HSG, AKA: Please Fill My Uterus With Dye

HSG. Hysterosalpingography. No, it's not a sound you make when you sneeze. I had only an inkling of an idea of what I was getting myself into. If you've read anything about them through other websites or blogs, you'll only hear about how much they hurt. So what happens?

After taking all your initial medical background then you will undress from the waist down and lay on an X-ray table. Although there were no stirrups for the feet, you are put into the same position you take when you have your annual woman's exam. Next they will insert a spectrum to dilate you and then use an iodine type solution to sterilize the uterus and to minimalise the risk of infection. Next a catheter will be inserted into the uterus so that the dye can go into the uterus and fallopian tubes. Next a balloon will be blown up to make it easier for the dye to flow and so that the x-rays can be taken. Then the dye will be inserted. At some point in there the spectrum was removed, and the balloon will be deflated a little and the x-rays will be taken. After the x-rays are taken, you're ready to get dressed and leave.

Now about the pain. For me there was a very small period of intense pain that only lasted a couple of seconds. There was also slight cramping like there is with a monthly cycle. It wasn't nearly as bad as people had described though. Ok, for just a second I had rethought the whole having a kid process if it was going to be that painful. It's not all that bad though. Really. Just a couple of seconds and then there is relief. Don't let what you've been reading on the internet scare you. Just think about the end result of achieving your reproductive dreams.

The best part was afterwards when I was texting my husband. The results had come out well. I was told everything was clear and that there were no blockages. He said, "So, does that mean we can start shopping for a baby?!" I had to laugh about that one.

Now the next step. Tomorrow I go for more blood tests, and hopefully Chris and I can start doing some cryobank searches. That seems like a whole other puzzle.

I Have No Idea What I'm Doing or: Choosing a Sperm Bank

So apparently the HSG test that I'm hopefully going to get done on Monday, if the demon snow storm doesn't close everything, is a procedure in which a dye is injected up into the uterus so that the doctor can make sure there are no blockages anywhere. I've heard that it is either not painful at all, or that it is so painful that you would rather get your hand stomped on with golf cleats than go through the pain again. I'm hoping I will not be experiencing the pain of a thousand pains. The doctor's office had called me and asked what kind of timeline and what kind of plan that we wanted to go with. I know I had told them before that we wanted to get donor sperm and all that. The nurse said "Oh! Well, then we just need to know what sperm bank you're going with and if you've already bought vials of sperm!" I told her that we didn't even know how to choose a sperm bank. She is going to send us some information apparently.

My husband and I decided to do a little research ourselves. We realized that we have no idea what we're doing. Several of the sperm banks do picture matching, so when we choose one we can send them a picture of the hubby, and they can choose some potential donors based off that. That's exciting. It's like going to the grocery store and choosing which cereal you want to buy. Only it's a vial of sperm from a complete stranger instead of Cocoa Puffs. I have to go back to the doctors on Tuesday so that I can get more blood tests. I'll ask them at that point in time what the next step is. I know that they run a business and all, but sometimes I feel as though we're just numbers in the big picture, rather than people. Hopefully their tone will change as they realize that we're actually going through with all this stuff.

In the meantime I find out that another friend is pregnant with her second child. I'm very happy for her, but a little jealous. It's just frustrating that we can't do this the completely natural way. Does that make me a terrible person? I'm just hoping that all of this goes well and that we're actually successful using donor sperm. I want to be a mother so bad.