My Infertility Journey: Hurry Up and Wait (Part 18)
Obie Editorial Team
It was both a relief and an irritation to find out I needed surgery to get pregnant. On the one hand, the polyp probably explained most of the reason for my 12 year lack of conception. On the other hand, no one wants to hear they have to have surgery. It's particularly troublesome for me, as I have a huge phobia of general anesthesia and anesthesiologists always seem to want to give it to you.
I've managed to avoid it in the three knee surgeries I've had, but only after extensive arguing with the anesthesiologists each time (which once resulted in me getting off the operating table and starting to un-tape my IV...the anesthesiologist agreed at that point to give me conscious sedation, which was what I'd been asking for all along). I was already mentally gearing up for another anesthesiologist throw-down.
Dressed again and back in the doctor's office, he went over my sonogram pictures with me and showed me where my uterus was, where the polyp was, and explained what the inside of my uterus should look like. He told me the polyp was 10 mm across, which wasn't huge but not tiny, either. It was blocking most of the interior of my uterus. I asked if it could be cancerous, and he said these things were almost always benign. They would test it after they removed it, but he wasn't the least bit concerned about it.
The problem was that the polyp acted as a natural IUD. It took up space so a fertilized egg would have a hard time finding a place to implant. If it did implant, miscarriage was likely because the polyp would be in its way when when it grew. It needed to be removed, excess tissue scraped away, and cauterized. The whole procedure would only take about 20 minutes, but it had to be done.
He didn't think I should spend all the time and money necessary to do IVF if it didn't have much of a chance of succeeding. With the polyp there, the chances of me getting pregnant were almost nil. Without it, there was nothing impeding me getting pregnant. The only thing was now I had to wait another month to start the IVF hormones, after I'd had the surgery. More waiting...but for a good cause. My baby was getting closer!
I've managed to avoid it in the three knee surgeries I've had, but only after extensive arguing with the anesthesiologists each time (which once resulted in me getting off the operating table and starting to un-tape my IV...the anesthesiologist agreed at that point to give me conscious sedation, which was what I'd been asking for all along). I was already mentally gearing up for another anesthesiologist throw-down.
Dressed again and back in the doctor's office, he went over my sonogram pictures with me and showed me where my uterus was, where the polyp was, and explained what the inside of my uterus should look like. He told me the polyp was 10 mm across, which wasn't huge but not tiny, either. It was blocking most of the interior of my uterus. I asked if it could be cancerous, and he said these things were almost always benign. They would test it after they removed it, but he wasn't the least bit concerned about it.
The problem was that the polyp acted as a natural IUD. It took up space so a fertilized egg would have a hard time finding a place to implant. If it did implant, miscarriage was likely because the polyp would be in its way when when it grew. It needed to be removed, excess tissue scraped away, and cauterized. The whole procedure would only take about 20 minutes, but it had to be done.
He didn't think I should spend all the time and money necessary to do IVF if it didn't have much of a chance of succeeding. With the polyp there, the chances of me getting pregnant were almost nil. Without it, there was nothing impeding me getting pregnant. The only thing was now I had to wait another month to start the IVF hormones, after I'd had the surgery. More waiting...but for a good cause. My baby was getting closer!
< My Infertility Journey Part 17 My Infertility Journey Part 19 >
