The Procedures:

A Sonohysterogram...

In August 2013, we went to the doctor because I was having some pain and irregular bleeding in between periods. Sometimes I would have light bleeding for as much as a week between periods and my periods were lasting longer than normal. My doctor decided it would be best to check and make sure everything was okay with a Sonohysterogram.

A sonohysterogram is basically a procedure where the doctor does a transvaginal ultrasound while fluid is injected into the uterus through a catheter to help give a better view of the uterine lining and any abnormalities. The pain of this is similar to the HSG I had undergone previously, and the endometrial biopsy I had done earlier this week. It is a pain that feels almost dull and sharp at the same time. The worst part is that it is not like stubbing your toe where it hurts really bad for a minute then the pain gradually dissipates, this is a pain that is constant and does not get better until the doctor is finished seeing what he needs to see. On the pain scale, the endometrial biopsy wins first place (although the pain is not as constant as the other two), with the HSG coming in second and Sonohysterogram coming in close at third most painful. They all feel similar, are miserably painful and I never want to have any of them done again!

During that first Sonohysterogram (yes I had to have another one, but that is a story for another day) I just kept telling myself to relax, but I couldn't help but tense up! So I tried to take slow deep breaths-despite the strong urge to hold my breath. It lasted for five or ten minutes, I am not really sure. That might not sound like long, but it feels like FOREVER when you're in constant pain waiting for it to end. I don't know how to describe it in one word, but it was definitely more than just uncomfortable. It is a pain I have never experienced through any common injury. Don't let me scare you-it is bearable-it is just a unique pain. The closest common experience I can think of is menstrual cramps, but it hurts so much worse! And to top it off you are left with the pain of cramps and sometimes a little spotting for several hours after.

The sonohysterogram gave us our first bad results: the doctor found a polyp. A polyp is kind of like a mole inside the uterus. Polyps commonly cause miscarriages, so I had to have it removed before we could do our first IVF cycle. It was also likely the cause for my irregular bleeding. I was glad they knew what was wrong, but still felt like nothing was going our way.

The doctor said since I had still had 3 months of Norethindrone in my future, there was no rush to get the polyp removed. We had a vacation coming up (trip to Houston for an NFL game in September-Ryan is the Texans #1 fan), so we decided to put the surgery off for a while so I would not be recovering on vacation. It was around this time that we decided to wait on IVF for a little longer. The way things were going, we were going to be completing our cycle in the end of December. We decided we may as well wait until after the new year to get started, just in case a senate bill that would provide a tax credit for infertility treatments passed in 2014 (read about the bill here). IVF is so expensive and we thought if there was even a small chance of getting some of that money back (especially since our insurance had a $7500 maternity deductible we had to look forward to paying), it was worth waiting another month.

...and a Hysteroscopy 

I ended up scheduling my Hysteroscopy to have the polyp removed for November 4. My mom took me in for it (Ryan was in Houston with my brother-in-law at a football game…don’t worry, I got even later!) A Hysteroscopy is an easy out-patient procedure. The worst part was that I could not eat or drink anything after midnight and my procedure was not scheduled until 3:30 pm! Once I got there, they asked for a urine sample (standard procedure to make sure I wasn't pregnant before going under anesthesia). I asked the nurse if he was kidding-I hadn't had a drop to drink in 15 hours! He wasn't. They always say they only need a few drops, well that is all they got!

Once I got into the room I changed into a gown and the nurses got me all settled in with warm blankets (my favorite thing about being in a hospital) and started my IV. Then my doctor and another who would assist him came in to talk to me about the procedure. I lied and told them Ryan was out of town on business (you can guess how I was feeling about his trip at this moment!) Before I knew it the anesthesiologist went to work, I fell asleep and next thing I knew I was waking up in the recovery room with my mom sitting next to me. What they did, is they use a small viewing device to see the inside of my uterus and then just snipped the polyp off. Quick and easy…I think I was out for less than an hour, but the anesthesia left that whole day a little cloudy. They go in vaginally so there was no incision to heal, just the spot inside where they cut off the polyp.

From there we picked up my prescription (pain medication) at the pharmacy downstairs and my mom took me to pick up dinner at Zupas and then home. She was so great to have there! What girl doesn’t want her mommy when she feels under the weather? We ate our dinner (and had some dessert) while we watched a movie (or two? I can't remember...) then she helped me get into bed and she went home. I do remember she offered to spend the night, but I insisted she go home so she could wake up and go to work in the morning at her normal time. I ended up getting by just fine on my own… I watched lots of movies, took my pain pills and slept off and on all of the next day, then Ryan got home that night.

Really the recovery process was easier than I expected. Since they did not go in through my stomach, there was no muscle tissue that had to heal: I had some spotting and felt really crampy for a few days. It was an easier recovery than the laparoscopy (which left two small incisions) I’d had several years before…after that I could not even sit up without a little push!

At my check up a few weeks later the doctor showed me pictures of the inside of my uterus and told me everything was normal and good (including the polyp which was benign). As we had with everything before this, we just considered this procedure another step on the path to pregnancy. We had to think of each delay as a step towards progress in order to stay hopeful-and sane really. We just had the holidays and then we would be starting IVF!