HSG...

Today was it. I am so tired I will probably have to spend all weekend catching up on my lost nights of sleep over this. For those of you who are unfamiliar, a hysterosalpingogram (hsg) is a diagnostic test that they do with a dye injected into your girly bits that flows into your tubes and all that goodness and out into your abdomen if all is well. If there is a blockage which would prevent eggs from meeting their friendly fishies the dye will stop at the blockage.

Well anyway, first my wonderful little brother (who is a very good sport) was the one who took me to the hospital for the test. We had a bit of fun at school with him yesterday because he didn't know why he was taking me to the hospital just that he was. He was still a great guy and graciously waited in the waiting room for me and I made sure to thank him with dinner later on.

I got to admitting and at first the volunteer couldn't find me in the system. Finally a nice lady came and helped him out and got me all set up and then they walked me down to the waiting room for radiology. I was scared to death!

I wasn't scared so much about the procedure but more about the results which would determine our next step in the IF journey.

The radiologist was super nice and explained in detail the procedure and told me to go drop my skivvies and don a gown. The other radiologist who had set up the room forgot to put a gown in there so I had to wait a bit for her to hunt one up. Then they got me up on the table and I was shakin in my socks but geared up for the test and she came in to say the doctor had gotten stuck in a CT scan and would be 15 minutes to an hour late. She brought me a nice heated blankie and told me to just hang out (skivvyless) until he showed. I was about to doze off and he showed up. He was very nice and personable which is unusual in the medical world sometimes.

I want to stop a bit and tell about the procedure because before I had this I was terrified and I wasn't sure what to expect. Thankfully my Cysters at Soulcysters prepared me and I felt much more confident knowing what was going to happen so hopefully I can help someone else out too... bear with me....

The doctor came in and explained what was about to happen and we went through it step by step. I was told to lie on an x-ray table and the speculum was inserted. The doctor inserted a tiny catheter into my cervix and inflated a small balloon on the end of it. This was not exactly painful but I did feel a bit uncomfortable. It was nothing like having a urinary catheter but at the same time I did feel it going into my uterus but it wasn't so much painful as it was weird.

I did feel the balloon also but that wasn't as odd as the actual placement of the catheter. It took a minute to get the balloon in place and then he injected the dye. It was a strange feeling at first and then it did hurt a bit going in. It was almost like a burning but not exactly and it wasn't bad at all just (again) bizarre. They will take multiple pictures at different angles now. I was lucky to have a very new x-ray room where I never had to move. The x-ray machine moved all around me, but I had a friend at work that did have to change positions several times at her hsg. Once the pictures are done the speculum was removed. Some doctors will show you the results right there, some won't. My radiologist explained that with my doctor sometimes he just didn't think about it and that I should ask. She was great and went on to ask for me. The doctor stopped before removing the catheter and showed me the pictures and explained it to me. He then removed the catheter and exited stage left. By this point I was cramping a lot but it wasn't a heavy feeling like my af. It hurt more than it was heavy like af is for me. It wasn't unbearable at all though just a pain in the butt. the radiologist told me I could go get dressed and had a pad for me. I brought my own because I had been told that sometimes they don't provide those. I was more comfortable with mine anyway. She led me back out and took my ID bracelet and sent me on my way. The paperwork and prep for it took longer than the actual procedure which took maybe five minutes.

When I was done on the way home I was very thankful for someone to drive me home. The cramping was very uncomfortable and it was nice to not worry about driving. Again though, the pain wasn't that bad just like cramps sorta. Three hours later I'm not really having any cramps at all but I am still leaking a bit. The doc also told me to expect a bit of spotting and bleeding but that it was totally normal and did not mess up my cycle.

I will say, I came knowing there would probably be a bit of cramping so I had taken an 800mg ibuprofen before leaving the house so that it would have time to take effect. Was it totally necessary? For some maybe not. I think for me it was a really good idea. I also made sure to have a warm shirt and warm socks because hospitals are usually cold. It made the cold metal x-ray table bearable. The driver was wonderful and just knowing that it wasn't a painful procedure made it better. The results were the scariest part of the whole thing and they were what kept me awake at night. I have a lot of scar tissue from previous surgery though so the odds of a blockage were really high for me.

The results.....

ALL Clear!!!!!

Just hearing the results made the cramps seem so insignificant and the loss of dignity worth it! Let's face it though with IF there is never any dignity. Our girly bits are left out there for all to see.

I guess this means we are on our way to Clomid and I feel like maybe trying with a little more gusto this month. At least I know that things can get where they need to get. Hubby still needs to get his SA done but for now we can go on with our lives as planned. Sorry for such a long post but I wanted to share my experience in case someone else has the same fears or questions.