Monday, March 19, 2012

3rd HSG Tomorrow

For those of you who have been following my story, you know that my uterus has caused us many issues with TTC.  Tomorrow I will have my third and hopefully final HSG!

A uterine septum is a congenital (birth) defect where the uterus is not shaped correctly.  On my first HSG in June, it appeared that I had two divided cavities.  Dr. Bates resected much of the septum in September, but there was still an evident divide in January when Dr. Allemand looked at my second HSG results.  After my surgery was complete in February, Dr. Allemand gave me before and after pictures of my uterus, tubes, and ovaries.
At the top you can see the septum before and after resection.
Endometriosis

Open tubes and more Endo

Adhesions of Endo on my Uterus

Opening of both tubes and my Septum
There was no way to know that I had a uterine septum until I had began seeing a RE.  There are no signs or symptoms, other than not getting pregnant or having recurrent miscarriages.  My chemical pregnancy in November could have due in part to the residual septum.  Making sure that my womb is shaped correctly is extremely important for us to get pregnant and carry a baby to term.  Many women still get pregnant with the uterine septum present, but babies are often breeched and have little room inside.  Also, it makes implantation more difficult, because there is no blood flow to the septum.

Having seen the images of my womb, I feel confident about tomorrow's HSG.  At our appointment last week, Dr. Allemand said that a slight contour in the cavity would be alright.  My tubes have been checked out four times already (previous HSGs and with each surgery) so I feel that I can only expect good news tomorrow.

Please keep me in your prayers tomorrow.  My Dad is taking me (he also took me to my last HSG).  I'm hoping for better results for the both of us.  I don't think Dad could stand to see me upset again.  Also, Brandon is out of town for work and I want to have something good to share with him tomorrow evening!

5 comments:

  1. Good Luck I will be thinking of you! I too have Endo. Ugggg . Isn't is strange to have pictures of your insides?? I thought my pics were pretty cool and I was glad to have a visual of what was going on in there.

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  2. Thanks, Crystal! I wasn't especially pleased with the results, but I have to accept them. Unfortunately, I will most likely always have a residual septum. I'd much rather have a normal shaped uterus. =( My DR was great to give me the pictures. He knew that I was emotionally scarred from having the surgery once before, so he thought it best to provide me with proof that he attempted to correct the septum.

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  3. I must say I love that you posted these pics. I was so excited about mine (all I got was equivalent to your top photos of the septum and then when it was removed)...and my husband almost DIED when I showed him. He just saw a fresh set again after my hysteroscopy last month and I thought he was going to fall off the chair! Men are weak :)
    Katie

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    1. I've been lucky that Brandon is easy-going with all of this stuff. He was poked and prodded so much when he was going through his cancer and chemo. He LOVES the pics of my bright, shiny, and happier uterus!
      Dr. A gave me the pictures because he knew I wanted to know what the septum looked like. Since it was my second surgery, it made sense to him to have proof for me that he did something while he was in there!

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  4. Thanks for stopping by my blog. Oddly enough, thanks for the pictures of your insides. I was wondering what my endo looked like and my surgeon didn't show me after the surgery. Now I know!

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Thank you for visiting my blog! I appreciate your comments and support on our journey.

As for me, I will always have hope; I will praise you more and more.
Psalm 71:14