Post by innocencelost on Mar 29, 2006 1:35:55 GMT -5
(This is a C/P from an email I sent out to my friends with various understanding of IF)
It's rather long (and somewhat graphic), I share my story not because I like to listen to myself type, but to perhaps help someone else on the painful journey of secondary infertility. I had leaned on the Dr for MONTHS to do a laparoscopy, but he wouldn't because I had been pregnant before so in his mind (and perhaps ego), he could drug me up enough to make me pregnant with one, possibly more babies at a time thanks to modern medicine. I am trying not to be angry about the 7 months and $1,500 we spent on treatments that were never going to work anyway. What follows is very encouraging!
Some of you might not have known (I wanted to wait until I had my results) that I had a laparoscopy (they blow your belly up with gas in order to take a lookiesee inside. It made my stretchmarks discolor again @@) on 3/17/06 because even after 6 months of aggressive fertility treatment with a RE (reproductive endocrinologist - aka fertility Dr.), I am still not pregnant even though it is evident that I am ovulating both with drugs and without. Granted, as a woman ages, the quality of eggs deteriorates, but still, in the 13 months of trying again, we should've been able to catch one good egg. According to RE, Greg is a "semen demon"; nothing wrong with his swimmers (sorry there mom!!!).
The lap turned up some very interesting results. I have a 3 generation family history of endometriosis {The presence of endometrial tissue (tissue that normally lines the uterus) in abnormal locations such as the ovaries, fallopian tubes and abdominal cavity.} with 100% of females affected and all had hysterectomies by 40.
Well, I had/have stage II endometriosis. (it's rated I-IV). RE showed me the pics. He might has well have stuck a camera down the neck of a turkey because it looked like the baggie containing the giblets to me. My exterior's a lot purtier than my interior, LOL. Stage II means the endo caused the adhesions (Scar tissue attaching or abnormally connecting, covering or distorting organs, such as the tubes, ovaries or other internal organs, limiting their movement and possibly causing infertility and pain.) to adhere my left ovary to my intestinal wall. It wasn't in the right place! Perhaps this is why during menses it was darned near impossible to poop due to intense abdominal pain!!!!!! (I really didn't have any other symptoms and since Daniel's delivery my cycles have been really light). I had stage I on my right ovary (stage I = not adhered to anything yet).
Dr said the adhesions were so small that he couldn't see them with the regular ultrasound wand I have been wanded with 2-3 times a cycle since November.
It's not the endo adhesions that causes the infertility. The endo acts much like an IUD does. An IUD keeps the lining of the uterus just irritated enough for a fertilized eggie not to implant. The adhesions emit a substance that kills sperm (an irritant). Obviously one sperm and one egg met a fateful night in June, 2004, but this hostile implantation enviornment definitely impedes conception if not totally eliminating it. I would encourage anyone who's stumped by their infertility to possibly have this done; I really didn't have any symptoms and I have been menstruating for 26 YEARS!!!!!
The endo WILL return, but our goal is to squeeze a pregnancy in between the regrowth of endo and menopause. The hyperstimulation of the ovaries with fertility drugs will exacerbate it, but pregnancy gives the ovaries (and menstruation hormones) a rest.
Our plan of action is simple. No girlie injection hormones this month. If my 3 surgery incisions (belly button, near right hip bone and pubic bone) haven't healed enough, there's a chance the injectible hormones could leak out the incisions RE said. No, I remember leaky boobies, I don't want a leaky belly!!!!! We are going to use Ovulation Predictor Kits (kind of like a pee on lottery ticket and hey, they're only a dollar!!!!!!!) with a blood draw 8-10 days after alleged ovulation to make sure my progesterone levels are high enough to indicate that I did indeed kick out an egg, rather than just getting to that point hormonally, only to have stage fright and not have an egg release. Also, if there's still anything *hostile* going on, I really don't want to blow another $700 on a cycle. We'll just have fun this month and aim to add a garnet (January) stone to my blue topaz (December) mother's ring . I wouldn't cry if it was February's amethyst either..... or aquamarine or diamond if ya git my drift, LOLOLOLOL.
My insurance will authorize 3 more IUIs (in essence, a medical turkey baster full o baby batter to coincide with a medically induced ovulation) and if that doesn't work, we're through. RE will pat me on the head and tell me IVF is our only option and we just can NOT afford it. He is very confident that the endo (with all its enemy emplacements in the uterus, LOL - that's courtesy of Greg and his understanding <G>) was the cause of my compromised fertility. He also told me that infertility patients are massaged and coddled more than someone who gets pregnant without needing infertility treatments.
So that's my news. We have about another week to wait for this cycle to finish before we can get *started*. RE didn't know how much the surgery would impact the pituitary gland (where the girlie hormones are made and they govern your menses).
