# Going to the Dr again



## iris0110 (Aug 26, 2003)

I just wanted to update everyone again. It has been two weeks since I started taking the Birth control pills that were supposed to stop my bleeding. Well my midwife said it should only take about a week, but I'm still bleeding. So now she wants me to come in for a vaginal ultrasound next Thursday.







I'm really nervous now because no one seems to know what is going on. I've never had a vaginal ultrasound before, and so I am a little worried about that as well. Has anyone here ever had one? If so what are they like? I have to drink 32 ozs of water before the ultrasound, and then my midwife is going to check me out right after. So I am really worried about what is going to happen. I just wanted to let you all know what is going on and I guess I was kind of looking for some support.

Thank you all.


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## SweetTeach (Oct 5, 2003)

Oh no Iris! Sorry to hear this.
I had a vg. u/s when I was pg and it wasn't painful. They stick the probe into your vagina and move it around a bit to see on the screen what's going on. I didn't have to drink that much h2o when I went.

It's probably your body just continuing to heal. I'll keep you in my good thoughts and wishes. I hope you don't worry too much.


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## Mom2baldie (Oct 29, 2002)

Shannon,

I just wanted to give you my best wishes. I hope the reason for your continued bleeding can be found.

Good luck!


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## shannon0218 (Oct 10, 2003)

O.K, A topic I am intimately familiar with....
If they want you to drink the water it's because they will do an abdomial U/S first, then they will get you to empty your bladder. The vag U/S is not bad at all. The probe is about 1/2 inch in diamater, they will cover it with a condom and lube before inserting it. The most pain it ever caused me was right in the middle of my m/c and I'd put it at a 5 on a 1-10 scale, but it was brief.
Please don't worry, this is really the only way to know at this point if there is retained tissue, it should take 15 min tops (and I mean tops) When I was in the hospital for an infection they did one (10 days post d&c) and they were actually able to tell me that there was a 1/2"X 1/2" piece of retained tissue but that that was not enough to be causing the problems I was having. I found it very reassuring.
You will be o.k., just relax and breath.


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## iris0110 (Aug 26, 2003)

Thank you all for your replies and information.

Shannon0218- thank you for the wealth of info on vaginal ultrasounds. I think you are right that they are doing a normal ultrasound and then a vaginal ultrasound. I just can't figure out any other reason for all of the water. I spoke with my mom about it this weekend and she said it sounded that way to her as well. She had to have similar tests done a few years ago because of fibroid cysts on her ovaries.

I am still anxious and nervous. I am afraid of what we will find out, but I can't keep bleeding like this either. The next few days are going to be hard as I can't wait to get this over with and have the results. I will let you all know what I find out after the appointment.


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## shannon0218 (Oct 10, 2003)

Just one word of caution, you may want to experiment with how much water you need to fill your bladder--I know for me when I drink anywhere close to what they want my bladder is over full and they make you go and just pee a little--yeah right--I wet my pants if I laugh to hard or sneeze--like I have the control to just pee a little when I'm bursting!! It should be full to where you could go if you wanted to but not painfully full (wasn't until like my 4th one that a nice tech finally shared that tidbit of information with me!)
It won't be painful, just a little uncomfortable. What did they used to say back when women weren't supposed to enjoy sex? Close your eyes and think of the Queen??--maybe you're supposed to think of George Bush if you're american!







:


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## iris0110 (Aug 26, 2003)

Shannon0218- thank you so much for that bit of advice. The last time I had an ultrasound by the time they were done I had to pee like crazy. I dashed to the restroom at the office. It is a really good thing no other patients were in there. I don't know what I would have done if they had told me to pee a little and then tried to do a vaginal ultrasound on me. I actually had to make Dh stop at a store on the way home so I could pee again. :LOL This time I will definately try a little less water. I don't know about the thinking of George Bush though, seems to me that would make it even more painful.


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## JessicaS (Nov 18, 2001)

Quote:

Close your eyes and think of the Queen??
Actually I think it was "close your eyes and think of England"...










Ugh, I had to have an ultrasound after dd was born and I thought I was going to die I had to pee so bad..I could barely walk to the bathroom afterwards.


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## shannon0218 (Oct 10, 2003)

Hey Shannon, I'm hoping it went alright today, I've been thinking of you.


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## SweetTeach (Oct 5, 2003)

Yes, I hope things went ok for you.


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## sweetc (Aug 12, 2003)

Been thinking of you, Shannon. Hope you are doing okay.

Christine


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## iris0110 (Aug 26, 2003)

Thank you all for your kind words and thoughts. Well I went in yesterday, and turns out the reason for all the water was that the Ultrasound Technician was going to try to do the whole thing without needing to go vaginal. Turns out I have a tilted uterus and so that isn't possible. So I had the vaginal ultrasound and it wasn't as bad as I thought, but they found something. No one is sure what it is, but there is about a one inch something in my uterus. My midwife doesn't think it is a piece of placenta, because it isn't getting extra bloodflow like a placenta would be. But she sent me to have an HCG blood test just to make sure. She is now thinking it is probably a fibroid cyst. Tuseday the 20th I have to go back and get a Hysterogram, where they put a tube past the cervix and into the uterus and put some colored water in. Aparently the water colors the different layers differently and so they will be able to tell how deep this something goes. After I will have to meet with an Ob/gyn to discuss how to treat it, but it kind of looks like I will need surgery. My midwife still isn't sure that this is what is causing my bleeding though so she prescribed more birth control. I had to take four pills last night







and tonight I will take three, then two and then back to one until the 20th. After that we will see what happens.

