The SHG

This morning I had the much dreaded, much anticipated SHG which is a sonohysterogram vs the HSG which stands for I don’t know what and involves dye. Mine involved air and saline.

I made J run out with me last night to purchase some Midol. I don’t normally take ibuprofen as there is this possibility (urban legend? Not sure) it interferes with conceiving. I’m not taking any chances there. I still consume caffeine—you know the other dark meat. So this morning I was up early, before J to shower and get ready as I made my appointment for the ungodly hour of 8am. I arrived in plenty of time and filled out my paperwork. The receptionist gave me an information sheet that described the procedure in detail. Such as we will then insert a catheter through you vagina into your cervix. Lots of detail I was not necessarily keen to know because I’m squeamish. After signing my name I tucked the info sheet into the dark recesses of my purse and tried to put it out of my mind. I was the first to arrive at the office so I was hoping for a minimal wait time and within 5 minutes my name was called. The ultrasound tech explained the procedure yet again….seriously people I don’t want to know. She then told me to empty my bladder and undress from the waist down.

First up was the vaginal ultrasound or more affectionately the dildo cam. Complete with a condom. I respect Mr. Dildo Cam-he practices safe sex. The U/S tech dug around in my vagina with Mr. D.C. causing me to do my version of Lamaze/Yoga breathing. My uterus looks good, good size and shape, nothing lurking there. My right ovary was more difficult to find. Apparently I had gas. LOL. I almost asked her if she needed me to fart but thought better of it. She moved to the left and took a few pictures of my left ovary. Then back to the right. After much prodding and poking(thank god sex does not feel like that) she was able to push the gas bubble away and take a few snapshots. At the top of my cavity however she detected something not so good but reassured me the doctor would take a look.

Next the doctor came in. Why do doctors feel the need to make small talk while their head is in your crotch? I mean honestly please just get in there and do what must be done and let me get on my way. I really don’t want to hear about how you injured you elbow this weekend or the tractor trailer with the lost load of watermelon. Anyway, he talked me through the entire procedure explaining what he was doing as he went. The worst aspect for me was cleaning my cervix. That was uncomfortable. Soon the saline and air were inserted which resulted in slight cramping but the last biopsy I had was more uncomfortable. I saw the bubbles on screen and the air/water shot straight through my left tube. Same with my right so that is a relief. The baby making passages are open. :D

However, that thing the U/S tech saw at the top of my uterine cavity? There is definitely something there. It appears to be a polyp. The doctor explained there is a strong possibility of an embryo attaching to the polyp instead of my uterus meaning the embryo will not survive as it will not receive any nourishment, therefore this is a concern. However, the issue is easily rectified. The doctor mentioned a D&C to clear out the polyp. We’ll find out more from Sally tomorrow. Hopefully, we can schedule that quickly. The doctor was surprised to learn I do not have abnormal bleeding through my cycle. I told him I never have and my periods last between 5-6 days. He said that could be abnormal. I’ve never been told that is a concern before so I’m not sure what to make of that.

I called J to give him the news and he asked the question I had been wondering since I left the office. How long has that been there? My last vaginal U/S was in 1998 for a lump around my ovary which turned out to be nothing. So we have a 10 year time frame to look at. Who knows.

I hope we get more answers at tomorrow’s appointment. Yesterday J’s dad looked at me and asked, “Do you think I’ll be a grandfather next Father’s Day?” I told him I hoped so. Only time will tell.

Sweet Relief courtesy of Dave Ramsey

I paid off 3 bills today. Woot! My timeshare, my LAST credit card and Jason's student loan. Done, finito, GONE! I get to call Cap. One when I get home this evening and cancel that card then shred the little bastard! It was nice to wipe out 3 debts like that today. We have two small debts left before we hit the big ones, truck pymt, a personal loan, my student loan and the 2nd mortgage.

The latest in my infertility

With the arrival of AF, I dropped by the doctor's office today to donate a little blood so they can test for a few hormone levels. I also scheduled an appointment for next Monday at 8am to have air and water flushed into my female regions to check for blockages, scar tissue etc. I've heard the procedure is not pleasant and can be painful. Ibuprofen is a must prior to the procedure and a friend even suggested valium. I think I can manage with Ibuprofen. My pain tolerance is low but not that low. I just whine a lot. I'm hopeful for not pleasant considering I must return to work after I see my tubes on TV. Then the next day armed with all of our results from the sonogram of my uterus & tubes, the bloodwork and J's semen analysis we sit down with our doctor and discuss the next step. I did buy a Clear Blue Easy Fertility Monitor in April so I can finally give that a try this cycle. I set it up on Saturday so I'm just waiting for it to begin asking me to pee on a stick.

