but sadly I don’t. I’ll be keeping all appendages crossed, hoping that everything goes well and you only get good news.
Thanks Esperanza. You, my dear, rock.
I had 2 hysterosalpingograms (HSG) about 6 years ago, in which the doctor could see something abnormal. So, I was scheduled for a hysteroscopy. It was done in office and we could see right away that I had several uterine cysts; one of which was partially blocking a tube. It was quick and easy procedure. I was scheduled for laprascopy to remove the cysts based on the results of the hysteroscopy. The hysteroscopy was less painful than the HSG, but that may be due to the fact that the doctor doing the HSG just kept pushing dye until the blocked tube opened all the way.
I learned my lesson about insurance with the hysteroscopy too. The HSG was done at the hospital and consider outpatient and was pre-approved. I received notice that insurance wasn’t covering the hysteroscopy because I didn’t get it pre-approved. After they found out that it was in office theysaid it would be covered.
I was just ready for some answers and to move forward after switching from a doctor that had me on clomid without doing any real testing for over a year.
Fingers crossed, my hysteroscopy will be covered by our new insurance, since it’ll be done at a hospital. Thanks for sharing your experience, Wendy – much appreciated!
I have a question about thyroid levels. My thyroid is normal, according to my doctor, but my TSH level is 3.6. Should I ask my doctor to take another look at it?
Gah, Fiona I’m sorry I didn’t see this comment until today! So, there’s a contingent of docs who believe that anything from 0-5.0 is normal. However, an update from the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists refined that high end of the range down to 3.0. So technically, 3.6 is not necessarily “normal” – I know that for me, symptomatically, I feel awful with a TSH higher than 1.5, More info about TSH ranges can be found here: http://thyroid.about.com/od/gettestedanddiagnosed/a/normaltshlevel.htm. If you’re worried, I would get a referral to see an endocrinologist since thyroid issues are one of the things in which they specialize.
I had it twice, surgical the first time, office procedure the second. Neither one was bad.
The surgical one was obviously a bigger deal, it was scheduled surgery. That one was just before my first IUI because I had a small uterine polyp that needed to be removed. But the prep and recovery were easy… I think I was on my computer working from home that afternoon.
The office visit one was part of the CCRM one-day-workup. The doctor wants a better look at your uterus (than the 3d/bloodflow ultrasound they do). All I was given for that was some strong ibuprofen before-hand. It’s not the most pleasant experience in the world but it’s not unbearable either (I do think I have a high threshold for pain).
Honestly, the worst part of many of these procedures, in my opinion, is the damn speculum! I hate that thing!
Glad to hear that you are taking steps forward!
Oh man, I share your hate of the speculum, BB. In truth, I like to call that thing The Humiliator. Getting on my back and spreading eagle for a pelvic exam doesn’t phase me, but the speculum…. *shudder* I hate that damn thing.
I had a hiss-terr-oss-cuh-pee after my second miscarriage. The doctor (who was the same delightful man who told me that having a miscarriage is like having a period; because you know, having your leg amputated is like having a paper cut) gave me some vicodin and told me to take it an hour before the procedure.
I will not lie; I remember the damned thing going through my cervix and the thing hurt like a mo fo. Granted I’m the woman who apparently screamed like I was being killed when they broke my water (I remember it hurting, I don’t remember screaming, although my husband swears that the best way to torture him is to make him relive that scream over and over again) so don’t take my word for it.
It’s uncomfortable, it’s really embarrassing, but it’s over quickly and worth it. Honestly if they give you drugs beforehand (if they don’t knock you out) then your memory of it is fuzzy and you get to act drunk in the middle of the day.
Worth it, you can do it, I promise.
I’m sorry, I’m not laughing at your m/c, but I literally LOL’d reading your comment just now. Bedside manner is becoming a lost art, I think. Good to know about the vicodin. I’ve taken it in the past and seemed to remember that I still feel pain, but I kind of don’t give a fuck about it. Yanno, which is good, I guess?
Thanks Ashley for candidly sharing your experience. Good or bad, I need to hear about it so I can be more informed.
First of all, banish that image from the 1890s from your mind – fortunately, hysteroscopy is NOTHING like that. I’ve had three. One as part of a laparoscopy (and so I was completely out), and two as outpatient procedures using a fiberoptics hysteroscopy, where I had no anesthesia at all. neither type was bad, I’ll be honest. and i’m hoping your procedure will be not so unpleasant either. and will yield good information…so you can get your family started asap!
Mo
No anesthesia? Damn girl, you’re a champ! Thanks for the well-wishes and helping to keep me from freaking out entirely, Mo 🙂
I’m sorry that your doc is recommending a hysteroscopy and that you’re having insurance problems with it. I kinda consider myself a hysteroscopy expert because I have had three in the past three months (plus another one a couple of years ago). I was sedated for all of them–general sedation for the first as part of a lap, then twilight for the others. I was nervous before each one of them! Cut yourself some slack on the being nervous part.
For the hysteroscopies where nothing else was done, I felt fine afterward. Only light cramping. When the doctor cut stuff out (septum, scar tissue, etc), the recovery has been more difficult. Especially when a balloon was put in, like last Fri, and I’m still uncomfortable. Not sure if they’ll use a balloon with you.
