New poster just starting infertility diagnostic tests

laura-kay · September 2018

I’m feeling pretty down right now. We’ve been TTC actively for about 15 months and weren’t preventing it for about another 3 or 4 months beyond that. As I just turned 35, my gynecologist at my last annual recommended starting testing. We really want to have children and planned to be parents much earlier than now. The rest of the women in my family all got pregnant within 2 or 3 months of trying - so I feel like I’m the unusual one of the group.

Anyways, my testing started today. I feel a bit overwhelmed by the various tests they want to do in such a short period of time, but I’m hoping it will help. At the same time, I know I would feel awful if something body is preventing us from conceiving. I’m sure my husband would feel the same way if it was him. So, I’m home from my first set of blood tests and the vaginal ultrasound. I’ll be having the HSG test next Wednesday.

So that’s where I am now....I appreciate having this forum board here!

melania86 · September 2018

I am more or less in the same situation. Welcome and may our stay here on this forum be short!

laura-kay · September 2018

Yes, I hope so as well! Good luck

northbeach3 · September 2018

Hi Laura-Kay, sorry you’ve wound up here but a great place for support. Since you had a TV u/s, did they find evidence of PCOS? That’s a common issue here on th the boards. It can result in irregular cycles which can be regulated by meds but may also affect egg quality. I’ve also read that PCOS can create a hard outer shell on your eggs which makes it difficult for sperm to penetrate. I have PCOS neither times intercourse or IUI worked. Did IVF retrieval and will be undergoing FET soon.

The HSG usually tells you whether your tubes are blocked or not. If they are blocked they usually say go straight to IVF unless you want to undergo surgery to unblock which is another pause in attempts.

Depending on your hormone levels and AMH levels, that could throw additional wrenches into your treatment plan. For example if you have diminished ovarian reserve, most women undergo severa IVF retrievals to Bank enough eggs to transfer in the future.

Given your age, I’d be more, not less, aggressive. I started TI and IUI at 35 and here I am at 37 going on my third transfer and still no THB. Just want to give you a realistic glance at the IF process. I hope and pray that your IF is relatively minor and that IUIs work or only needing one IVF cycle. You’ve come tot he right place for support and answers.

erwahler · September 2018

@laura-kay Welcome to the board! I am sorry you are finding the need to be here, but it is a great place to ask questions and get support. I understand what you mean about being worried about how you'll feel if you find out something is wrong. Another way to think about it could be if there's an identified issue, then you can work to address it without more delays and experimentation due to not knowing what is preventing you from conceiving.

Best of luck - the HSG was the toughest of the tests but it doesn't last long at all. I'll be thinking of you!

laura-kay · September 2018

Thanks for the welcomes and support! I'm done with the HSG. As I watched, I could see that things weren't going well. Turns out one is fully blocked, and the other is partially blocked. At least - a small amount came out of the left one, and none was readily visible with the right. Boy was it painful. They couldn't fit in the right instruments, and kept having to try different ones or different positions.

Is it possible for a negative test result to be caused due to tight muscles from pain?

I am glad that one is at least partially open, but I am very disappointed. I barely saw any on the left...though I could see a small amount when the doctor showed it to me.

We are going on vacation very soon. I was hoping to have good news before then. Turns out that the news isn't great. The doctor wants me to pick up the test for my husband and send it out for results. Then she wants to meet with us both after we get back from our vacation (coming home the second week of October).

This is one of the ones I really didn't want to have problems with. I have always wanted to be a mom and have a family...to think that my body is causing it to not happen...

not feeling too great right now. Really hope it works even with a partially blocked tube.

mbradfo2 · September 2018

IVF is usually what they recommend for getting around blocked tubes so the conversation might turn towards that. However, some women have found the HSG unblocks their tubes and they get pregnant -- my mom had some friends for whom this was true.

Keep your chin up; now it's time for your doc to draw up a game plan! If even you need to go IVF, it's really not that scary and the success rates are much better than IUIs or meds alone.

I also always wanted to be a mom growing up and faced infertility for 5+ years -- but IVF was our ticket to success and now we have a little girl. Just keep at it. I didn't have blocked tubes, but it turns out I had egg quality issues. Whatever your issue, there's a plan for getting you on your path to becoming a mom.

laura-kay · September 2018

Feeling down now. Waiting for results from my husband’s tests prior to the appt with our doctor. I think we may have a second opinion for this, depending on what they say, I really think there were problems with the way they tested me, in the sense of causing lots of pain (wrong size instruments, no stirrups, about an extra 10 minutes longer than normal to even get the catheter in me, etc)...maybe I’m in denial. Some people don’t seem to have this desire to the point I do - and they are just ok with whatever...but I really didn’t want this or expect it. I looked at the reasons for this to happen...and none of them seem to apply to me.

I guess I’m just still processing.

NicWalker10 · September 2018

@laura-kay this is definitely the most frustrating, heartbreaking world to be in and I am so sorry you are here. This board is great and provides a lot of useful information and support. I understand wanting to be a mom so badly and being scared at 35 that this is where you are at. We started trying to conceive at the same age and ended up in IVF as a result of MFI which is something neither my husband nor I ever even knew was a thing! So I understand being blindsided and not knowing what to do. I would say talk to your doctor and see what he or she has to say --raise the issues you have about the procedure and find out if these circumstances may affect the results. the HSG is the toughest test and honestly the most painful procedure I endured during the TTC journey. A second opinion has never hurt. While you are down now, try and look for a bright side--if this is where you are, there are solutions and answers and ways to become a mom--maybe not the old fashioned way but it is possible. I have am amazing little boy to show for the journey I never thought I would be on going through procedures I didn't even know existed. I'm grateful all of the testing pointed us to IVF and we moved on it asap so that I could have this little boy in my life at this very moment in time. One thing that helped me was seeking out as much information as I could get my hands on and by reading some of the ups and downs of others on this board really provided a great help.
good luck to you!

agaun · September 2018

@laura-kay

HSG is very painful. Also agree if you need repeat it then do. Rather get all the answers but know that with IF a lot of the time you are not left with answers and it is frustrating.
I am sorry to welcome you onto this form.

Good luck xx

New poster just starting infertility diagnostic tests

Re: New poster just starting infertility diagnostic tests

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