Waiting Game

Waiting.  Waiting for the call that will schedule the next step in this adventure.

Two days ago I had an appointment with the chief OB/GYN at a world renowned local hospital, Dr. H.  He was nice.  Straight to the point and nice.  The Mister liked him, so it was good.  He did another ultrasound and compared his findings to those reported by Fertility Clinic A and Fertility Clinic B.  (which reminds me, I should introduce you to Fertility Clinic A and Fertility Clinic B).

George has grown but a couple of centimeters in the past thirteen months.  And he is sitting on top of my ovary (or maybe the fallopian tube and maybe he isn't even attached, we don't really know).  Turns out, due to his size and his location, it is very possible he could torque my ovary which would result in LOTS of pain, emergency surgery and quite possibly losing the ovary all together.  Not a good situation.  The consensus is that he most definitely needs to come out.  And the sooner, the better.

Then there is the fibroid.  Let's call him Fibroid Frank.  Frank has also grown.  He is right up against my uterus.  Dr. H was a little iffy as to whether or not Frank needed to be removed, but later, with a clearer ultrasound, it was suggested that he come out too.  He is pushing on my uterus, which if we have to move to IVF, Frank can't be there.  HOWEVER . . . removing Frank will mean 100% without a doubt, I will need a c-section.  That was not in my plans. That was a devastating turn of events.  Not the end of the world, but not what I wanted to hear.

So now I am waiting.  Waiting to schedule the surgery that will bring us one step closer to the finish line.

Surgery is scary.  I have never gone under for anything before.  I have never been to the hospital for myself.  This is a whole new ball game for me and I am scared.  What if this surgery makes things worse?  What if another cyst takes the place of George?  What if, what if, what if?  I could what if this forever . . .

Take Two

A glimpse into the unknown

Two months ago I went in for my day 3 ultrasound.  The plan was just to get my antral follicle count.  Turns out that was good!  In the right ovary, there were 16.  Good thing.  The left ovary? Well, we can't really see that one.  It's hidden by a cyst.  A large cyst.

That one, huge, ovary hiding cyst killed the plans for the Clomid Challenge Test and our first round of IUI.  Not cool, cyst. Not cool at all.

The plan was to come back in a month, for another day 3 ultrasound.  Thanks to an amazing vacation, two months passed and it was back to the clinic with fingers crossed.  Fingers crossed that that one, huge, ovary hiding cyst was gone.  Or at least had shrunk.  

Apparently that one, huge, ovary hiding cyst really likes living on my ovary.  So much so it actually GREW.  Seriously.  It grew.  It grew several centimeters.  It is sticking around and I am beginning to think I should name it.  George, maybe?

Not only is George taking up residence, but he has a roommate.   I also have a fibroid, behind my uterus.  Normally, fibroids don't cause much of an issue, especially when they are not IN the uterus.  But because my body is an over achiever in growing things it shouldn't grow . . . my fibroid that is behind my uterus, is so large, that it is pushing into the uterine cavity.  Awesome.  This isn't a huge problem, but it is a concern.  It will be more of a concern once George vacates and we begin IUI.  It could be difficult to maneuver around.  

Not too much had changed with the right ovary.  It's still hanging out, all alone (thank goodness!!!).  The antral follicle count was 14, which is still good.  

Now for the options.  We can wait and see if George goes away.  My gut is that he isn't going anywhere.  It's been two months and he has grown.  Waiting isn't my first choice.  The next choice is to do a needle aspiration, take all of the fluid out of George and see what he does.  I would have to go under for this procedure which does not sound like fun.  And then the third option, is to surgically remove the cyst and if they are already going to go in and remove George, then they would remove the fibroid as well.  I don't really like any of those options.

Next week we are going to meet with a surgeon and get a second opinion.  

What I would really like is a crystal ball.  A crystal ball that just shows me the path to take.  The path that will lead to a koala