I had my hysterosalpingogram (HSG) this past Friday. I'm glad to have it over with. The actual procedure itself was not as painful as I had built it up to be in my head, but it was very awkward and uncomfortable. I'm going to go ahead and give the play-by-play for those of you who have one coming up, so you know what to expect.
As instructed by my doctor, I took 800 mg of ibuprofen about an hour before my procedure. I was told ahead of time that you can have quite a bit of cramping during the procedure, so the ibuprofen was supposed to help with that.
I went into the imaging center (different from where I normally go for doctor appointments), got checked in, and luckily only had about 5-10 minutes of waiting before being called in. I went into the back and sat down with a nurse who explained (in detail) the procedure to me. Basically, they use a speculum to open you up. Then they clean your cervix with betadyne. Next they insert a catheter (tube) and inflate a balloon inside to keep it in place. Then a contrast dye is injected into the catheter, going through your uterus to your fallopian tubes, eventually spilling out into your pelvic cavity. All the while, a series of x-rays are taken to detect any blockages you may have in your tubes. If a blockage is found, they insert the dye with more pressure in hopes of clearing the blockage.
After the nurse described the procedure to me, she asked, "Do you have anyone here with you today?" I said, "No, should I?" She said it wasn't necessary, but that sometimes women like their husbands to be with them afterwards when they hear the results. When I heard this, I started to tear up. I kept thinking, what if I find out I'm missing a fallopian tube or something? I took some deep breathes and pulled it together, signed some consent papers, then went to undress. They have you put on a gown similar to what you would wear for a Pap. The nurse also gave me little booty socks because I had been wearing flip flops and she said the room is sometimes cold.
Once I was ready, I walked into the x-ray room. I lay on the table and they took an initial x-ray of my pelvic area. Then the doctor came in and introduced himself and re-explained the procedure. I was a little anxious about having a male doctor, simply because I have always had female gynecologists. Anyway, after explaining the everything (again), they went ahead and did the procedure. I definitely felt cramps when they inserted the speculum and the catheter, but honestly, it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. However, for whatever reason (could have been nerves, could have been the actual procedure), about midway through I started to get nauseous and feel like I was going to faint. I had to really concentrate on not passing out. Shortly after that, it was all over and I felt fine. They made me remain horizontal for about 10 minutes afterwards to make sure I didn't faint.
The nurse had told me that the doctor would come and speak with me about the results afterwards. However, he didn't really explain anything. He just said, "Everything looked okay at first glance. I'll look over the x-rays again and then send the results to your doctor." I didn't really know what that meant. Was my doctor then going to contact me? Or did I need to call them? Or did "everything looks okay" mean there's nothing to share? I'm guessing I would have known if he encountered any problems or blockages. Anyway, my doctor's office never called me Friday, so I might call them tomorrow to see if they have anything to share with me.
Again, I'm really glad it's behind me. I could have definitely been worse, but I think I let my anxiety get the best of me. Hopefully this is just another step closer to getting our baby!
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