Ok... so here's the "meat and potatoes" of what tests and treatments we have gone through since August of 2005. I believe around February 2006 Scott had his first analysis. This was a concern so early because when he was 15 years old he had surgery to correct a varicocle which was our first scare because it is connected with male infertility "...Varicoceles are the most common cause of low sperm production and decreased sperm quality, although not all varicoceles affect sperm production."
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/Varicocele/DS00618
We went back to the urologist that did Scott's surgery years ago- He sent us to go get a sperm analysis done and all checked out well. Whew.....
Right before the 12month mark my nurse/midwife gave me a external ultrasound and more blood work to make sure all my levels were where they were supposed to me and to see if my uterus was normal shape and size. All checked out well. Whew....
1 year has passed and still no positive or remotely positive home pregnancy test. Time to call in the big guns.... we made our first appointment with a reproductive endocrinologist late in July of '06. The relief I felt when we made out 1st consultation/appointment was nice. I figured if anyone is going to help me get pregnant it's this guy! I felt like it was a big step closer to success.
On our first appointment we went over family history and our own personal history. We told him about Scott's varicocele surgery and how he already had an analysis done. We also discussed a bowel obstruction surgery I had when I was 4years old and the possibility of scar tissue in and around my pelvic region. The plan was this... Run some tests and blood work first then explore options from there. He reassured us we had time on our side because we are both young and it is perfectly normal for couples just to be "slow" at getting pregnant. On that same day he gave me an internal u/s (ultra sound) to look at my ovaries, uterus and check for cysts and gave me a checklist of all the tests he was going to run. Let the games begin...
August 2006
He wanted to do another analysis on Scott so we scheduled that as well as a post coital test. A post coital test is where they check to see if Scott's sperm can easily swim in my cervical mucus. (yippee!) http://www.webmd.com/infertility-and-reproduction/guide/postcoital-test So basically- we were instructed to have "relations" the night before the appointment- At the appointment Dr. took a sample of my mucus, put it under a microscope and check to see if Scott's "boys" were happily swimming through it. Dr. actually was able to put what he was seeing in the microscope on a t.v. screen so Scott and I could take a look too. He called it the "mucus channel" HAHA! (Dr. Hecht has a wonderful, much needed sense of humor. We absolutely love him!!!) Although it sounds odd- it was so neat to see Scott's swimmers swimming and moving around like crazy. All checked out well with the post coital tests (I had to get 2 of them) as well as Scott's 2nd sperm analysis. Whew...
I also had blood work done to check my progesterone, FSH, rubella and estrodiol. All was normal/good. Next up... a Hysterosalpingogram or simply an HSG. http://www.webmd.com/infertility-and-reproduction/guide/Hysterosalpingogram-21590
I was told this felt like just like a "pap" test by my Dr. and a few people who've had it done. Uhhh... It wasn't like a pap. It was over fairly quickly but no- nothing like a pap. What this test does is check to see if your fallopian tubes are clear and not blocked. They do this by injecting a dye into the uterus (by a catheter) and take an x-ray at the same time. When I had my HSG done the Dr. couldn't get the catheter in the "normal" way he does it so they had to inflate a balloon of some sort to get the catheter in properly...??? Not pleasant. Not pleasant at all. Scott was in the room along with a nurse and an x-ray tech. I almost passed out. My teeth went numb and I started to hyperventilate and cry. Dr. Hecht stopped everything he was doing and came towards my head and told me a joke (not kidding). As I was sprawled on the the x-ray table I don't think I laughed too hard at the punch line but it did calm me down so I could get through the rest of the procedure. Just before he went to inject the dye he told me to look at a monitor to see it go through my tubes. I didn't want to.... I just kept my eyes shut and waited for it it be over. The x-ray came back normal with no blockages. Whew.... but wait-What else could be wrong then????
"You are a UNEXPLAINED infertility case." Great. I know (and am thankful) it's better than having serious medical problems or issues but what am I going to blame this unsuccessful 13months on??? He gave us some options. Possibly do 3 or 4 months of Clomiphene (Clomid) with Intrauterine Insemination (IUI) or continue to try naturally. http://www.webmd.com/drugs/drug-11204-Clomid.aspx?drugid=11204&drugname=Clomid
Clomid is the most inexpensive, easiest to take, and most popular fertility drug out there. But... this means greater risk of multiples, miscarriage, etc., etc..... The IUI's are not covered by insurance and were in the $300/each range. What is done for IUI is Scott's sperm is collected and injected directly into my uterus- closer to where it needs to be to fertilize my egg. "cutting out the middle man so to speak" http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/intrauterine-insemination/AN00867
Dr. also explained that in order for him to check for scar tissue (due to bowel obstruction) I needed to get surgery (laparoscopy) and he didn't seem to adamant on putting me through surgery if I didn't need it. So based on his suggestions we decided to try the Clomid/IUI. Although I felt sad and upset it had come to this I was so so so anxious and excited to move on to this step. i was so certain this would work.... It had to. Right???
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