So my last, and first post about our journey to become parents ended with these points: I had one tube removed in March and the other doesn’t look great but we’re gonna test it and you don’t even need tubes to do IVF so it’s OK if I have to get the other removed.
Now fast forward to June. I got the HSG test on the first which showed that my left tube was not in working condition. We knew these results were a huge possibility so there wasn’t much shock there. I got an apt on the books with my IVF Dr. to discuss next steps (if it should be removed or not) later in the month and began packing for my 10 day east coast trip in the middle of the month. The plan was to start in New York for a friend from colleges wedding then visit my in-laws in CT during the week and then go visit a friend in New Jersey for the weekend. This was all kicking off on a Thursday and the Wednesday night before Mike and I went to dinner and I had 2 cocktails. 2. That night I woke up and felt like it was freshman year of college and I had just gone to my first date party….aka rough. The next morning I felt hungover and flu-ish which was odd considering I had 2 drinks – not hangover worthy. I thought maybe I had a stomach bug or just ate something that wasn’t sitting right (had negative covid tests) and that I could make it to NY and sleep it off on the plane…..lol. I was at the airport just long enough for Mike to get home and play 1 video game before I called and said “I am changing my flight to tomorrow, please come get me!” Again, no big deal – I would take the Friday flight and it would all be fine.
Jokes on me. That night along with the flu-ish symptoms I got terrible lower abdominal pain and was up the entire night. Around 5am I woke up Mike and we decided to go to the ER – I knew in my gut something wasn’t right and I was right. We beat the morning rush and were quickly admitted and the tests began. All of the symptoms turned out to be from an infection in my lone tube. My Dr. believes the infection was caused by bacteria that got in the tube during the HSG test, but because the tube was closed off it stayed in there versus moving through and my body naturally killing it off. Once there was a plan in place, she even sweetly laughed and said “ok enough weird medical issues with your tubes, you’re done and I don’t want you back here unless it’s to have a baby”.
5 nights and 5.5 days in the hospital later I was discharged. In that time I was on antibiotics to bring down the infection, cried a lot, became besties with nurses, watched a lot of TV, made a morphine fueled Tik Tok and had my left tube removed. The two big silver linings? My IVF Dr. wanted me to have the tube removed anyways (just maybe not in this dramatic fashion) and post-surgery, by the grace of god, we were placed on the nicest floor of the building. Our IVF Dr. was thrilled to hear the tube was removed because it meant in a month, once I am fully healed, we are going to begin the 3-month IVF process!!!!!! Not gonna lie, it is a weird feeling knowing my body no longer has the “parts” to get pregnant naturally but I know that will dissipate once I am carrying!
Moral of the story – LISTEN to your body, you know it best. Oh and, don’t get on the flight. But truly, I cannot believe I almost got on the flight, like got it changed 20 minutes before boarding began. If this had gone down in New York, in my poor friends apartment….OY is all I can type.
Hopefully my next blog post is about hormones and shots!
xx
p.s if you’re wondering how Mike was…. snoring and sleeping away, unphased by the 2am and 4am nurse check-ins and blood draws.
Infertility Awareness Week
It has been a minute since I have even been on this website but I have been having the itch to share / write down what has happened in the last few months. And I still can’t decide if this is premature or too much but with everything, I have no chill so here I am.
The start to me and Mike’s journey to trying to become parents has had a rocky start. In December 2021 I found out I got pregnant on my IUD (insane I know, my doctor was shook but I hope I’m not scaring anyone), it didn’t stick (we think I was around 4 weeks) but it made us realize we were ready to start trying.
Soon there after, in March 2022, I got pregnant again and was so excited! At week 7 I had what we thought was a miscarriage, Mike was out of town (he never is) and it was an incredibly hard week but I was so thankful I had told a few friends who were able to be there for me. That Friday, I went to dry bar for a pick me up and left rushed in terrible pain. After talking to my Dr. I had a friend take me to the ER and my mom met me there. Hours upon hours later I was admitted to the hospital with a plan to have exploratory surgery in the morning because something was not normal . Thankfully Mike arrived the next morning right after I was out of surgery – a surgery that ended up being more than exploratory. While in that yellow dry bar chair trying to get my groove back, a ectopic pregnancy and a small cyst both burst 🤯 and they had to remove 1 of my fallopian tubes and the other 1 didn’t look so hot. Even reading that back is wild and honestly comical – after grieving the miscarriage I was getting some energy back and was trying to feel myself again and BAM I am one tube down and in pain. Also, clearly I am a ‘if you don’t laugh you’ll cry’ type person and am OK which is why I am able to share and say this with a bit of humor.
The thing keeping me from crying or worrying an exorbitant amount? Reading all the amazing infertility week stories of successful IVF babies. We are starting the next chapter of this journey next month and are feeling excited and hopeful.
Say hello back to the blog because I’ll be sharing the journey here. How many times have I said journey 🤦🏼♀️.
Oh wait, one last thing. There is a lot of stigma / conversation around telling people before 12 weeks that you are pregnant and I get it, I do but I also know I could not have gotten through the IUD pregnancy or everything in March without my girlfriends. I am [clearly] a sharer and so sharing the news is what felt most natural to me. So with all of that said and done, if you feel the desire to share with your people, share!
Weekly Favorites
