HSG and the Holidays

I am loving this month off the ttc roller coaster. We’ve had a few major stresses, and I would have hated having ttc-ing on top of it all. Instead, we’re doing well and can look forward to a wonderful Christmas.

This is our first Christmas together in our home. The past few years, we’ve traveled out of state to visit my family. It’s been so fun to have our very first Christmas tree. We actually drove out to a tree farm about 25 minutes away to get a tree, and I cut it down myself. Turtle helped by pulling back on the top of the tree to keep the saw blade from getting pinched. Then she carried the heavier end of the tree when the two of us hauled it uphill to pay for it. It smells so good! Turtle had some ornaments. My mom and sister sent us a bunch more. I’m just in love with it.

While we aren’t ttc-ing during Christmas this year, we are still doing a bit of testing. Turtle has started peeing on sticks, trying to catch her LH surge. I’m continuing to do the same just for the sake of data and tracking patterns.

Today, I had a hyst.erosalp.ingogram (HSG). I still can’t pronounce that properly, so I have to just call it an HSG. I was supposed to have it between CD6/7 and CD10. Today is CD10. They couldn’t fit me in on Friday, so today was the only option. Before the test, I was feeling nervous. Mostly I was afraid it would be extremely uncomfortable if not painful. I was also mildly worried about who would do the test, which involves a speculum. I’ve never had a male doctor up in my business, so to speak. But I think my anxiety about potential pain helped distract me from getting too worried about having a man do the test.

Turtle came with me, but she wasn’t allowed to come with me in the room where the test was going to happen. It was really helpful to have her with me when we were waiting for the test and knowing that she’d be there when I was done. The radiology tech was very nice and made me feel as comfortable as I possibly could.

Here’s how the test went:

I was wearing nothing but socks from the waist down and a hospital gown. I got up on the exam table. It was tall and flat. They had a quilted blue blanket on it for cushioning. There was also a small pillow at the end, wrapped in some kind of moisture-proof pillow case. My butt was on the pillow, and my feet rest on some kind of knobs attached to the corners of the table. The table didn’t actually have stirrups.

The radiologist inserted a speculum. He actually did a great job. It wasn’t uncomfortable. Then he swabbed my cervix with a disinfectant “soap” followed by another swab that I assume cleaned off the extra soap. This wasn’t uncomfortable for me, but I know some women have cervixes (cervices?) that are more sensitive to pressure. Next, he inserted a small tube through my cervix into my uterus. I could feel it, and it felt odd but not painful. It seemed to be a much smaller tube than the ones Dr. Awesome has used for my IUIs. Finally with the tube in place, he removed the speculum.

At this point, he inflated a balloon at the end of the tube. They had explained to me before the exam that the balloon allows them to get some pressure in the contrast fluid they are inserting so they can get it into the fallopian tubes. This was the only really uncomfortable part. It definitely did not feel good, but it wasn’t truly painful either. Then we repositioned me on the table and the tech pulled the x-ray machine over my abdomen.

The radiologist pushed the contrast fluid into my uterus. I could see the video screen a bit. It looked white and was just filling the top part of my uterus because the balloon was taking up space in the bottom part. At one point, they asked me to lift one hip and lean in the other direction. Then they had me do the same maneuver for the other side. I believe this was to help get the contrast fluid to flow into my fallopian tubes. The radiologist captured a bunch of images–I can’t remember how many. Finally, he release the air in the balloon and I could see the contrast fluid fill in the rest of my uterus.

Once the radiologist was all done, he removed the tube (quick and painless) and the tech moved the x-ray machine over. The radiologist came over by my side and turned the screen toward me. He then flipped through the various images, showing my fallopian tubes, my uterus, and (best of all) the contrast fluid flowing out the ends of the tubes. Yay for open fallopian tubes! He said things looked good, but that he wouldn’t know everything until he looked at the images on his super fantastic monitor with better resolution back in his office.

After he left, the tech helped me off the table and showed me to the bathroom connected to the exam room. I was given a washcloth and towel so I could clean up a bit. I also was given a menstrual pad to protect my clothes from the staining “soap” and any other discharge. The tech mentioned that the contrast fluid may seem sticky like maple syrup as my body discharges some of it. Some it will get absorbed in my abdomen.

After I got cleaned up and dressed, I met Turtle in the waiting room. I was thinking I would go back to work, but I was feeling a bit crampy and decided to work from home in my pjs instead.

I should also note that the RE has me on an antibiotic to help prevent any infection. Plus, I was told to take 400-600 mg of ibuprofen an hour before the test. I haven’t needed any additional ibuprofen because the cramping hasn’t gotten bad.

All in all, it was a relief to know my tubes are open and the test was relatively easy. We’ll see if I still feel that way after I get the bill.

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