Newbie!

wifeinraleigh28

Hi everyone.  Lately I've been doing a lot of googling to try to figure out what to expect and to see if others are going through what I'm going through, and I kept landing on these message boards.  I just read through all the guidelines so I think introducing myself is the next logical step and I hope that these forums will end up being a good place for me to connect with others who are going through fertility issues!  The last thing I want is to feel alone in this, as I'm sure a lot of you can relate!

The basics about me are that I'm 29 and my husband is 33.  I keep trying to remind myself that even though I don't get to be a mom right now, I still get to be a wife, and that makes me all sorts of happy!

So here's our situation.  Even before my husband and I started TTC, we knew there might be an issue.  My husband had testicular surgery for twisted testicle when he was 10 years old.  Some people lose a lot of testicular functioning as a result of this kind of surgery.  Pretty early on when we started TTC, we thought it really couldn't hurt to do a SA just to see what we're dealing with.  The results were extremely disheartening.  We've done 2 SA so far and the first showed a concentration of 4 million/ml and the second showed 8.5 million/ml.

Yesterday my husband and I met with a RE for the first time, and he looked at our SA results and his exact words were, "we can get you pregnant with this but we're going to have to do IUI or IVF."  He explained the process and what we would have to do for each, starting with an HSG and AMH for me, which we completed yesterday.  The HSG gave me the worst pain I've ever felt (at least in that part of my body) so much so that I was worried I might pass out and felt lightheaded for about an hour after the procedure.  I was in pain for the rest of the day, and had difficulty walking yesterday evening.  Today I'm feeling a little bit better, but not back to normal yet.  I've been googling pain from HSG tests like crazy since I had the procedure, and it sounds like everyone has a different experience.  A lot of what I read said that you should only experience pain if they discover a blockage.  I had no blockage, but still experienced excruciating pain.  I would love to hear others' experiences with this test!  I also had blood drawn yesterday for an AMH (I think it's for egg count?) but I won't get those results for about a week.  Before we left the clinic yesterday, we also scheduled a Follistim class for next month about a week before my cycle begins.

I'm really nervous about the whole process and I'm having a difficult time remembering everything the doctor went over yesterday, and all that we have to do.  I think our plan right now is to try IUI (at least for 3 rounds since that's what our insurance covers).  And then if that doesn't work we will probably try IVF (not covered by our insurance).  I'm so new to this and I'm looking for a community to be part of while we go through this extremely stressful and emotionally difficult process.  This sounds like a good place to do that!  So hello!!

riveridgional

Hello!! Best of luck to you! Yeah, it seems everyone's experience with HSG during and after are so different. Maybe you had a small blockage that the dye pushed through and now you're clear and ready to go!! Congrats on taking productive steps to reach your baby dreams! I'm glad you're getting answers and a plan moving forward. I've never done an IUI before, but many ladies here have. Hopefully the first time works for you!!

ceclarlinetlo

Welcome! FX your treatment works quickly!

wifeinraleigh28

Thanks for the welcome!  What did y'all find were the best resources or websites for information on infertility?

riveridgional

@gold25 A lot of people recommend reading Taking Charge of your Fertility. I haven't read it, but it's frequently recommended. Prior to seeing my RE, I was a big fan of Dr. Google, though obviously it's not always reliable and sometimes a bit too sensational, but I would try to focus on fertility center websites.

I also enjoy reading people's experiences here and on the infertility board, which is a bit more active.