RE appointment
I just got back from the RE.
I feel blah...
I don't know, maybe I was hoping for a little more empathy or I don't know.
The thing is, the doctor asked me the typical "how long have you've been trying" and all that stuff. At least he agreed with me that we've been TTC 14 months, if we sum up everything.
Well, he did checked on me (transvaginal U/s and "touching" that was SO disgusting) and he gave us some orders for some exams: E his semen analysis and me, some sort of x-ray with contrast liquid that can show if there's permeability or something like that...and also some hormone level exam: the basics.
But what left us a little dissapointed is that this doctor was just like everybody else, saying: "well, you already conceived, so that demonstrates that you're ok", and when I started arguing that maybe I have something that prevents a baby from sticking, he was like "noooo, everybody has pregnancy losses"...and all that stuff I'm so used to hear.
The thing is he didn't pay attention to our emotional exhaustment or our anxiety or anything you know? it was like talking to a friend, "relax, just have a good time having sex every other day"...COME ON!!! We're tired!! We're sick of this!! I don't care if there's people in a much more difficult situation than me (I mean, I do care, but you know what I mean)!!! (he told me that there are some women who have been trying for 8 years and are much older than me blablabla, I KNOW!! but that doesn't make me pregnant!!).
Then, when I insinuated I could have PCOS, he said that NO, I don't have PCOS because I'm regular, and I have conceived so that means I do ovulate. Then, maybe I have low progesterone, and he was like NO, progesterone hasn't been proved effective in making someone pregnant, so I never give progesterone. And me: how about that spotting I have several days before my menses? And he: now, that's normal....
Sooooo, yes, probably I don't have anything, probably I'm just too nervous...probably I need to relax and have a good time...yes, that could be, but in the meantime....How can I relax!! I don't get it, really, how can I say, "oh yes, let's act as if this was the first month TTC; let's act as if time hasn't go by...."....I can't do it...I really can't!
I have an hour tomorrow to do that contrast thing, but I'm having second thoughts. I'm a little scared of that liquid, there are people who have died because of an allergic reaction to that liquid...so I think...what if in my desperation to have a baby, I die?? Wouldn't that be ironic?
And from what the doctor said, I look pretty normal, so why expose myself? But then again, what if the doctor's presumptions (does that word exist?) are wrong and I do have some blocking? I don't know, something tells me I shouldn't do that test, not because of the allergy, but mostly because I will spend money, have a bad time, and to hear: "everything's ok"....mmm...I'm not sure it's worth the sacrifice...I will think about it a little more...
Anyway, I think the conclusion of all this is: WAIT....continue Trying...RELAX...I don't see another way out...I insist, that exam tomorrow doesn't convince me at all....
Well, I'll tell you tomorrow if I did it or not. In the meantime, I will check this SO interesting blog: Stirrup Queens and Sperm Palace Jesters that has really helped me out. In case you haven't visit it yet, do it, I'm sure you'll like it as much as I do. I think everybody knows it, but anyway, I wanted to put it here!!
I'm sorry I think this blog wasn't very clear, but I needed to decompress!! Thank you for understanding!!
UPDATE: I feel SOOOO ignorant, I went to check on the blog I mentioned, and that "contrast liquid exam", is no more no less than the famous HSG!! LOL, it's just that the doctor put in the order a very loooong name, and I never did the association...and of course I, to the moment, never knew what exactly was the HSG test that most of the blogs I read mention. So now I know, and now I'm really terrified! on one side, but on the other side I read that it's useful to detect some other annomalies as well as blocked tubes, so then again it could be indeed useful. But maybe I will let another month go by, I don't feel prepared to be in such pain! and I read I could bleed for several days, and my fertile period is coming soon, so I think I will pospone it...
posted by Josefina @ 4:02 PM
3 comments
3 Comments:
Most docs will schedule the HSG early in your cycle. This is because there's a proven effect of higher fertility in the two or three cycles after an HSG. So you really want to schedule it for a few days after you've stopped your period. Your RE doesn't sound very sympathetic which is not very encouraging. On the other hand, the tests you're having done are all standard. Good luck.
Josepfina - So sorry you are feeling discouraged. I think that starting the testing is a good thing.
The HSG is not that bad. It makes you feel a little crampy but nothing to be afraid of.
And, it can help clear blocked tubes and find problems (like the K's septum.)
Good news about an HSG -- many people get pregnant the month they have it! And there is some evidence of increased fertility for the next few months after an HSG.
So, it is a good idea. You are supposed to do it early in your cycle between CD 7 and 10 is ideal. I believe I had mine on CD 8. So, if you fall in that time frame (or a little later but are a late ovulater -- don't postpone!)
Hang in there.
I don't know how many RE options you have, but is there another person you could see? For me, I need someone who is willing to humour me, do some tests, follow things through. Testing progesterone is simple--it's a blood test 7 days post ovulation. And I am living proof that progesterone does help (Mr. RE!) because we were able to finally carry to term with progesterone. It's also a simple thing--just a suppository twice a day should be enough unless you've done IVF (then they sometimes use progesterone in oil--PIO--which is an injection because there is no corpus luteum after ovulation since the egg was removed from the follicle).
You should schedule the HSG when you're ready. Emotionally. And it should be at the beginning of the cycle. You also should be prescribed an antibiotic because the dye can sometimes cause infection. I think we started taking the antibiotic a day or two before the HSG.
And I can't lie to you--it does hurt. But it hurts less going in prepared. Take a painkiller beforehand. And I agree with K--there is an increased chance of conceiving after the HSG so use it!
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