I got the bill for my surgery. Now I know what those doctors were wearing masks for.~James H. Boren
First of all I'd like to start out by wishing everyone a happy belated Mother's Day. I had a very low-key day, which was nice. As a Babylost Mother, the day usually causes a lot of anxiety. I was especially anxious this year as it marked the first Mother's Day since my Nana has passed. But it turned out to be a good day and I was able to keep the emotional outbursts at bay with a lot of prayer and surrounding myself with friends and family.
Late last summer, Brandon and I met with a new fertility doctor. We both really liked him and felt excited about some of the options he discussed. For a myriad of reasons, we didn't meet with him again. I guess the best way it can be summed up is that, well, life happens.
Anyway, fast forward to April 23rd of this year. Brandon had been over helping his step-dad with a project and called me on the way home. The news he shared caught me off guard and almost caused me to spill my O.P.I. (At home pedicures...don't judge...we're in a recession!). Brandon's mom and step-dad had generously offered us a financial gift to assist us with future fertility treatments! Yup...I was speechless, too. I've always considered myself VERY lucky on the in-law front. While friends complain about over-bearing mother-in-laws, I just sit back, smile and thank God for the amazing second family He has brought into my life.
The unexpected gift was just what we needed to push ourselves back into the roller coaster ride that is all things infertility. I scheduled an appointment right away. The doctor we met with at the new practice last summer wasn't available, so we decided to meet with another doctor at the practice. Guess what?!? Her first name is Summer! How awesome/random/cool is that? She asked me to have some blood work done prior to our consultation. Something our previous RE never insisted on.
We had our consultation on May 2nd. Dr. Summer said my labs were all normal. She brought up a new possibility for my funky uterus. Originally diagnosed a bicornuate uterus when I was 19, the "doctors" decided it was actually a didelphic uterus with a partial vaginal septum and two cervices when I delivered Caleb. Dr. Summer brought up a third option, one that made a lot more sense and explained a lot more of our issues. She theorized that I may have a uterine septum with a partial vaginal septum and two cervices. Uterine septum's can cause many problems including recurrent miscarriages and intrauterine growth restriction (something Caleb suffered from). As the doctor explained, the placenta can only grow so much before eventually being suffocated (for a lack of a better work) by the septum. Additionally, the septum is not a hospitable environment for embryos to attach. Meaning that even when conception occurs (which it could be doing for us), if the embryo implants on the muscular tissue of the septum a miscarriage will almost always ensue. Often times before I would even know I was pregnant.
The question we have always struggled with is "why the infertility?" Neither bicornuate nor a didelphic uterus's cause infertility. My cycles are normal and there doesn't appear to be any other problems that would cause us to be infertile. Dr. Summer's theory of a uterine septum certainly answered this question and also explained why I was able to conceive before.
But since theories are a dime a dozen, Dr. Summer did a sonohystogram in her office and was able to confirm the uterine septum. She wants me to have it removed as soon as possible and then she wants Brandon and I to try to conceive naturally for a while. The surgery seems easy enough- laparoscopy and hysteroscopy. She did warn us that she may not be able to remove the entire septum with one surgery, though. She said she wanted to do a little more research and see us back in a few weeks to finalize everything. If things go right, hopefully I will have the surgery in the next month or so and ideally we can start trying soon after that. We meet with Dr. Summer again this Friday.
Please pray for us and positive news at this appointment.