I was really hoping to start TTC soon but it looks like I will have to wait. I am upset about that and really nervous about what we will find next.


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## SweetTeach (Oct 5, 2003)

thanks for updating us. It sounds like today wasn't too bad, but not having a concrete answer sounds nerve-wracking. How do you feel in your heart of hearts? do you think everything will ultimately be ok? I do.

I guess it's better that you get this figured out before TTC, so it might be a "blessing" in disguise. Take care of yourself and try not to worry too much (if that's possible)
ST
PS, that's a lotta bc!


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## JessicaS (Nov 18, 2001)

UGH! That does sound like a lot of BC..wow

Well, it is good this is getting taken care of before you TTC again. It is always frustrating to have to wait for them to figure it out though!!

I hope it goes well.









Keep us updated..


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## Ms. Mom (Nov 18, 2001)

Shannon, I'll be thinking about you. I've had a Hysterogram many years ago. If there's no blockage, the test is fairly comfortable. However, do wear a pad, they usually don't tell you, but there can be some light spotting afterward.

How are you feeling otherwise? Are you feeling ill at all, fever, sluggish? Any other signs of infection?

I do hope they figure this out soon and you can start moving throught this stage.


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## LisaG (Feb 23, 2003)

Hi Shannon,

Glad to hear they're making progress with solving your mystery - sorry it's taking so long though - that must be frustrating.

I had an HSG done last summer - mine was called a hysterosalpingogram - different name for the same thing. With the HSG they put a dye into the uterus through a catheter that goes through the cervix, and then take xrays of the uterus to get a view of what the interior cavity looks like, as well as to see if the dye is spilling through the fallopian tubes (to make sure they're open). In my case they were wanting to see if there were any fibroids inside my uterus, as well as what the shape of my uterus was from the inside.

I'm not sure if the dye colors the layers differently - in my case it was more that bumps or irregularities in the uterine cavity showed up (I ended up having a couple of polyps inside).

The procedure was a little uncomfortable - they usually pinch the cervix a bit with a little clamp (that sounds worse than I mean it too) to hold it open while they pass the catheter through into the uterus. That produced some mild to moderate cramps. Once the dye was injected in they had me lean a little bit side to side as they took the xrays.

I would recommend taking a couple Alleve or Advil about an hour before the procedure - some women have gotten pretty intense cramps post procedure and the drugs help to minimize that. I also echo Ms. Mom's suggestion to wear a pad afterwards because there can be some spotting as well as drainage of the dye they injected.

Here's a link that tells you a little bit more - http://health.allrefer.com/health/hy...aphy-info.html

Good luck with everything!

LisaG


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## BeeandOwlsMum (Jul 11, 2002)

I just had my HSG a couple of weeks ago - PM me if you need any more detailed info. As it is still really really fresh in my mind! :LOL

I am so sorry you are having continued issues, but also happy to hear that they found the cause.


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## iris0110 (Aug 26, 2003)

Thank you all for your information. This test is still making me nervous, and it sounds painful. My midwife also suggested taking aleve or even midol before the test to help with cramping. I am a little confused because all of you mentioned dye but the ultrasound technician who will be performing this test told me it would be sterile water. It seems really strange. I am also unsure of how this test will tell them what this something is. On the bright side the bleeding seems to have stopped. I am guessing that the higher dose of hormones stopped it. Maybe my midwife was right and it was just a hormone imbalance causing the bleeding. Of course now that we have found this something in my uterus we will need to find out what it is any way. I don't know what scares me more, finding out what it is, or finding out how they want to treat it. I do have to admit that I am alittle bit afraid of surgery. All in all I wish the test was sooner. I don't know how I will wait a whole week. Other than nerves I am feeling alright though. I have been having a little bit of cramping, but I think it is the birth control pills causing it. I think I better start working on my yoga and meditation. it may be the only way for me to calm down until the 20th.

Thank you all so much for all of your support. I am really glad I found this group.


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## shannon0218 (Oct 10, 2003)

Hi Shannon, if they are using sterile water it is likely a saline sonohysterogram they are doing. It is similar to the HSG but no dye is used and therefore it is no good for testing to see what your tubes look like.
I had the saline one, it was done with a vaginal U/S instead of an x-ray. It was fairly painless, I had about 45 seconds of heavy cramping when they pulled the balloon filled with saline down to check the uterus right near the cervix, the rest was painless. I have heard that the HSG is a little more painfull. The entire test took less time than the vaginal U/S usually takes. I forgot to take the advil before going but I didn't find I had any residual cramping once the test was over.
You can do it!! We'll all be in there with you!!


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## Katana (Nov 16, 2002)

Hi Shannon,

Just wanted to send you good thoughts, and wishes for things to go as smoothly and painlessly as possible.

I also hope you get all the answers you need.


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## shannon0218 (Oct 10, 2003)

Hi Shannon,
I just wanted to send you some good thoughts for tomorrow. Please let us know how it goes.
Shannon


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## SweetTeach (Oct 5, 2003)

Yes Shannon,
Hoping all is well. Only update if you care to...
ST


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