Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Where we're headed...

After losing my left tube and having already had an ectopic in my right tube, my doctor ordered a dye test to determine if there was any flow problems before we tried to get pregnant once again. This test showed that I do indeed have some kind of blockage in my remaining tube that could possibly cause me to have another ectopic pregnancy in the future. I certainly don't want to have to deal with that a third time! So she referred me to Arkansas Fertility & Gynecology Associates for an evaluation and to determine what my options were if we decided to have another baby.

Kyle was out of town on business the week I scheduled my appointment, but my mother-in-law was happy to go with me. Dr. Miller was great to explain everything to us about the risks of another ectopic if we decided to have the laparoscopy to repair my tube. He recommended that we bypass all those risks and go straight for in vitro fertilization. There was so much to think about before deciding to do this procedure. He went through the quick run down of how it worked. I remember bits and pieces...like "possibility of twins or even TRIPLETS!" I think Kyle would have run out of the room had he been there to hear that. Carol's eyes got really big listening to him talk about multiples. She said that she and my mom would definitely have to move in with us if we had more than one. :-)

The major issue with doing IVF was the fact that our insurance does not pay for any fertility treatments and this is definitely not an inexpensive process. Then there is the issue of what happens to the embryos you do not use (if there are any). I certainly wouldn't want them destroyed or even donated. But the only other option is to use them. Hmmm would that even be something we wanted to do when the time came? So many questions and the clock is ticking! I'm about to turn 34 next week and I know my chances of having a healthy pregnancy and/or a healthy baby are diminishing quickly.

What is in God's plan? It is so hard to know what the right thing is to do.This is such a lonely place to be too. No one I know has really gone through the exact thing I'm going through. No one can tell us what to do. I'm always afraid of messing up and this is definitely not something you want to mess up on. Kyle and I have spent the last week talking about our options and trying to come to some kind of peace about what to do. Meanwhile, I read on AFG's website about a procedure where they use a catheter to guide wires into your fallopian tube to clean out any adhesions that could be causing problems. After Dr. Miller reviewed my test films, I got the news today that I am not a candidate for the catheterization procedure after all. My blockage is not in the place for it to be an effective treatment, but he feels that surgery might be a viable option based on the test results. I will see Dr. Miller on March 26th to discuss having the laparoscopy to repair my tube and remove any adhesions so that we can hopefully get pregnant on our own. If he finds the damage to be too bad, he may have to remove the tube anyway...which would take us back to doing IVF.

How ever it ends up we will deal with it...it is all in God's hands. I just pray for peace to know what to do and the strength to do what needs to be done. I appreciate all the prayers and words of encouragement from all my friends and family. Please know that I couldn't have made it this far without each of you. I hope that this blog will be an outlet for me to express my feelings when I am feeling alone in all of this. And maybe in the process I can help someone who is going through something similar so that they will see that they aren't alone either. Talking about it doesn't mean you are trying to get attention (which is why I have been reluctant to talk openly thus far), it means you are accepting it and seeking help in dealing with it.

No comments:

Post a Comment