Starting again

So, it's been nearly two weeks since I had my lap and as of tomorrow and, in my doctor's opinion, I'll be considered "fully recovered." Even though the incisions are still healing and there is still some bruising around each one, I do feel nearly healed and I'm ready to jump back into exercise and TTC.

I had my follow up with the RE last Tuesday and got the lowdown on what all he did during the surgery. I tried to outline what was done but it was based on the post anesthesia fog report that my husband gave me. My husband really tried to remember what the doc said when he showed him the pictures, but I didn't get the complete story until my follow up.

I had an exploratory laparoscopy and a hysteroscopy. They lasered all the endometriosis they found which was on both ovaries, some in a pocket on the right side of my uterus, and some on my left uteral-sacral ligament (it is because of this endometriosis on my uteral-sacral ligament that they knew I had endo due to the pain it caused with cervical manipulation). All of the endo was removed. They also found a para-tubal cyst on my right tube. This type of cyst can twist and wrap around the tube closing off the tube. When discovered, it was unwraped and untwisted, but it could have caused intermittent problems that I didn't even know about. The hysterscopy revealed a polyp in my left tube which was then removed. They repeated the HSG and found both tubes to be open and clear at the end of the surgery.

Knowing all of this, it is possible that I had both a toxic pelvic environment from the endo as well as blocked tubes (although I previously had a good HSG).

The doc gave us a 40% chance of getting pregnant naturally over the next 3 months. If not pregnant by October, we call him on CD1 of that cycle to start IUIs with injectables. With IUIs and TTC naturally, combined he gives us a 70% chance of getting pregnant. Since he plans to let us have 3 months of TTC naturally and 3 cycles of IUI, that means we have a 70% chance of conceiving before the end of 2012.

It really feels like I am starting all over again with TTC. You know the excitement you feel when you first start trying, how you are just so sure you are going to get pregnant right away and you question whether you are really ready for this? That's how I feel right now.

Laparoscopy...check! and then some

I had my Laparoscopy yesterday, and hysteroscopy, and HSG and polyp removal. Who knew I was going in for the whole shebang!

They found stage 2 endo and removed it, which makes me feel good and bad. I'm glad they found it. I'm glad that, since it was Stage 2, I had the procedure, but I sort of also wish they found nothing and that I didn't have it.  They gave me pictures as proof that they removed endo from an ovary and something else. Husband wasn't too clear on the details although he really tried to remember.

They had told me that if I wasn't under for too long they would also do a hysteroscopy, I'm glad they did decide to do this because they found a polyp at the entrance to one of my tubes, so although that tube was open during my HSG a few months ago, it likely has not been since.

After they did the hysteroscopy, they also did an HSG again to make sure that the tubes flushed clear. I assume that they did because I didn't hear anything about it.

I'm in no pain, I've taken no medication for pain or for nausea. But the laxative they made me take on Tuesday night has had long lasting effects, which I guess is better than the alternative.

I considered posting pictures of my insides, but decided against it (I thought it might be gross to some, but let me know), instead I will show you the before and after of the outside of my stomach. I was told that they would be leaving about 200 cc's of fluid behind to promote healing. I was told that I would look several months pregnant, but besides a slight sloshy feeling when I move around it's not been too bad.  3 incisions in total and bandaids covering them for the squeamish.

Before

Before

After

After

HSG

So I finally had my HSG on Friday..what a clusterfuck. Read on to hear more. Pictures from this weekend at the end.

I was to have a beta for a pregnancy test on Thursday just to make sure they wouldn't hurt anything by doing the procedure.

I was to pick up the order for blood work from the imaging center in the hospital and take it over to the lab. I was told the lab opened at 6:30, so I got there at 6 fucking 30 in the morning only to find out that there's NO ONE in the imaging center until 7:00 AM. I decided I had no choice but to wait. Then when the idiot girl for the front desk finally gets there, she says that she can't order blood work so the radiologist always orders it the DAY OF not the DAY BEFORE the exam. I'm glad I asked if there was anyway she could have printed this out and stored it somewhere, turns out she did. So I take the order down the hall to the lab hand it in and get all registered. It is now 7:20 and I have to leave for work to be at a meeting at 7:30. I politely ask if there is anyway to speed this up, there isn't so I have to leave.

Because I was told that the blood work is typically done the day of the exam (remember, she said so) I come again at 6:30 on Friday for blood work. I was told it takes an hour and 15 minutes to get it to the lab so if I came the day of, I should come right at 6:30. 6:30 it is, here I am and I'm not taken in until 7:00. I ask if there is anyway the imaging center will have the results by 8:00 for my appointment at 8:00 and the phlebotomist says that it doesn't say STAT anywhere on it, I ask her to please rush the order and she says she will try. 

I eat at the hospital cafeteria for breakfast and decide that it is not my fault if they don't get the results on time. I have my ipad and use the hospital's internet to catch up on all of your wonderful blogs. In the meantime while my temper settles and I enjoy a surprisingly good breakfast I totally forget to take any medication to alleviate the pain of the impending procedure.

I finally get called for my appointment and they tell me that they are going to take x-rays of my head and neck...wait...what in the what?!?!? I tell them the procedure I am scheduled for, and sure enough, they think that I am my husband who was in the previous day for head and neck x-rays due to a minor car accident we had over the holidays that he is still hurting from. Something about insurances and emergency contacts got them confused. Turns out I was still scheduled in the right timeslot she just picked up the wrong orders. I'm passed off to the right technician and off we go.

They ask me if I know what is going to happen during the procedure and I say yes. They proceed to tell me about what is going to happen three times. They then hand me a National Geographic magazine from 1983 to read while I wait. Yes, 1983, that was the year I was born!!!

The technician who is to do the procedure comes in introduces himself, explains the procedure (again) and gets on with it. The procedure was not painful at all until I was totally full of the contrast medium and even then it just felt like a bad cramp. When I complained he said he had what he needed and released he balloon in the catheter and took it and the speculum out. I cleaned up and headed out of there.

They did let me watch the screen the whole time and I interpreted my own results. He said I was accurate. My uterus is tipped to the right, both tubes are open but the right tube is all scrunched up because of the tipping, he said this shouldn't be a problem. He said that it is possible that my left tube was crimped or something (or it could have been an air bubble) and the contrast  medium could have pushed it open.

Dr. ElmerFudd must have gotten the results immediately because Friday afternoon I got a call from his office confirming an appointment I didn't make for Tuesday at 1:00 PM. Now I have to figure out how to get off from work to get to that appointment.

Side note: I made a fantastic breakfast this morning and think I'm going to include some of those recipes and such in this blog. I love to cook and wonder if posting some of my recipes would get others to give me some new ideas, what do you think?

• I almost always cook breakfast on weekends. Today I made egg white french toast, turkey bacon and quinoa (pronounced keen-wah). I happened to have all the ingredients and have been trying to find a recipe for pumpkin seeds I've had since October.
• Quinoa is a grain, kind of like rice and when cooked is a little like oatmeal or porrige. It can be found at most natural food stores, the recipe I used can be found at The Daily Garnish

Quinoa with cranberries, apples and pumpkin seeds

H likes it

My audience (they can't be in the kitchen so they sit about 10 feet away and watch)