Good luck! And sorry about your TSH levels, too.
OMG, I can’t imagine having surgery three times in three months. That’s insane and you my friend, deserve a Virtual Badge of Honor for that fact! Thanks for sharing your experience – I don’t know whether they’ll do a balloon or just use saline (I think?) – I’ve had laproscopic surgery before, so I know how weird it feels to have the gas dissipate from your body.
My RE recommended the hysteroscopy after seeing some wonky stuff on the HSG. He was not able to pass the catheter thru my cervix in order to do an in-office saline ultrasound, which made him think me cervix was very short and very closed up.
I went to a women’s hospital for the outpatient procedure that was to be done thru the vagina, not via an incision in the abdomen. Gown, booties and hair cap on, IVs hooked up, DH was able to hang out while I waited. I had to give an rundown of medications, vitamins & herbs I was taking, next time I will just bring them. Didn’t appreciate being scoffed at for taking unusual things to improve my fertillity, like False Unicorn Root.
Anyway, I was wheeled back to a tiny room & transferred less than gracefully to a tiny table. About 2-3 mins of chit chit then I was knocked the Hell out and don’t remember anything until I woke up in Recovery. I have a vague memory of struggling against retraints and asking for my husband. The RE came in and explained a bit of his findings but I’m sure my eyes were still rolling in my head. Minor cramping, nowhere near as uncomfortable as the HSG.
Turn out my cervix was elongated, not shortend and there were no polyps, just some irregular shaping to the uterus due to my mom taking DES while she was pregnant with me. Everything seems clear, just a matter of whether my eggs are still viable at the ripe old age of 41 and finding a sperm donor due to DH’s low count.
Good luck, I’m @OldCryBaby on Twitter if you need to chat!
Wow Donna, thank you so much for your detailed account! It really helps to hear the variety of experiences that folks have had with this procedure. Going to go follow you now on Twitter!
I had one prior to my first IVF cycle and it wasn’t that bad. I remember feeling a little crampy for a few hours afterwards and felt completely fine the next day. I remember being worried before the procedure, but it wasn’t that bad. Sending good luck your way.
Crampy seems to be the MO following the procedure. Thanks for the good luck wishes, Jenn!
P.S. Hysterosalpinogram is even harder to say. And those are painful!
Total truth: whenever I see that word, I legitimately do not pronounce it in my head. I just kind of breeze right by as if the word isn’t even in the sentence.
Yes, I have had one, but it was with a laboroscopy for the purpose of my uterine septum resection. So, I was completely under. However, when I woke up, I had no pain. Good luck!
Hm, good to know. Thanks Whitney!
I had a hysteroscopy, and found it one of the least traumatic of the all the IVF-related experiences. I was completely sedated and had zero pain afterwards. The only weird thing that happened, and it could have been unrelated, but I got hot flashes for a few weeks after it and a bit of a wonky AF pattern for a month or two afterwards. Other than that, it was a breeze. Good luck!
Hot flashes I can handle – I braved the early menopause gauntlet 3 years ago 🙂 Thanks for the well-wishes!
I had a hysteroscopy prior to IVF about 2 years ago. I didn’t have the option to be awake, I was heavily sedated during the procedure and don’t remember any of it, just wheeling back to the room and then waking up in recovery. Afterward I was tired and a little crampy but nothing more than that. I think they gave me motrin to take for pain but I didn’t really need it. Good luck with yours and feel free to contact me if I can provide you more info! Also, congrats with moving forward on your plans! For me it always felt good to actually be doing something instead of playing the waiting game.
Thanks so much for the insight, Jen! It feels really awesome to be moving forward. I’m hoping to post the full details next week!
Wow, that’s is a big step forward! I haven’t experienced hysteroscopy, but from what I’ve heard from others who have it was pretty routine. That said, is Dr. Warmemfriendly aware of your history? The emotional aspect is nothing to sneeze at and I’m sure if you talk with them they’d be willing to work with you so that you are as calm and prepared ahead of time as possible. Hoping everything goes well and you have more good news to share soon!
Hi Cristy, thanks for commenting! I think he could pick up on how nervous I am about it; when I met with one of the nurses afterward, she was amazing at giving me more information about the procedure and what I could expect. I know I’m in good hands 🙂
I had an in office hysteroscopy some 10 odd years ago. I can tell you that for me the hysteroscopy was a piece of cake. And rather cool to see my innards. I had an endometrial biopsy at the same time. That was a bitch. I hope yours goes well.
Thanks for sharing, Laura. The procedure is pretty standard as I understand it. I don’t know if I could handle seeing my insides… I get queasy just seeing fake surgery on TV dramas!
Sending good thoughts for the hysteroscopy. Procedures are scary — both the emotional side (finding something) and the physical side (dude, it’s unnatural to stick a camera up there). But we’ll all virtually be there holding your hand.
Thanks Mel! I hope so, because boy howdy I’m freaking out just thinking about scheduling this procedure. Which, I have a slight reprieve from doing until our new insurance cards come in.