First appointment with Dr. S

Yesterday afternoon was our first appointment with our fertility specialist, Dr. S. I wasn't sure what to expect, it was scheduled for 2.10pm so I thought it might just be a quick in and out appointment but it wasn't.

I'd printed out my charts and made notes about the months where I wasn't charting. I'd also made a few notes about my previous lap surgery back in 2002. Our GP had given us copies of the testing she'd done so there was a whole stack of paper work I took in.

Dr S was very thorough, he went through all my medical history starting with what my cycles were like as a teenager. We discussed my previous laproscopy & hysterscopy, how I had a few large cysts and that my fallopian tube was adhered to the abdominal wall.

He did an ultrasound (surprise internal ultrasound, thank goodness I'd shaved my legs that morning!) and exam. He also sent me for a blood test just to see what's going on with this messed up cycle (day 47 and counting) and my husband has to do another SA but this time it's to be sent to the fertility clinics lab. He was a bit concerned with my husbands morphology results from his SA, but he did explain that the low result could be from a number of factors and it's possible that this next SA the numbers could have improved. But it's also possible the numbers could be the same.

On the ultrasound he could see the cysts, but when he looked at my charts it looks like I'm ovulating around once every 3-4 months. I am ovulating and the blood work my GP did shows that I did ovulate that cycle. Just not any cycles since. So I haven't ovulated since March.

He could see what he thinks is one of my fallopian tubes, typically on an ultrasound they don't show up, but if the tube is blocked or full of fluid then it can be seen. He was quite concerned with this. If it is fluid in the tube then that fluid can leak into my uterus, which can lower the chance of implantation.

Our next step is surgery for me. A lap to see if there's any endo and remove it if there is. Also if that one very large cysts is still there, removal of that as well. As well as a hyst, d&c and dye test. All of that I was expecting. What I wasn't expecting is that if my tube is full of fluid or blocked and it can't be repaired then he'll remove it. That was unexpected. I also didn't expect to be told that it would be an overnight stay in hospital. My previous lap was just day surgery, I went in at 9am and was out and home by 3pm.

I was quite relieved when at the end of the appointment he said "it's not a matter of whether or not you can get pregnant. It's just a matter of whether you need a little bit of science or a lot of science to help you get pregnant"

We met with the lovely nurse who will be our contact for any test results and scheduling any surgeries. She organised my husbands SA and she's who I have to call on Tuesday to get the results of my blood work. I think I'm going to book my lap then. While Dr S has a few free surgery spots left for this month, my husband can't take any time off work until the end of next month.

The end of July works out a bit better for my work too, it's the first week of term and I rarely get called in to replace teachers then. Plus it's right in between family birthdays so I'll be able to hide away at home while I recover as we still haven't told our families that we're ttc or that we were seeing a FS.

I'm just feeling a bit numb at the moment. I haven't had a chance to process it all. I'm glad that we're taking this step but at the same time I'm angry that we have to consciously work, plan and spend thousands of dollars to have a baby, when so many other people don't. Dr S said that one in six couples need fertility treatments to fall pregnant. Our group of friends is made up for seven couples so statistically it had to be one couple. I just feel bitter that it was us.