3 October 2011

One of the worst things... * Updated

...about being infertile is having to fill one's bladder in preparation for an ultrasound.

I have goosebumps all over 'cos I started with cold water and now I'm shivering!

I have the day off for my day 5 ultrasound (the baseline before I head south for my Napro ultrasounds) and blood work (which will be shipped to Omaha).

I end off the day with a visit to Dr. Nora.

 How I wish I could have fun relaxing and watching girly movies, rather than preparing myself for surgery #3.

[sigh]
_____________________________

I am so thankful to be home. It was not a fun morning. At all.

I was very happy to get to the ultrasound clinic without too much fuss. The office was quite the way away and I knew that navigating morning rush hour traffic wouldn't be fun. I got there on time and I didn't have to wait.

That's when the fortune ended.

I have been through many, many ultrasounds. When the technician asked me what the reason for my ultrasound was, I knew that it was going to go downhill from there. Didn't she read the d*mn requisition???? I told her primary infertility and that it was my day 5 baseline ultrasound. She told me to lie down (which was not comfortable since my bladder was so darned full) and then asked how long we had been TTC.

She's lucky that I was so distracted from my full bladder because I was ready to cry or punch her, but I calmly said, "Six years." Although I wanted to add, does it really matter? It's obvious that you have no idea what six years of barrenness has done to me.

[deep breath]

She finished the external ultrasound and I was told to pee. Honestly, the pee after filling one's bladder is the most joyous experience!

When I returned to the room I was told to take all of my bottoms off and to put on the ridiculous paper gown. I lay down and she inserted the dildocam and she just went to town. She wasn't gentle, despite my telling her that it was painful. Like I said, I've had many ultrasounds and I know that they are not supposed to be painful. My deep, yoga breathing helped, a bit, but it was still so uncomfortable that I had tears in my eyes -- which says a lot since I have a high pain tolerance (I've lived with stage 4 endo, I know what pain is!). The entire scan took about ten minutes, but it seemed like hours. At the end I asked the tech why it hurt so much and she said, "Well you have endometriosis, that's why." She's lucky I didn't kick her in the teeth.

[another deep breath]

So next was my day 5 blood work. I drove back home and found the lab (which is a new lab because only certain labs will ship blood to the US). I felt very confident that the lab would be able to handle shipping my blood to Omaha since I spoke to a very nice lady at their head office. Alas, I was wrong.

After waiting for almost half and hour the receptionist was all confused about my requisition. I explained to her that I had spoken to head office and that I was told that they were able to ship my blood to the US and that if she needed to talk to someone that I had their phone number and extension. I went back and forth with the woman at the desk at least four times. She brought in more than one colleague to help her out with my situation. Thank God another woman came in and calmly explained to her what to do. The biggest glitch was the price that I was quoted was wrong because of the dry ice and extra packaging that was needed.

God was merciful on me enough to send me a very thorough technician. She went over the requisition from Dr. Hilgers with a fine tooth comb. The woman at the desk highlighted that I needed post-Peak blood work done as well, but I insisted that it was just day 5 FSH (I also had a requisition from my local Napro doc that said that same thing). She took an extra vial of blood just in case, but I am sure that she will ensure that my sample gets to Omaha!

The tech said something very interesting. She asked for my cell phone number just in case she had any questions. She said that I was very knowledgeable and that she knew that I knew what I needed inside and out. She complimented me on being my own advocate and that, "If you want something, you need to go and get it. No one is going to do it for you."

Prophetic words.

She was like an angel speaking to me. I need to persevere, regardless of how hard all of this seems.

One more appointment. Dr. Nora at 4:45pm. Thank God that she doesn't need to take blood or poke my ladyparts!

20 comments:

  1. I hate the full bladder requirement, too. The whole time, all I can think is, "I gotta pee, I gotta pee, hurry uo!" I hope all of your prep work goes well and that you find a little time for some fun during your days off.

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  2. I hear you, being at home especially when you don't have to work and watching girly movies curled up at home...hmmm not bad at all! think of something fun today each day after the medical stuff. I don't like the full bladder thing either..i pee very easily all the time due to my fibroid crap.
    take care

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  3. Hang in there...I promise it'll be worth it!!

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  4. Oh that's the worst! Praying for you jb!

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  5. You are doing great! Hang in there! *hugs*

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  6. I HATE having to tell infertile women to fill their bladders for their baseline!!! Especially when so many of our patients have had about, oh, 1,000 ultrasounds already before coming to our office. But it's so crucial to have that transabdominal scan on file to look back at while assessing gyn health in the future.

    I know you know there's a point to it. That doesn't make it any more fun to sit around having to pee your pants in the waiting room, though ;)

    PS, I thought it funny you referred to NJ as "South." Hehe!

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  7. TCIE: The worst part of the u/s was when the tech asked how long we had been trying. I almost started weeping when I said, "Six years.". I was hoping for some mercy, but the internal was so painful. I could tell that the tech had no idea what IF was about. When I asked why it hurt so much she said, "It's because of your endometriosis." I wanted to say, "It's because you weren't gentle." I've had many u/s before and this, by far, was the worst.

    And yes, you are definitely south. Living in the northern tundra gives me the luxury of saying that! ;)

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  8. NJ the SOUTH? haha now that's funny :) Sorry the u/s was so bad :(

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  9. What an awful experience. I am sorry you had to go through that and answering those unnecessary questions...so hard. I loathe ultrasounds as well and the added transvaginal part makes it all the more unpleasant. Hope your apmt with Dr. N goes well. You are getting so close...

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  10. I wanted to kick someone just reading this!!!!!!

    Also, I had ovarian cysts in my early twenties which necessitated a lot of full-bladder u/s. The most traumatic thing ever was when a hospital tech forgot to take me back for the u/s (I was hospitalized with a ruptured cyst). Literally, they left me there for half an hour, with a bursting bladder. I thought I would die. Finally, I called someone to get me and they were so "sorry" and raced me through the hallways in my wheelchair. Then of course I still had at least 20 minutes of u/s pressure, etc. I seriously was so traumatized by the pain and horror of it that I never again filled my bladder, even when they told me to…

    AWFUL!

    Praying this all ends in some wonderful things!!

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  11. This U/S tech should have a nasty comment card filled out and turned in!!! I've had a few painful moments, but not the whole darn time!!!
    People are sometimes so rude in accessing information.

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  12. OH my. Some people. That tech should have read over everything and been prepared...but what can you do?

    I'm glad that the ultrasound is over and the blood work is done. Praying that your next appointment goes well (you're a busy woman!) and that you are able to relax for the rest of the day.

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  13. You really should have kicked her teeth out :) She has no clue!

    By the way, filling up my bladder for the u/s in Omaha was horrible too. Full bladders hurt!

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  14. I just want to throw my arms around you and give you a (very gentle) hug! No one should have to endure these kinds of things. I am SO sorry it hurt so bad.

    I am stepping up my usual prayers for you. May all of this yield MUCH fertility and soon.

    Hang in there.

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  15. Ugh!!!! I don't even know which part of the day sounds worse. I am sorry it was such a rough day filled with clueless people. How cool that you were able to impress them with your knowledge.

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  16. Yes, I hate having a full bladder! You had a ROUGH day...I hope your last appointment went much smoother! Praying for you over the next few weeks!

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  17. Jb even though the hell of this day, some parts of this post had me laughing....

    I loved how the day ended, you have to go get it, and you are!!

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  18. God bless you. What a trying day! I hate those inside ultrasounds. They are painful and gross.

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  19. oh my! that really does sound like a crappy day! What a lab tech! :( