Monday, June 28, 2010

Back to the Clinic for HSSG

went to the clinic today for HSSG. I was suppose to go back yesterday but had tons of work to finish and reports to send, thus i called the clinic and they said i can do the HSSG today, as the procedure can be done from day 7 to 10 after the first day of your menstruation.


i was a having a bit of mixed feelings when the nurse toC03ColdSweatld me to take a pain reliever 30 minutes to 1 hour before the procedure, so my sister sheryl and i went to buy Dolfenal at cybermall. took it at 11:42 and waited.


sad to say, the doc said i cannot undergo HSSG after she conducted the transvaginal ultrasound. There was a large follicle that has already developed in my right ovary, which, as i understand, is about to rupture. The way i see it, the procedure might ruin a good chance of fertilization in this time that an egg is about to ripen and possible fertilization could occur. As a matter of fact, my ovulation was induced with Clomiphene, a fertility pill. Besides that, contact was made a day before the HSSG schedule so the procedure might interfere with fertilization if there has been fertilization going on.


so the HSSG was deferred and off i go with only the results of the TVS.


another week of waiting. what's next and what's ahead, that i do not know. going back to the clinic and to the OB is indeed stressful plus the anticipation and the questions of what's next. i really hope and pray that pregnancy will happen with just one cycle of Clomiphene. i even hope i will not undergo HSSG anymore. and that's possible if i 'll get pregnant this month. just crossing my fingers and i do really hope everything will come out right.

 

and i know this can be possible with God's guidance.

P01Pray1

 

 

XOXO-

Friday, June 18, 2010

Blood Test Results

When i finally took hold of my blood test results, I was a bit mixed up. i did not know what to expect. But of course, I was eager to scan through the pages and find out what’s wrong with me.

 

Here’s what i exactly saw:

 

P6300039

Hormone: prolactin and TSH

 

P6300041 Hormone: progesterone

P6300043

Hormone: estradiol

 

By just looking at the blood test results and comparing them to the normal range, I am pretty sure that my readings are just right within the normal range – EXCEPT the hormone Prolactin, which is way above the normal range.

 

(Iam on my lutheal stage when this blood sample was taken, so i will be looking at the normal ranges of the lutheal phase. . .  and i don’t see anything wrong with them).

 

----

 

So when i showed the results to my OB-GYNE, she only said there’s no problem with my hormones. So she prescribed me the fertility pill Clomiphene Citrate and suggested I go for further tests – the HSSG.

 

She said that HSSG will help check if my fallopian tubes are open or blocked. Of course, it the tubes are blocked, that would be another hurdle to jump.

 

Crossing my fingers.  images (1)

Second OB Visit


So, today is my second OB visit. We did not wait that long before being served, so it was generally a shorter wait than the first time we went there.

I for one, was eager to know what my pap smear and blood test results say and I was able to look into it before i was called for the consultation. The pap smear results went out fine except for a moderate non-specific inflammation that was detected on the cervix. Aside from that, everything is normal. My blood test results were also fine except that my prolactin levels are thrice as high as the normal range. i wondered if this because of stress or some other causes.

so when i talked to my OB about everything on the results, she told me she just have to give me some antibiotics and suppositories for the inflammation. The rest of the results were fine but she was wondering why the ultrasound results showed a thick endometrium of 1.42 cm and told me the follicles were not able to burst. Aside from that, she said everything's quite fine.

Next phase of treatment: fertility pills and the HSSG.

The latter, my OB said, is a procedure where a fine tube is inserted into the uterus and into the fallopian tubes and the fallopian tubes are tested with liquid to check if there are any blockage. That, i have to undergo after i have finished the fertility pills in 5 days.

My, oh my. another test. another laboratory. i was thinking until when will i go for several tests and laboratories. indeed, fertility tests are more stressful for a woman. blood tests, transvaginal procedures, and everything else. not to mention that stressful time of waiting for your results.

when my OB saw the semen analysis results, she referred us to a urologist for some advice as well.

so that's it.

for now, i have to take my folic acid, my antibiotic, my fertility pill and then go for the HSSG on Monday and then do the suppositories after.

and yeah, when we went to the urologist last time, he was not around so we have to have our appointment rescheduled. chasing your doctors is probably one of the stressful things that you can also experience when you have these things. hopefully it will not cause more stress to couples who need their services.

