At our follow up appointment, the PA looked at the BBT charts that we started right after the HSG, and since my temps seemed to be all over the place, she suggested we have a vaginal ultrasound on day 14 of my cycle, so we could see if I was ovulating, along with some blood tests to check my FSH, LH and estrogen levels. We scheduled the vaginal ultrasound, and the blood work to be done on that same day. We’d need to return on day 21 for another LH test, for comparison, since your LH level is supposed to rise when you’re in what’s called the Leutal phase.
The ultrasound was easy as pie. It was almost like a regular pap test, only the technician inserts a wand type instrument instead of a speculum to perform the ultrasound. Thankfully, I didn’t have to have a full bladder for this one either – conversely, I had to be very empty.
My husband was able to stay in the room for the ultrasound. It was completely painless, and actually very cool! The monitor showed my uterus, tubes, and ovaries. It was a little hard for me to recognize stuff (maybe because I was looking at the monitor while laying down), but I could see the eggs in my left ovary, and one was very ready to ‘pop’ as the tech put it.
It was the first positive thing we experienced through this – and the first time I felt like something about my reproductive system was working right. It confirmed that I was ovulating on the left side, and now we knew which months (theoretically) I would be ovulating on the left where my open fallopian tube is, since women generally alternate ovaries each month. We felt like we had some control over what was happening, or at least, we had a little bit of a heads up.
After the blood tests were back, the nurse called and said everything is normal, and that we should just ‘keep doing what you’re doing’. How I hate that and ‘just relax’. Gah.
We ‘kept doing what we were doing’ for a few more months riding the roller coaster month after month. At that point we decided if we had to choose a path. I am 38, and the clock is ticking. Should we just continue trying and ‘relax’ and see how it goes? Accept the fact that we just might not get the answers we want from our prayers? Invitro fertilization isn’t really something we can afford, according to the office manager at my gynecologists office, this can cost upwards of $10k.
So now what? About that RE I read about…