New Here-hydro tubes-what to do?!

meli505

Hey everyone, 

I'm new here and finally reaching out for some support and advice. No one around me understands what I'm going thru, I'm sick of the blank stares and awkward silences. I'm ready to talk openly about struggling with infertility. I am 30, married and have been TTC naturally for 5+ yrs with no luck. I have regular, extremely painful cycles accompanied by terrible pms. I have pain with ovulation as well. I have a short cycle of 26 days with ovulation occurring on day 14, I believe and have had it show up on prediction kits. I had an HSG test which showed bilateral hydrosalpinx, with both tubes draining. My OBGYN says I need a lap to get more info and check for fibroids, endometriosis and the state of my tubes. I have been putting off the lap b/c I don't want to lose my tubes, I know it's silly but I don't like the idea! If my hydro is open and draining back into my uterus it can be toxic to a pregnancy. But- it seems like if that were the case I would be having miscarriages instead of no sign of preg? I've never missed a period or had a positive test. I had an infection in my teens that could have caused the hydro and I'm afraid my other tube is damaged and neither are functional. My doctor wants to do the lap, remove the hydro and proceed with IVF but I can't possibly afford it anytime soon and my husband is active duty military so working around IVF would be difficult. Is tubal drainage and repair really as futile as everyone says? Has anyone had any luck with TTC naturally with a hydrosalpinx or a drained/repaired tube? I have to do something and get this process moving forward, I'm just not quite ready to give in and take out a loan for IVF yet. Thanks everyone and looking forward to meeting y'all!

kushie77

Welcome.  I'm sorry you find yourself here.  I have no experience with hydrosaplinx so I'm afraid I have no words of wisdom for you in that regard.  I hope you are able to sort out what is the best plan for you and you are able to move forward. 

dancerspose

Hello, and welcome to 3T.  I don't have any advice about hydrosalpinx, but I did have a question.  You mention your OB/GYN, but have you been to see an RE yet?  If not, I strongly recommend seeing one.  With your husband in the military (thank you both for your service!) I've heard it can be difficult to get the referral to an RE, but I believe @iPutKetchuponKetchup may have some good advice for navigating the TriCare system. 

Good luck!

Hollowvic

Hi and welcome, sorry I don't have any advice on hydrosaplinx either but I can relate to having to wait because of the cost of IVF. There are options though, loans, home equity (if you own a home), I'm just putting some out there because the cost was a huge issue for us also, so I know that stress. @shafwilson‌ gave you some good advice, I'm pretty sure @iPutKetchupOnKetchup‌ has some good advice for you. Thank you and your husband for your service as well, good luck and hope you get some answers soon. Also want to reiterate was shafwilson said about seeing an RE if you're not already, that is super important.

BunnyBerry

Welcome! I'm so sorry you have had that unhappy news.

I know it must be frustrating to hear, but a laparoscopy is really necessary at this point. If your tubes do have the chance to be repaired, your surgeon can take that opportunity to repair them...and pregnancy can't really be hoped for anyway when there is a hydrosalpinx creating that lethal environment for embryos. And yes, a hydro (even a partially draining one) causes IVF rates to drop, if you end up going that route.

As far as the terrible pain with O and PMS, a lap to remove endo can make a huge difference! Not to mention that even level 1 endo creates a hostile environment in which it is extremely hard for a follicle to get to the tube in full health. If the hydro was caused by an infection, there is also a good chance that there are adhesions (scar tissue) within the abdomen that can contribute to the pain and also create that unhealthy environment. A lap would be a chance to deal with probably multiple IF causes. 

I recently had a lap for endo and they also found adhesions from my Crohn's disease. The RE said that there was no way a healthy egg was getting to a sperm when the pelvic environment had been so inflammatory. I feel so blessed to have had 2 almost pain free periods since then. We, too, have been trying over 5 years, so I totally understand your feeling about not feeling ready to move on to more invasive measures. I'm almost 30 as well, and something just kind of clicked and I realized that it was time to get help identifying and solving the problem! It suddenly hit me that if we don't take these steps at some point, we will probably live our lives without children (at least without biological children) and that really put it into perspective for me.

I hope you can find some peace moving forward, even if that's taking a breather/break to really process this stressful situation. Good luck with whatever you choose!

meli505

Hey, nice to meet y'all! I feel so much better just starting this conversation, I've been trying to go it alone and that $h!t will drive you crazy. Thanks for all the welcomes and advice, will everyone who commented see this reply of mine or do I need to reply individually? My newb is showing, I know.....  Anyways, I've been having to move pretty regularly due to the military stuff but we should be getting settled in August, GA in January. My hubby is doing a training in TX and I'm staying with family in FL right now. So it's been hard to get a referral and get established with a plan. Now I need to look for a new OBGYN and a RE but if I don't wait until we're in GA and I get one here in FL, I'll have to switch again in a few months A lot to follow, I know guys, sorry. But anyways, I know I have to have the lap, I'm just afraid they are going to find a total mess in there, I've had nightmares about it, lol. I just need to find a doctor I trust and get the insurance worked out. I know my hydro has to go, I may even feel better afterwards! Thank you @iPutKetchupOnKetchup for the Tricare info and for looking into my condition on google, so nice of you! I did get in touch with Walter Reed and they said they don't currently have a waiting list which was nice to hear but still, we don't have the money saved yet to try. Anyway, first things first, gotta get the lap and whatever the result at least I will know what to do next. Thanks again everyone, wishing you all well!

meli505

Hey BunnyBerry,

Thanks for all the info, sounds like you have had to learn all this the hard way, I really feel for you! So with your lap were they able to remove the adhesions and endo, does it come back or do you take meds to improve it? I can't even fathom a pain-free period, congrats on that, after going thru the pain it must be such a relief. I need to read up on endo, I've just been focusing on my hydro tube and tubal damage but the endo is probably a huge factor as well, like you pointed out. I'm going to get the process started for getting a lap, no more putting it off. Once you hit the TTC for 5 yrs mark it really hits you, I know! But at least we are learning and building character along the way right? lol.  Goodluck to you, thanks again for the support and info