D18Dull
‘till then.

XOXO
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Wednesday, June 16, 2010

My First Transvaginal Ultrasound

 

Aside from feeling a bit tensed on the my first transvaginal ultrasound and with the blood test before it, I was not at ease with Hubby’s semen analysis results.

 

But i was surprised that i lost my fear with needles when the nurse was extracting the blood sample. I was even looking at her hand shaking with all the force. My mixed thoughts probably helped me with it.

 

A bit later, i was called for the TVS or the transvaginal ultrasound. I laid on the bed after getting off the pieces of clothing from the waist down and put on a hospital gown.

 

With knees folded and both legs wide open, the sonologist starts to do the TVS procedure. Basically, a stick-like structure called an ultrasound transducer is inserted into the vagina to ‘see’ the condition of your uterus, ovaries and the general condition of your reproductive parts. The transducer actually sends sound waves that allows it to transmit images into a monitor, which you can also see while the sonologist is doing the procedure.

 

trans-vaginal-ultrasound

TVS Procedure

 

transvaginalimage01

an ultrasound transducer

 

The entire transvaginal ultrasound procedure was not painful and lasts only a few minutes. You will just feel a little messy after the procedure, as the transducer is lubricated before the insertion, so you can expect to be a little wet after you stand up. You can wear underwear liners to help you deal with it.

 

After a few minutes, the results were in.

 

 

 

 

- XOXO-

Semen Analysis Result: What Seems to be the Problem?

Got the semen analysis result after the collection done by DH yesterday. . . and i was a bit surprised with it though.

Here’s what it says:

semen analysis results

I think the semen analysis results speak for itself. There is indeed a little problem with the sperm count and the motility. The findings on severe oligoteratozoospermia and asthenozoozpermia is bugging me.

Oligoteratozoospermia and asthenozoozpermia are indeed factors that can hinder fertility but of course, i know this is not as bad as it sounds. Oligoteratozoospermia is low sperm count in layman’s term. Asthenozoozpermia on the other hand is slower sperm movement or motility. These two are main factors for the sperm to reach the egg, and we indeed have a little problem with these.

 

I never expected such results. Of course, we both did not expect it. I don’t know with the morphology if that poses another problem, but based on the references, it seems too low for the 15% normal.

I know. This means we have to go to a urologist as well.

 

But the OB said, there is still hope, as long as the sperm count is not zero, and she said low sperm count can be remedied.

 

That of course, made us feel better.

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Blood Test and Hormones

So i had my blood sample take this morning. I woke up at 6:30 and arrived at the clinic before 9 o’clock, thus I was able to comply to the three-hour-after-wakeup requirement before my blood samples are taken. That is said to be the best time to get the blood sample especially if you are checking on stress hormones.

 

The blood sampling just took a while and i was surprised to myself that i was not even afraid of the needle. I even took a glance on it and saw the nurse’s hand shaking as she was extracting blood from my arm.

 

After the blood sampling, I waited then for the TVS or ultrasound.

 

---------------

Semen Analysis: Checking the Sperms

Today is Hubby’s schedule for semen analysis.


I was suppose to do my blood test and transvaginal ultrasound today as well but the blood test can only be done three hours after you wake up, and since i woke up at 4:00 am today to finish a few assignments, the blood sample may not be that ideal. So i moved the schedule the day after.


sperm_egg_4is

the sperm

The semen analysis is a pretty simple procedure. Your partner will be asked to masturbate to collect semen and put it inside a small sterilized plastic cup. Hubby was led to a small room where he said a TV and some porn DVDs are prepared. You just have to play the video, do your thing, collect the semen and hand the container through a small hole where lab assistants will receive it on the other end.


In some clinics, you may just have to go the restroom and do your thing. I remembered our Biology class before when we were to observe sperms under the microscope, so our male classmates, whoever is assigned, will have to go to the CR for the semen collection.


Just pretty much the same thing with the collection for semen analysis, although the laboratory analysis this time is a bit complicated than just watching the sperm move under the microscope.


Hopefully, the results will come out just fine.


