Hello everyone!
I am a newbie here. My name is Angela, I am 26, and I live in Northern Virginia. My DH and I have been TTC our first child for 11 months.
Last month we decided it may be in our best interest to see a fertility specialist. The experience (up until last Wednesday 10/28) has been a positive one. The doctor and nurses are super friendly, and I have felt really comfortable with them.
I had my initial consult, two ultrasounds during different times in my cycle, bloodwork, cultures, and an HSG test.
The HSG test is where I got pushed to my limit. The test hurt SO BAD, and I was not prepared for that kind of pain. The doctor had a lot of trouble inserting the catheter, and when he finally did get it in, I felt an intense sharp pain that made me jump off the table. The pain was short lived, lasting around a minute or so, but it felt like the longest minute of my life. It took a good four days to stop cramping from the test. My test came back normal.
I am still suppose to have a sonohystogram and an endometrial biopsy done, but the pain of the HSG test has me a little traumatized. I told the nurse at the fertility clinic that I want to politely decline my remaining tests. She was nice about it. I haven't heard anything back from my doctor, and I am not sure if he wants to do a follow up appointment with me because I have not completed all the recommended tests. I am afraid of getting bullied into doing these other tests.
Some other info: my DH did his first SA and it came back with low motility (not sure of the numbers because the doctor didn't tell us). He repeated a second SA today, so I guess we will just have to wait and see what that reveals.
Bottom line... Am I crazy for declining the other two tests? To my knowledge, all my tests have been normal (I'm not 100% sure because I haven't been to a follow up appointment). I am really overwhelmed that I have to go through these procedures, and if my DH's sperm motility/count is of concern, I don't see why I have to subject myself to more painful tests. What do you guys think?
Thanks everyone for hearing my story!! It's a difficult time for me, and this seems like a great place to come for support.
Re: Overwhelming fertility tests
BFP1 12/24/14 - EDD 09/07/15 (D/C 8w1d)
BFP2 6/12/15 - EDD 2/22/16 (D/C 10w3d)
———
Diagnoses and Treatments
PCOS (myo-inositol, excercize)
Indeterminant levels of APS IgM antibodies (baby aspirin)
Sub-septate uterus (hysteroscopic septoplasty 12/18/15)
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BFP3 05/02/16 EDD 01/09/17 DS born 01/05/17
BFP4 01/28/19 EDD 10/?/19 🤞🙏
/loss mentioned/
TTC#1 July 2014
dx: MFI (morphology)
IUI #1 w/Clomid + Ovidrel Sept. 2015 ~ BFN
IUI #2 w/Clomid + Ovidrel Halloween 2015 ~ BFN
IUI #3 w/Clomid + Ovidrel Thanksgiving 2015 ~ BFP!!
hb 146 bpm at 7w5d
1/28/16 ~ began to say goodbye to our beautiful baby at 11w
d&c, followed by cytotec
TTCAL April 2016
IUI #4 w/Clomid + Ovidrel Apr. 2016 ~ BFN
IUI #5 w/Clomid + Ovidrel ~ CP
IUI#6 w/Clomid + Ovidrel ~ BFN
I am stressing myself out worrying about if my doctor giving me a hard time, or wondering what's going to happen next.
If my DHs SA comes back with abnormal results, my RE is going to refer him to a urologist, so hopefully we will get some answers in the near future.
In the meantime I have my DH eating 1/2 cup of walnuts a day, and taking ashwagandha supplements in an effort to boost sperm motility/count. I read some studies that report improvement with these methods. Can't hurt I guess!
I've been told that no other procedures hurt like that one does... But outside of the HSG the only other test I've had was a blood test for AMH levels so I can't speak from personal experience. I wasn't recommended for anything else by my RE. Did your RE give you reasons for the other tests?
Me: 34, DH: 38 ~ TTC since 2014
IUI #1-3 (Nov 2015, Feb 2016, May 2016) = BFNs
IVF ER (July 2016) = 7 PGS normal embryos
FET #1 (Sept 2016) = BFP! DD born 5/30/17
FET #2 (April 2019) = BFN
FET #3 (July 2019) = BFP! DS born 3/27/20