HSG

After taking the clomid and follostim I was scheduled for an ultrasound on Day 9, which was a Friday.  But I switched this appointment into an hysterosalpingogram (HSG) test.  I was killing two birds with one stone.  I knew I needed to take this test at some point, and the best time for it is in the beginning of your cycle when the uterine lining is thinnest.  So instead of paying $250 for an ultrasound and $1100 for the HSG, I only had to pay for the HSG and still got the ultrasound results.  It was a little painful parting with so much money just for one short test, but I knew it was necessary.  After so many years of trying it would be nice to know if my fallopian tubes are open and look normal.  But I was definitely nervous - about the pain I might experience during the test and also the results I may get.  Would they find endometriosis?  Would one or both tubes have a blockage?  Or something worse?

I took some over the counter pain medication 30 minutes before the HSG, but it was still painful, although not unbearable.  They first did a pregnancy test, which of course came out negative.  Then they inserted a speculum and swabbed my cervix with a long q-tip dipped in some kind of dark liquid (iodine?  I'm not sure.).  The felt so so weird.  It didn't hurt, but it was a strange sensation.  Next, the doctor inserted a catheter through my cervix and filled a small balloon to hold it in place.  The speculum was taken out.  Then, a medical assistant slowly squirted a clear liquid into the catheter.  This is when the pain began.  I gasped a bit and put my hands over my abdomen, but it wasn't the worst pain I've ever had.

When I had read about HSGs on blogs, via google, or on IVF clinic websites they all referred to a dye-based HSG where an xray was taken.  But my clinic said that they never use dye and instead use a newer technique which uses ultrasound to see air bubbles moving through the clear liquid they inject.  I can't find information online about this new procedure - has anyone else had this, or heard of it?

As soon as the bubbles started flowing you could immediately see them moving through my right fallopian tube and out the top.  There was definitely no blockages there!  But I became concerned that I couldn't see any bubbles moving through my left tube at all.  I asked the doctor and he said that sometimes the balloon blocks one tube and that because the bubbles move with the path of least resistance they may all be diverting into the right tube.  So I held my breath while he deflated the balloon a bit.  It was probably only one second, but it felt like a long time before we could see bubbles moving through the left tube and out the top.  Success!  Both fallopian tubes were open and looked good.  Later, the doctor told me he had been worried about my left tube too, but we were both pleasantly surprised when it really was just the placement of the balloon acting as the problem.  At this point I was super happy - because I had functioning tubes and also that the HSG was over!