So I don't want drag the rest of our back story on too long, but I do think it's important to give anyone who happens upon this a sense of what we've tried/been through to date. I'm just going to pick up where I left off with my last post. Here goes:
A few months after discovering that the uterine fibroid was not likely the cause of our infertility I decided to see a surgical gynecologist (my OBGYN actually referred me to him) to discuss the option of removal. I was unconvinced that it wasn't causing at least some of our trouble and it makes for additional discomfort and cramping during my "normal" cycle. And I guess part of me just wanted a second opinion.
I met with Dr. O in July. He inquired about my gynecological history, looked over my charts and immediately asked if I'd been checked for endometriosis. I indicated that I had not. Dr. O said it was likely that I had the condition (many women do) and it could be the cause of our struggles. He recommended a laproscopic procedure to diagnose and remove any endometriosis he found. A simple outpatient procedure, in and out. I agreed to it and scheduled the surgery for the beginning of August.
The morning of the laproscopy (which was performed by Dr. O and Dr. J) I signed all of the consent forms and listened carefully to what they planned to do. Once they'd finished describing how they would remove any endometriosis, Dr. J asked, "If we find you have a tipped uterus or anything like that while we're in there do we have your consent to perform a uterine suspension?" I agreed, not thinking much of anything else. Certainly I just had endometriosis, which of course was the root of my infertility. They were about to zap it out. I'd be pregnant in a few months. Get on with it!
As they wheeled me away I kissed my husband and drifted off into the anesthesia with dreams of babies. I woke up feeling like I'd been hit by a train. Incredibly nauseated with, pain in my lower abdomen like I'd never experienced. I was groggy and disoriented and growing panicky as I looked frantically for my husband, doctor or someone I at least recognized. Finally Dr. J came by and explained that they had not found endometriosis. What they'd discovered was that my uterus was indeed tipped and my ovaries were incredibly smooth. I had no idea what he was talking about. He went on to explain that the tipped uterus was a common abnormality. Simply a matter of how the uterus sits in ones pelvic region. As opposed to being straight up and down, my little bugger was leaning back toward my spine. So they strung it up. Pretty straight forward.
But the smooth ovaries? Apparently that's a sign of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Something none of my blood work indicated that I had, but there they were... quite smooth. I have images to prove it. I'll spare you by not including them in the post. So doctors J & O performed a procedure known as a wedge re-sectioning or ovarian diathermy (aka. they drilled my ovaries). This is where the extreme pain came in. I was in too much pain to process Dr. J's explanation at the time. Thankfully my husband was finally shown in and he was able to get the information necessary for the next few days.
Coming out of the anesthesia is miserable. I don't know that I've ever felt so helpless and weak. Even when the anesthesia had worn off, my stomach was so raw I couldn't hold down the pain medication. And I really needed the pain medication. I'm sure "ovarian drilling" says it all.
Mr. B finally called Dr. J and have him prescribe an anti-nausea suppository. Ick. Long story short it helped, I was able to take pain meds. and begin my recovery. I wasn't back to normal for about two weeks. But I was able to do most things, carefully, after three or four days.
As terrible as the process was. I felt so full of hope. I felt sure that we were on the road to a baby. It was our time.
We started "trying" again in October. In January we had our first IUI. It was unsuccessful... From here I'm going to shorten this whole story by summarizing. I'll inevitably go back through some of the details in later posts but this is becoming tedious to recount which I can only imagine would be that much more tedious to read! We've had three IUI attempts total. We "try" every month but some months are ore aggressive than others (ie. drugs, shots, etc.). We're currently drug-free in our efforts. I'm exercising normally again (thanks god! - this is a whole different story) and aside from a few dietary restrictions life is basically normal. Except, of course, for the continual want for a child. Oh, I'm also seeing a therapist this afternoon. I can't wait. Really. I think it's long overdue.
And that's it. I'll write again soon(ish). Until then...
Mrs. B
