Welcome

It has been a while since I posted last. A lot has happened. I had surgery to remove a polyp from my uterus. The surgery went really well. I really like my doctor a lot. My mom was in town during the procedure and for a few days after and she and my hubby took great care of me. I was interviewing for a couple of jobs, but discontinued the process so that I could spend Christmas with my family.

We had a great Christmas with everyone. It was so good to see Mike's parents and Granny and we were very sad that we missed Uncle Corky but we were glad that he was going to get to see everyone on Christmas day. Then we spent actual Christmas day and a few days before with my family. My mom and dad, Ian and Monica, Donovan and Sharon, Ciaran, Sian, Caleb, Leah and Levi, plus three dogs. It was a full house!

Now we are back home and have begun the new year with great news. After 4 years of trying off-and-on to have a child. We are pregnant!!! We are just two weeks in, and while I am filled with the fear that I'm sure most new mothers face (that the pregnancy won't go full term) I am enjoying so much feeling my stomach do the little changes, stretching and rolling. I read that not everyone feels that, so I am very happy that I am getting to. I had another blood test today and they will call later to tell me if my "betas" are "doubling" the way they are supposed to. Then they will set up an appointment next week for an ultrasound.

I am so happy, and scared, and peaceful (which is strange because peaceful doesn't come along often for me.) Lots of friends have wished us well and family has cried and screamed and smiled. For all of the prayers that this day would come...I am so very thankful. I truly don't believe it would've happened if we hadn't had so many people, both old and very, very young and everything in between, praying for us.

Welcome to the beginning of your life, baby.

Honeybug

This year, because I didn't want to pass out candy to kids but I did want to be out, we dressed up Honey in her ladybug outfit and took her for a walk. She got several hugs and kisses from the kids that were trick-or-treating, but she didn't get any bones. I think I'd like to try to organize a doggy trick-or-treat sometime, it could be used to help raise money for the spca. By-the-way, her hat didn't stay on while we were walking, this picture was taken the next day, much to her dismay.

My Test

Okay, a while back I posted that I was starting the process of fertility testing and that there were a few tests that had to be done before they'd make a diagnosis/prognosis. Last Wednesday, I had the HSG test. You can find out more about this test on webmd, but here was my experience.

I called on the first day of my cycle to set up the appointment because they try to do the test on or before day ten of your cycle. They scheduled my appointment for day 10. Normally, they tell you to take ibuprofen or aspirin before the test and they give you a Valium to take 1 hour before the test. I can't take ibuprofen or aspirin because they make me sick so I took some Tylenol and the Valium. I was feeling pretty relaxed when they called my husband and I into the x-ray room. I changed into a couple of gowns and laid on the table when my doctor came in. By-the-way, this is all done at a teaching hospital, so of course, there was a third year and a person who I think was a resident as well as my doctor the radiologist and a nurse. So here is where I get into the gory details....you may want to skip it if you don't want to know. They put a folded up sheet under my lower back to try to alleviate any outflow of the dye solution or blood. They inserted a speculum and cleaned my uterus. This part tickles me as does a pelvic exam and, being rather relaxed because of the Valium, I laughed quite a bit. Then they took what looks like a dipstick with a plastic handle and a nob on the other end and inserted it into me and started the dye solution. Now, everyone says that there will be "some cramping". That in no way comes close to describing the pain I was in. I was really hoping to pass out and had they not been continually telling me to breathe and had my husband not been there, I would've held my breath so that I could pass out, it was horrible. They said they thought they saw an air bubble, so I turned first on my left side and then on my right (still with the instruments inside me) and then back to my back. They moved the long tube thing back and forth injecting more and more dye trying to ascertain what this anomaly was. They finally decided that it was a fibroid or a polyp and finished taking the x-rays. They showed me the images and cleaned me up. Then they allowed me to get up slowly and go to the bathroom to change. I was in so much pain I could barely walk and when I went into the bathroom, I nearly passed out. I pulled on the emergency cord and what seemed like 5 people crowded into the tiny bathroom shoving food in my face. No one told me that you are supposed to eat before you do this test. Finally, I started to feel a tiny bit better and was able to get dressed, but I still wasn't doing great, so they wheeled me into recovery and gave me warm blankets a hot water bag and stuff to drink. I laid there for a while and then threw up. After that, I felt much better and was eventually able to walk out to the car and go home. Although I was warned that I'd probably be in pain for the rest of the day and that I'd bleed for 2 or 3 days, my pain went away later that evening and so did the bleeding.

Now, you may think this sounds like a horrible experience, but I must say that if I had it to do all over again, I'd do it. I have been in horrible pain for 4 years now every time I have a period and it just gets worse and worse every time. I've been wanting a child for almost as many years and haven't been able to have one. Having some kind of diagnosis or even potential diagnosis and the hope that it all may be fixed is well worth the hour or so of pain that I went through. If you are thinking about going through this process, make sure to take your Valium and, if you can, your ibuprofen. Make sure to eat something before the test, and just remember that it is one of the best and least invasive ways they have of diagnosing fertility issues. It IS worth it.