Hubby and I have been trying to make a baby for over a year now. I think it’s safe to say that both of us thought it would be quick and easy to get pregnant since we are both rather healthy and young. After nine months of trying and increasingly erratic cycles, I finally went to see the doctor after my period was late but pregnancy tests were still negative. 2 doctors, lots of blood draws, a 24 hour urine test, and two ultrasound scans (one thyroid and one pelvic) later, I finally had some answers: PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome). The pelvic ultrasound also revealed that I had a cyst in my left ovary and my right fallopian tube was blocked. I decided to have surgery to remove the cyst and fix the tube so that we have a better chance of conceiving. This surgery was much shorter than planned since once inside he found that I have stage IV endometriosis and closed me up instead of proceeding. So basically, with both endometriosis and PCOS, IVF is likely our only option for getting pregnant; because of this we got a referral to a fertility specialist to find out what they suggest.
Dr. D is who we picked for our fertility specialist. Our meeting with him in mid June was a whirlwind. We discussed my background and infertility, then he did another pelvic ultrasound, which was uncomfortable because of my endo. He definitely confirmed PCOS since I have about 30 or more follicles on each ovary. He also informed us that the cysts were actually endometriosis on the ovary, forming “chocolate cysts”. These are basically pockets of blood in my ovary that have no way to drain, so it’s just nasty old blood trapped in my ovary. Gross!
After the exam, we went back to his office to talk. Dr. D said I have lots of eggs, so that is good. In order to remove the endometriosis more permanently, he’d have to take out a chunk of eggs as well, so he wants to wait on that. He said with the tube blockage, the cysts on my ovaries, and my PCOS, about our only chances for pregnancy is IVF. I have both the hormonal and structural problems that are associated with infertility; luckily, hubby has good sperm. He recommended the option that requires less egg stimulation since I have so many follicles. The doctor also recommended optimizing my plumbing before starting IVF. This involves removing my right tube and draining the endo cyst on my right ovary. This will prevent complications during the IVF procedure and pregnancy. Apparently my tube drains into my uterus because it cannot go out the normal way into my pelvic cavity. This can cut my success rate by 25% for IVF/pregnancy. With the endo cyst, removing eggs could puncture the cyst and cause bacteria-ridden old blood to leak into my ovary, infecting it. We opted for the surgery, especially since I’ve already met my out-of-pocket max with the insurance which means it’s free.
The surgery went ok. My recovery was a bit tougher than the last time, dealing with a few complications like constipation from the pain meds and my endo flaring up later in the week. I started birth control pills so that I won’t have a period for a while; the nurse told me I could just skip the sugar pills and go straight to another package, so that’s what I did in order to avoid the endo pain associated with my period. The next step is to get our IVF scheduled and paid for, but I’ll save that for another post.
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