It's rather long (and somewhat graphic), I share my story not because I like to listen to myself type, but to perhaps help someone else on the painful journey of secondary infertility. I had leaned on the Dr for MONTHS to do a laparoscopy, but he wouldn't because I had been pregnant before so in his mind (and perhaps ego), he could drug me up enough to make me pregnant with one, possibly more babies at a time thanks to modern medicine. I am trying not to be angry about the 7 months and $1,500 we spent on treatments that were never going to work anyway. What follows is very encouraging!
Some of you might not have known (I wanted to wait until I had my results) that I had a laparoscopy (they blow your belly up with gas in order to take a lookiesee inside. It made my stretchmarks discolor again @@) on 3/17/06 because even after 6 months of aggressive fertility treatment with a RE (reproductive endocrinologist - aka fertility Dr.), I am still not pregnant even though it is evident that I am ovulating both with drugs and without. Granted, as a woman ages, the quality of eggs deteriorates, but still, in the 13 months of trying again, we should've been able to catch one good egg. According to RE, Greg is a "semen demon"; nothing wrong with his swimmers (sorry there mom!!!).
The lap turned up some very interesting results. I have a 3 generation family history of endometriosis {The presence of endometrial tissue (tissue that normally lines the uterus) in abnormal locations such as the ovaries, fallopian tubes and abdominal cavity.} with 100% of females affected and all had hysterectomies by 40.
Well, I had/have stage II endometriosis. (it's rated I-IV). RE showed me the pics. He might has well have stuck a camera down the neck of a turkey because it looked like the baggie containing the giblets to me. My exterior's a lot purtier than my interior, LOL. Stage II means the endo caused the adhesions (Scar tissue attaching or abnormally connecting, covering or distorting organs, such as the tubes, ovaries or other internal organs, limiting their movement and possibly causing infertility and pain.) to adhere my left ovary to my intestinal wall. It wasn't in the right place! Perhaps this is why during menses it was darned near impossible to poop due to intense abdominal pain!!!!!! (I really didn't have any other symptoms and since Daniel's delivery my cycles have been really light). I had stage I on my right ovary (stage I = not adhered to anything yet).
Dr said the adhesions were so small that he couldn't see them with the regular ultrasound wand I have been wanded with 2-3 times a cycle since November.
It's not the endo adhesions that causes the infertility. The endo acts much like an IUD does. An IUD keeps the lining of the uterus just irritated enough for a fertilized eggie not to implant. The adhesions emit a substance that kills sperm (an irritant). Obviously one sperm and one egg met a fateful night in June, 2004, but this hostile implantation enviornment definitely impedes conception if not totally eliminating it. I would encourage anyone who's stumped by their infertility to possibly have this done; I really didn't have any symptoms and I have been menstruating for 26 YEARS!!!!!
The endo WILL return, but our goal is to squeeze a pregnancy in between the regrowth of endo and menopause. The hyperstimulation of the ovaries with fertility drugs will exacerbate it, but pregnancy gives the ovaries (and menstruation hormones) a rest.
Our plan of action is simple. No girlie injection hormones this month. If my 3 surgery incisions (belly button, near right hip bone and pubic bone) haven't healed enough, there's a chance the injectible hormones could leak out the incisions RE said. No, I remember leaky boobies, I don't want a leaky belly!!!!! We are going to use Ovulation Predictor Kits (kind of like a pee on lottery ticket and hey, they're only a dollar!!!!!!!) with a blood draw 8-10 days after alleged ovulation to make sure my progesterone levels are high enough to indicate that I did indeed kick out an egg, rather than just getting to that point hormonally, only to have stage fright and not have an egg release. Also, if there's still anything *hostile* going on, I really don't want to blow another $700 on a cycle. We'll just have fun this month and aim to add a garnet (January) stone to my blue topaz (December) mother's ring . I wouldn't cry if it was February's amethyst either..... or aquamarine or diamond if ya git my drift, LOLOLOLOL.
My insurance will authorize 3 more IUIs (in essence, a medical turkey baster full o baby batter to coincide with a medically induced ovulation) and if that doesn't work, we're through. RE will pat me on the head and tell me IVF is our only option and we just can NOT afford it. He is very confident that the endo (with all its enemy emplacements in the uterus, LOL - that's courtesy of Greg and his understanding <G>) was the cause of my compromised fertility. He also told me that infertility patients are massaged and coddled more than someone who gets pregnant without needing infertility treatments.
So that's my news. We have about another week to wait for this cycle to finish before we can get *started*. RE didn't know how much the surgery would impact the pituitary gland (where the girlie hormones are made and they govern your menses).
