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Whoa... what a process - I tell ya.
Okay - so even I had to look back at my own blog and see where I left off - it's been that long. Oops! Anyway, I did go in for sonagram on August 23rd. It turned out that I had a possibly suspicious mass on one ovary (really wish I could remember which one - but I don't); however, the doctor said that these results were inconclusive because it could either be a cyst or just a "dominant follicle" (which I translated to mean - 'a big egg about to be released for ovulation'). Not much more was said about that.
My progesterone level at day 21 was FABULOUS though (which is necessary for reaching and maintaining early pregnancy); apparently mine was at 18 (anything over 5 is considered OK, and often when women are pregnant - their level is 20-25 in the beginning).
Now, I'm not sure how well everyone knows Kelly - but let's just say - she's not the most shy person I know. She often says things out loud that I might think... quietly... and keep to myself. Those of you who do know Kelly well, probably love her for this very reason (just as I do). :) At any rate, the doctor mentioned that the next step (after we try one more month) would be to get an HSG to just make sure the fallopian tubes aren't blocked. So Kelly promptly asked, "Why wait? Can't we do it now?" When the doctor said we could and that it might increase our chances of getting pregnant - Kelly basically scheduled the appointment. I mean, I was there (in the office) - but I had no say in this. ;)
So I went into to have this little HSG procedure on Friday, 9/24/10 (yeah, few weeks ago now). This is where they take dye and run it through your uterus to see if it comes out your fallopian tubes. Apparently, if it does - you're good to go - and your eggs are likely at least having the chance to meet up with the sperm (and you know what might happen from there).
First of all - let's just say, this is not the most comfortable procedure. An un-named friend of mine (who had prior experience), brilliantly provided me with some "strong" ibuprofin before I went in. Good idea! During the actual procedure, the technician ran into a glitch when she couldn't get the catheter into my uterus. Maybe this is too much information - but really... isn't that interesting?! I mean, who knew that could be a complication one might experience?! Even more interesting was the actual X-ray of my uterus!! I wish I could post that pic - but don't worry - I don't have it. At any rate, I knew I had a "retroverted uterus" (generally meaning - it tilts slightly toward the back - rather than the more common position of upright or forward). That makes sense, right?! In fact, I googled it and have an image of what a retroverted uterus is supposed to look like:
Now, let me just tell you - mine didn't quite look like that. Imagine that instead of just tilting a little toward the back - the uterus went ahead and did a back-bend! The top of my uterus is really upside down. Very odd, eh?! This is where I have to say, "Was it really my choice that I'm not 'straight'?" Just saying... Basically, the catheter would have had to do a u-turn (which I guess isn't as easy to finagle with a catheter as it is in a car). Let's the give the lady a hand here, as she was able to get the catheter in just enough (and hold it there) - to shoot the dye into the uterus anyway (*applause*)! Seriously, she earned her pay that day. Then, the dye came right out the left fallopian tube, BUT would not come out of the right side. The technician tried the usual tricks (i.e. turn your body this way, now that way, shooting more dye, etc.) - but nothing worked. She did mention that - if it was just an air bubble - it would usually work its way out or get dislodged (with the above-mentioned tricks).
After that, the X-rays had to be officially read by the Radiologist and then sent to my doctor for another official analysis. By the time this was all done (a week later) - I was going to ovulate the next day. The doctor recommended (at that time) that we do a sonagram before doing the next IUI - just to ensure that an egg could even make it through the fallopian tube. But - with only 2 hours of notice - I couldn't get out of work and into the doctor's office to have the sonogram that day. *Booooo* Hence, we couldn't do an IUI in September.
The next step is to go in for a sonogram (between day 12-14 of my cycle) and then possibly do an IUI after that (usually around the 16th day of my cycle). However, it just so happens, that Kelly and I will be on a cruise to Jamaica in October (from about day 12 to day 19 of my cycle). That means, I will not be here to do a sonogram or the IUI this month. What are we going to do, right?! The cruise ship calls...
So... I should be ovulating in November, right around the 25th - Bring on Thanksgiving!!!! :)
P.S. For those of you out there - who may one day need to get a HSG - I highly recommend taking "strong" (almost exactly like prescription strength) ibuprofen about 30 minutes before doing it. It was still uncomfortable - but bearable for me. I have to say though - the next day - I felt like I had done at least 1,283 sit-ups or I'd obviously been kicked in the ribs and stomack about 18 times over night by someone bigger than Kelly. In any case, a strong pain killer was helpful then too. Beyond that, I was just a little sore for a few days - as I think it gets a little swollen or something up in there (at least, that's what I decided anyway). Now you know... ;)
