HSG experience

photo courtesy of: here

This morning I had my HSG procedure & let me tell you, it is NOT on the top of my list of things I would ever want to have done again! Going into it, I figured it can't be any worse than getting a PAP but I was wrong. WAY wrong & it sucked. Sucked bad!

The HSG was scheduled for 7am & since I knew I would be waking up to a lovely midwestern snow storm, I left the house early & arrived early. Dr. B arrived 45 min late :( Plenty of time for me to sit & stew about what I was about to go through. They called my name, had me put on a gown & then I sat & waited.

When Dr. B finally arrived I hopped up on to the x-ray table & assumed the position. Now I don't know if it was because she was running late from the weather or was in a hurry, but she jammed that cold speculum in forcefully & cranked it open alot more wider than I have EVER thought it could go! It was extremely uncomfortable. Then the real fun began!

Since we were already "in" there, she ended up doing the trial ET catheter measurement before we did the HSG which created a lot of mild cramping but was tolerable. She then removed that catheter & tried to insert the catheter for the HSG but it wouldn't go. So she asks for a tenaculum (aka: torture device) which is defined as: an istrument used to grab & tug on the cervix to straighten the angle between the cervix & the uterus making a stiffer catheter easier to pass. Um - cue the moderate cramping, nausea & lamaze-type breathing.

Once she finally got the stiffer catheter across the cervix & in place she removed the speculum which provided some relief & slid me under the x-ray machine. Next Dr. B said I was going to feel some mild cramping for about 5 seconds & we will be done. Fabulous. Quick & painless.

The lights went dim, she injected the dye & then I felt horrible cramping & hotness in my abdomen. The pain was so bad I felt like I was going to pass out & Dr. B kept telling me to slow my breathing. Mild cramping my ASS! What I was experiencing was severe & she kept injecting the dye again & again. She said she was having trouble seeing the runoff of dye from the right ovary into the abdomen so she kept injecting dye, took an x-ray, injected more dye...watched...took an x-ray. We did this 4 times & each time was beyond uncomfortable. After the 4th x-ray we were done. She removed the catheter & let me lay on the table to recover from all the cramping. I was so thankful to be done.

After about 5 minutes they got me up, walked me to the bathroom to change, handed me a huge, thick pad for the sticky, bloody discharge (sorry TMI) I would be experiencing the next few hours & sent me on my way....to work....in the snow storm.

The NP is supposed to be emailing me the official results later this week but from what I can remember Dr. B saying, my uterus & left fallopian tube looks normal but she had trouble visualizing my right tube. Regardless, she said we wouldn't proceed any differently with my upcoming IVF cycle. I didn't think to ask questions at that time as I was laying there recovering from all the cramping so not sure what all that means. Is my right tube blocked? Is my right ovary normal? I don't know. What I do know is I am SO glad to be done with that procedure & hope to never have to do that again!

For all my IF ladies: Please know that I am not posting this to scare anybody who has yet to get their HSG done. For me it was a horrible experience but not everyone's experience or pain threshold is the same nor will most of you have the complications I did (needing a stiffer catheter/numerous dye injections). You may fly through yours with no problems or pain whatsoever & I really hope you do! For me, I just try to keep it real & that is the main purpose of this blog - to share my IF experiences & journey with you all - the good, the bad & the ugly. Unfortunately, with me you are going to sometimes get the ugly!