LackOfNothing

By January 2008, I felt as though I had waited for a baby long enough (funny, eh?), and I made an appointment with an OB/GYN near my house. I’ve never been afraid of doctors. I was told that University hospital had knowledgeable gynocologists who were infertility specialists.

My first appointment was pretty standard. They asked question upon question: Do you have a family history of uteran cancer? NO.  Do you have a family history of endometriosis? NO.  Has anyone in your family had trouble conceiving? 2 of my sisters have miscarried in the past. Do you have severe cramping during your cycle? Yes, I normally can’t work due to the pain. I thought it was a pretty standard family history, and it was… I went back twice for blood draws to check my hormone levels and egg health/quality. D also went in to get checked out.

The doctor wanted to meet with D and I together to review both of our results. We met with a man, who I didn’t like right from the beginning. The meeting ended with little answers, and not much hope. The doctor read D’s results and literally said, “Well, the numbers look good, but there seems to be a ratio that is off”. I asked for an explanation; he had none to give. He recommended some options (insemination particularly). We left the office thinking that D was the reason that we had not gotten pregnant.

The doctor recommended that since D’s numbers weren’t really “bad”, that I have a hysterosalpyngogram done to rule out any issues with my fertility. For those of you who don’t believe that that big word is really a procedure, it’s like an x-ray that examines the uterus and fallopian tubes. The procedure involves injecting dye into the uterus and fallopian tubes, and taking very high resolution photos. Sounds expensive?? Yep! It was. $1,500 total for the the procedure, the use of the room, the radiologist, the imaging… How did I spend my Valentine’s Day in 2008? On a cold metal table, being injected with dye, and taking pictures of my insides. During the procedure, I could tell that something was wrong. The technician kept asking me to twist farther toward my left side. The dye was just pooling in my fallopian tube. Of course, technicians can’t give you their opinion… I wasn’t sure what this would mean.

I had a follow-up appointment with the OB/GYN. She had examined the images of my test. She told me that there are a few reasons that the dye would pool in the fallopian tube and not flow all the way through the tube… some type of cancer, a blockage in the tube (tubular pregnancy), or endometriosis. I was confused and worried. I had no idea what endo really was.  What could be done about it?… How do we find out the real answer? The only way to confirm any of these situations is to have a laperoscopy done to investigate further. However, the doctors at Univ. hospital were not able to help me any further. She said that the other tube was clear, so there was still a chance we could get pregnant on our own. We continued to try, praying that we would be successful.

After receiving the bill for the hysterosalpyngogram, we were not in a hurry to investigate further. In the meantime, I had been somewhat “recruited” to a different job and D was just starting a new job. Things were on hold for a bit due to the delay in our insurance coverage. In September of 2008, I went to my family doctor for other unrelated reasons. I told her about the frustrating situation I had at Univ hospital: a doctor that couldn’t explain what “ratio” was wrong with D’s numbers, and a supposed infertility specialist who “could not help us any further”. I told her everything that the male doctor had told us in our meeting. She recommended I call her friend who is an OB/GYN at a different hospital, and assured me that I would not be disappointed.

I saw the new OB/GYN in October and really liked her. She seemed to know what she was talking about, and wanted to offer whatever help she could. She then referred me to a local center for reproductive medicine to speak to a Reproductive Endocrinologist. She told me it was difficult to schedule a consultation, so I should call right away to schedule one. I called the center as I was leaving the OB/GYN. Amazingly, they had an opening the very next week!

I met with Dr. M. alone (D was unable to take time off in the middle of the day). She was wonderful!! She looked at copies of the images from my hysterosalpyngogram, asked me a few questions, and recommended I have a laperoscopy performed to investigate. She told me that she was sure that they would discover endometriosis during the procedure. She also looked at D’s test results from the other doctor; she told me that his numbers were EXCELLENT. I asked her if there were any problems with any ratios. She told me that when determining fertility of a male, there are no “ratios” to be considered. I told her about the conversations we had with the doctors at University hospital, and she was shocked to hear the false information that was given to us. She then decided that we should re-do all of the tests they performed due to the lack of trust she had in them. All of the new tests confirmed: D’s levels were great, as were mine.

We scheduled my laperoscopy for a few days before Thanksgiving. The surgery went well. The results: Stage IV endometriosis that was so severe, it had started to eat away at the lining of my abdominal muscles, and had fully destroyed my appendix (which was removed). The blocked fallopian tube was re-opened with no damage. Due to the severity, Dr. M. calculated that it would be about 6 months until the endo would be back full force once again. She recommended inseminations to increase the chance of getting pregnant within that time frame. Since D’s numbers were excellent, my hormone levels and egg health were great, and my “young” age (26), she was confident that I would be pregnant within in no time. She decided that we wait 2 months for my body to heal, then begin the insemination process in January 2009.

What an exciting time! I remember that Thanksgiving vividly. My belly was very puffy due to the air that still needed to dissipate from inside my body, and I was pretty limited to what I could do. D’s grandma told me “I’ve never seen your belly so big. I bet the next time we see your belly that big again, it’ll only be because you’re pregnant.” My heart swelled with joy. What a sweet thing to say!! I was confident that by Thanksgiving of 2009, we would either have a baby with us, or be ready to deliver our first child. I was thankful for such positive events and a hopeful outlook on the situation. What a year 2008 turned out to be!