And the RE said.....

The appointment with the RE went well. We both really like her. J thought she talked too fast but I talk fast so I’m oblivious to that on most occasions. She talked with us for about an hour, took our history etc. I did take a pregnancy test since I’m so very late even though I told her the HPTs I took were negative. Results are negative.

She told us she works in 3 months plans. Once we have some testing done she’ll make plans for the next 3 months, if no success, the next 3 and so on and so forth.

First she gave me a script for Prometrium to induce AF. I started the pills last night and will hopefully have AF within the week.

Two, I have to call on CD1 to schedule CD2, CD3, or CD4 bloodwork where she will test for FSH(follicle stimulating hormone, LH(luteinizing hormone) and Prolactin. My OB/GYN already tested my thyroid etc so she won’t repeat that test yet.

On CD1 I will also schedule a airsonohysterogram(I think I am spelling that correctly). This procedure will look at my tubes, uterus and ovaries to look for blockages. She said in lieu of dye this uses air and water. It sounds interesting and a wee bit weird. She uses this test instead of the dye just in case I have an allergy to the dye. The test will have to be done the day after I stop bleeding and no later than day CD10 based on the length of my typical period.

J has to go in ASAP for an SA(sperm analysis). He is kind of nuts at work right now so once that calms down, hopefully in the next day or so I’ll schedule him. I’m a little worried about his performance. I know he is dreading it more for the comfort factor than anything else. I think he is embarrassed about having to do the SA at all. Our RE reassured him all men that come to her office feel the same way.

A few things she mentioned just from our talk and looking at my charts is that I may have a problem with my luteal phase as there seems to be a long time frame between my ovulation and AF starting. She’s not going to bother with my progesterone levels yet because my OB only checked on CD21 regardless of when or if I O’d so she feels the results from the last 4 cycles are not accurate. She may put me on Clomid again but not until after the 1st round of tests. I am to stop charting immediately which isn’t a big deal since I put the thermometer away several weeks ago. She said she will handle all the testing and whatnot and will instruct me if/when I need to temp or use OPKs. She reassured me that she’ll know and that her goal is to find out what is going on to help us conceive!

I'm feeling very positive and hoping for a resolution. My worst fear would be unexplained infertility or an unfixable issue like a complete tube blockage.

T- 1 day

Tomorrow is the BIG day. We go see our RE. I'm either going to be massively disappointed or very happy.

AF is very late. No, I'm not pregnant. I've taken two tests and both were negative, unless I am one of those very rare women who NEVER get a positive HPT. I doubt it though as I did have a positive last year even though it did not turn out as hoped or expected.

Deck progress-Very slow. We have half a floor down. J bought 25 floor boards on Saturday, cut them later that day and screwed them in place yesterday. We need to purchase the remaining 27 boards this week or weekend. Railings will follow later as we don't have small children to worry about at this point and the deck at it's tallest is about 2 feet off the ground. We did opt for the composite decking for the deck floor so we are doing our small part to be green. We do happen to live in the 6 worst state for emissions/energy consumption.

Is Murphy being the meanest SOB on the planet?

I'm CD41, no AF yet obviously. Boobs started getting sore last night which is a typical 1-2 week prior to AF symptom. However, very vein-y boobs this morning-not typical. I haven't tested because I thought what was the point. Progesterone was way too low and we stopped BDing around the time I had the blood test. I assume this cycle is annov. But there is a small part of me that is wondering. Now that I've typed this I'll get a BFN because I swear on my pinkie toe the minute I start contemplating the possibility of a BFP, Murphy shows up and goes Nah, Nah, Nah. What as an ASSHAT! Honestly, even if I did get a faint line I would not believe it is a viable pregnancy. How can one go from a progesterone level of 0.7 not quite 3 weeks ago to a viable pregnancy?

Reproductive Endocrinologist and bullets

~Appointment is set for June 3rd at 11am. I cannot wait.

~Heading to Florida for the 4th of July! We are staying with Dupree and he has a place right on the beach...or so he says. :)

~Heading to Mexico at the end of July for vacay. A week of pure bliss I hope.

~Sink/plumbing issue in the bathroom. Stupid 50-60 year old pipes! J is home today working to fix this issue and is also installing a heating/AC vent in the bathroom. Yippee!

~Picked up patio chairs and cushions yesterday so the table is no longer lonely. Just need to get that deck built!

~Looking forward to a 3 day weekend.

~My husband is now a member of the Knights Templar! Congrats baby!