Moving Right Along

I am currently slouching comfortably on my couch. I have a heating pad on my abdomen, my feet are up on the coffee table, and on and off, I'm watching quietly as John plays video games. I feel completely calm, content, and rested after a four-hour long, sedative-induced sleep.

Today has been a day of this type of atmosphere. After waking up at about 5:45 a.m., we left for the hour-long drive to the Torrance office of Pacific Reproductive Center for my second diagnostic hysteroscopy. The last one, exactly a month ago, did not report as promising news as we had hoped: Dr. Salem had found a large amount of polyps and some thicker-than-normal endometrial lining within my uterus. She and her team of nurses tried to suction it out, but to no avail. Though this news was not ideal, we were instructed not to be alarmed, as we were told it may have been the result of some irregular bleeding I had had a month before and that I had only been on the birth control pill for about five days then, and it may not have had a chance to produce too much results yet. They took a biopsy of the polyps and sent us on our groggy and unsettled way home. After a week of waiting, we were informed that the pathology lab results showed no malignancies, and that I was to continue the BCPs as instructed until I ran out. After running out and not getting my period as expected, I was told to go ahead and begin my second pack of BCPs immediately and go in for a follow-up hysteroscopy. 

I attribute the easiness of this particular hysteroscopy to the fact that I knew what was already coming. We checked in early, at about 7:20 a.m., and I was dressed in my hospital gown and hairnet type cap by 7:30. The very friendly nurse, Kate, ran us through the process, asked if we had any questions (we had none), and notified us that Dr. Salem, Sr. would be performing the procedure today (my regular doctor is his daughter). Same steps as last, they took me into the operating room, drugged me up, and Dr. Salem went in and laparoscopically performed the hysteroscopy. I was awake, although heavily sedated, but I could hear him talk about what an improvement it was from last time. The nurses talked to me during the procedure, and I responded somewhat lucidly and was able to follow along as Dr. Salem did his work. During this particular hysteroscopy, I could feel the pressure down there a little bit more, as Dr. Salem scraped, suctioned, and cleaned my uterus -- but there was no discomfort worth writing home about. Ten very short minutes later, they wheeled me back into recovery, where John appeared within seconds. 

As I did the last time, I rushed myself through the waking process. I could feel the sedatives very strongly and I found myself snoring and waking myself with each breath. I wanted to get out of there, grab some brunch, and head home to sleep. Within minutes, they took out my IV, I was dressed, we were given last minute instructions, results, and of course, the doxycyclin for me to take for 5 days. 

Nurse Kate notified us that the procedure went as smooth as they come. Though Dr. Salem still found some polyps, he was able to remove them all, thus giving me a "clean and clear" uterus, now in the most ideal condition to house an embryo within the next couple of months. 

The picture above shows the "after" shots, after Dr. Salem removed the remaining polyps within my uterus. All the white stuff on the sides of the first three pictures is the thick endometrial lining that has been suctioned out and cleaned as shown in the fourth picture on the bottom right.

Immediately after leaving PRC, John called June to let her know that the procedure went successfully. June was out sick so he left a message, confident that Nurse Kate sent a message saying the same. 

I felt great. I even had enough energy to get some brunch, run an errand, and then check out a nearby pumpkin patch with John on our way home. We got back at about 11:00 a.m., and it didn't take long for me to fall asleep. I napped until 3:00 p.m.

On our way to dinner, at about 5:25 p.m., we were surprised to get a call from June. Although she was out the whole day, I guess she came in for a while after hours to return phone calls. She told me that she did receive the message from Kate and that by next week, she will be sending us our planner (eeeeeeee!! so excited) and he prescription for Lupron. I am scheduled to start taking the Lupron shots starting October 25th. On October 21st, I have an appointment for the Lupron shot lesson at PRC. She ran through a rough schedule of events with me, which was not an easy task to keep up with, as we were in the car at the time. Luckily, she had called John's phone, so I was able to view the events and days on my phone as June spoke. We will probably be doing the egg retrieval sometime between November 15-17 and the embryo transfer between the 18th and 20th. After about the incubation period of about 1-2 weeks, we should find out results by December 1st. 

We are excited, overwhelmed, and anxious to take the next steps to having this baby. So far, our November looks insane with appointments, and procedures, and bed rest. Everything is happening so fast, and we can barely hold in our excitement. 

What has been really fun has been watching John when we see babies and toddlers around. We both just smile and tell each other that we can't wait til we have one of our own. Today at the pumpkin patch, we had a great time watching the mothers pull their babies in the wagons, feeding the animals at the petting zoo next to excited little toddlers. Needless to say, both John and I are thrilled to have gotten the green light from PRC to continue. Hopefully, by next Halloween, we will have our own wee one to take to the pumpkin patch too. 

Please keep your prayers and well wishes coming. Thank you all for your support. We will keep all posted as we go along.