Baby Steps: We're in it together
The next steps of our journey were a little more personal for me…and a little more painful too. We already encountered a troubling result from my husband’s first analysis. Even then – as his evaluation continued – we decided to press forward with my testing to get a complete picture. At this point, we wanted no stone left unturned.
A round of blood tests showed my hormone levels were on par. One small victory! (I think I’ll be relishing these for awhile.)
Next up – a test called an HSG. The idea is to get a look at what’s ‘under the hood.’ They use some ink and an x-ray to see how I’m built. I don’t claim to be a doctor of any type … nor do I have much medical knowledge past what I gather on the web … so I’ll leave it at that!
The test itself was not something I’d ever describe as pleasant – or even mundane for that matter. I left the office sipping lemon-lime soda to ease my stomach (the cramping was so bad it made me nauseas). And the kicker – one of my tubes was blocked.
This piece of information wasn’t nearly the slap in the face I felt when I saw my husband’s first results. I think it was a combination of factors that made this a smaller blow: it was my own body, it was not as extreme (I clung to the positive news that I did have one good tube!), and I already had some time to chew on the fact that starting our family wasn’t going to be a smooth ride.
Part of me thinks this actually makes our situation a little easier to digest. There’s no finger pointing or feeling inadequate – we are both contributing factors to this life complication.
And so my husband proceeds with caution to a specialist for further evaluation…
Christine is an associate producer at WRAL-TV, which includes research for 5 On Your Side and producing the 10 p.m. weekend newscasts on Fox50. She, her husband and two dogs moved to the Triangle in 2006. Christine is chronicling her experience as she and her husband struggle with infertility.
