The Story Behind TTP

So some may be wondering exactly why I'm in TTP........ Or maybe not.....But here's the story anyway.

Ever since I can remember I've had irregular cycles. When I was a teenager, my doctors said it was because I was a teenager. When I became an adult, I was told it was because I've always been irregular. Go figure! Well anyways....in November of 2010, I was diagnosed with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS). (Google it! lol) I googled PCOS to find out more information. I google just about everything and I knew my husband would have a million and one questions concerning this new diagnosis. According to my research PCOS is a disorder caused by hormonal imbalance that cause those with it to ovulate irregularly or not at all. Instead of ovulating, these eggs become cysts in the ovaries. Without ovulation, you won't have a period hence the irregular cycles. Along with this, symptoms include infertility, being overweight, insulin resistance, facial hair, being at greater risk for heart disease and diabetes, miscarriage, and premature delivery.
The doctor said that our plan of action would depend upon whether or not we want a baby or not. I was still in nursing school at the time, and as much as I would have loved to have a baby, it wasn't a good decision at the time. Plus, we wanted to wait until we were married for 2 years before we would start trying. That was only 6 months away. The doctor assured us that whenever we do decide to have a baby, it would be a breeze. She said I am young and as far as people with infertility issues go, those with PCOS are the easiest to get pregnant. With that being said, my husband and I decided to go on birth control until we are ready to get pregnant. I never doubted her one moment.
In February 2011, we decided that we are ready to have kids. In my mind, it wouldn't take no time at all. We felt like we were one step ahead since we had medicine on our side. It never occurred to us that medicine might fail us in this instance. Now that I think about, we probably had more faith in the medicine than we should have. A year later (Feb 2012) WITH fertility treatment and still nothing. (I will probably make a post later on to describe in detail what that year consisted of). So after a year, we decided that its time for a new course of treatment since what we were doing was obviously not working. So my doctor suggested we do a Hysterosalpingogram (HSG). Google it! It's an x-ray used to look at the structure of the uterus and fallopian tubes. It can show injury or abnormal structure to the uterus or fallopian tubes. It can also show a blockage that would prevent an egg from moving through the fallopian tubes to the uterus.
My results: Bilateral tubal blockage! Meaning both of my fallopian tubes are blocked. How could that happen to me? I'm young and have never had an STD. Seriously! I was absolutely devastated. I cried from the moment I heard the results until the following day. I don't think I ever cried so much in my life. There were several reasons why I was devastated:
1. As if I needed another reason to make this TTP even longer and harder. I already have the ovulation issue!
2. I knew that tubal blockage meant that I only had 2 options, surgery or In-vitro fertilization (IVF). None of which are guaranteed. Surgery would give me the option to have children naturally in the future without always having to resort to IVF. But there was the possibility that the wouldn't be able to remove the blockage or if the did remove it, it could scar back up and be blocked again. IVF cost $10-17,000 and is not covered at all by insurance. Some people have to go through several cycles before they even get pregnant. And then there are some that get pregnant and end up miscarrying. At this point if I'm going to have surgery or spend that kind of money, I'd like some guarantees.
3. I felt like I wasted a year of my life on treatments that were never going to work. If only I had known since the beginning. Not to mention that crazy headaches, mood swings, emotions going wild, pain, and hot flashes.
In my mind, at the time, surgery was the best option for me.........