- XOXO-

Sunday, June 13, 2010

Pap Smear for All You Women Out There

I have heard of the pap smear procedure before, but had never undergone such. So when i went to the clinic for infertility consultation, the OB conducted the procedure along with the consultation.


I was told to lie down on the bed, of course, without anything from the waist down, with knees bent and apart. The doctor then inserted a speculum which looks like a metal beak of a duck and she starts to collect some cell samples from inside the cervix.


speculum
a speculum
The speculum may look weird, but the process is painless. The speculum just felt a little cold during the insertion. So I was just lying there while the doctor prompt me to watch on a monitor on the bedside while she was telling me that it was the cervix.


It looked foreign to me anyway.


Everything was over in less than five minutes or so. I felt no cramping, no bleeding, no pain.


I was thinking how so many women are afraid to do the pap smear test when this fast and painless procedure can help a lot in the early detection of cancer cells and can help you combat cervical cancer even before it starts to ruin your life.


I would say, if you have been sexually active, go ahead. Take that pap smear now.




- xoxo-

Saturday, June 12, 2010

First Visit to the OB-Gyne


identity_obgyn
After four years of putting off the OB appointment, and after two OB appointments that I have foregone, I finally set a date this time to see the OB-Gyne.


It was quite a long wait but i did not mind. somehow, if you are determined to know why for all these years pregnancy eludes you, you will always wait. there's no place for impatience at this time.


I was finally serviced at around 2 pm, even if arrived at the clinic at 8:00am. The OB did a breast exam as well as pap smear test on me. She charted my fertile period, ask a few questions about the regularity of my menstruation and jot down a few vitamins for me and Hubby to maintain.


She made me a request to do a blood test as well as ultrasound.
She also made a request for hubby to undergo sperm count. We were thinking of doing the sperm count today but i remembered the doc said that the analysis should be done three days after the last sexual contact. You know what i mean.

After a few minutes, i am done. 10 minutes of consultation and i shed 1,700 pesos for the laboratory and the 500-peso consultation fee. that was huge for a first-timer.

I'd probably be back on Monday for the lab test and hopefully get positive results on my chances to get pregnant.

Praying there's good news after all these tests.
- XOXO-

Friday, June 11, 2010

My Thoughts Of Having Kids

I am a woman. I married the man I love, and who loves me back a hundred folds. So they say that when two people fall in love with each other at the right time and place, nature tells us they will build a family soon.

37375_128733310492320_100000669564399_208250_8125613_n
Falling in love.
Weddings.
Kids.
Family.
Happy ever after.


At least, that is how people say the sequence should be.


We are a happy couple, at least I could say it now. Four years and counting after that celebration of wedding cakes and beautiful balloons, we are yet to explore the world of having kids.


Time and again, I would hear the question of when the little one would come - and time and time again, officemates, classmates and friends even those younger than I am are becoming mothers. Some have joys in their hearts. Some aren't as glad as you would normally expect them to be.


But that does not made me less happier. I am happy.


I find myself blessed with such a life. I find myself blessed with such a man in my life. Some may think I am incomplete, but I don't. Some say it can be unhappy, but I don't see and feel it the way they do.


How many women my age are still looking for the right man in their lives?
How many women my age are having kids without a father?
How many women my age are breaking their backs to find something to feed their children?
How many women my age are not yet settled with their lives because they are still sending siblings to school?


How many wives are restless when they are left to tend to their children alone when their husbands are out for a drinking spree with their friends?
How many wives are forced to stay at home, take care of their children and forget about their promising careers?
How many wives are helpless to find their husbands having an affair with others?
And how many wives are abused?


I don't find it happier to be in their place. Nobody has a perfect life. We do have our share of problems and "don't-haves". One man's happiness is not another's happiness as well.
I say, happiness comes from within you, and not from what you have or how little or how much you have on this earth.


Everything is temporary. You can never have something and someone and own it forever.
Even the people around you will not be there for you forever. Time and time again, you will lose them, or they will lose you - whichever comes earlier.


Our laundry woman once told me a child can take care of you when you get old. I say, you can't even tell if your child will die earlier than you do.


Indeed, it is in appreciating what you have and being contented and happy with what you have, how little it may be, that brings true happiness in life.


Even if you want everything, there is always a reason and a purpose why you can't have something... and that is to make you the person that you are meant to be.


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-XOXO-
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