Runners, take your mark!

I meant to post this on 5.18.12 so my references to "tomorrow" are actually in the past.  Sorry :)

As I mentioned in my previous post, I had the UFE surgery last September.  This was our first strike against our arch nemesis: da broids.  I immediately saw an improvement in my quality of life.  My cycles jumped on a normal 28 day schedule and the heavy flows were gone ending my chronic anemia symptoms.  We timed the surgery to allow me plenty of time to recuperate before the wedding & honeymoon.  So as soon as the dust settled from the wedding, I found a gynecologist who specializes in treating "moms-to-be-with-challenges".  I knew going in that we had several strikes against us:

1. I'm getting a little long in the tooth.  I'll be 40 this December.  My eggs are not getting any younger!
2. Though dead and significantly smaller, the aforementioned broids are still in my uterus.  I still have some shrinking to go; it's something that continues over time.  But until they are all shriveled up, they are still taking up precious cargo space.

So one of the first things my new gyno wanted to do was establish a baseline on my fertility.  She ordered two routine tests to give us a snapshot of what we were up against.

The first test was a simple blood test to measure my Anti-Mullerian Hormone (AMH) blood levels.  This substance is thought to be a strong indicator of a woman's "ovarian reserves" or egg supply for short.  The experts have established a chart based upon a woman's age, uterine history and AMH levels to gauge her egg supply.

CHALLENGE #1: My AMH levels are below normal suggesting that I have a low egg supply.  Awesome.

The second test was a hysterosalpingogram (HSG) to determine if my fallopian tubes were up to the task.  During this test, a radiologist shoots dye into the uterus and tracks how the dye travels through your pipes.  Ideally, the dye should fill up the uterine cavity, flow through the fallopian tubes and spill out into the abdomen.

CHALLENGE #2: My left fallopian tube was blocked by some mass (not a fibroid).  Wasn't nothing flowing over there.  Even. More. Awesomeness.

With those results, my gyno ordered me straight to a reproductive endocrinologist.  I didn't get to pass GO!, collect $200 or pick up a 'Get out Jail Free!' card.  She was done with me.  How exciting!

Tomorrow's our first meeting with the repro man.  I'm not expecting much from this session besides orders for even more tests.  I'm hoping these will just call for blood samples cause my uterus is still a little salty with me over the HSG (a common side effect is "uterine discomfort").  So I'm surprisingly calm as I write this with our session just hours away.  Week before last week was a whole 'nother story.  That's when my gyno first delivered...rather ungraciously...the news (She SUCKS so I'm planning to find me another gyno as soon as I can).  I was incredibly upset, completely overwhelmed and pretty sad about my outlook.  But the initial shock has worn off plus, I've since had a chance to speak to a nurse with the dern decency & patience to explain my results and possible resolutions.  More importantly, I've been praying...ALOT.  So I'm ready to face this thing (well, at least tomorrow) head-on. 

Plus, my sweetie will be by my side.

Lady Hawk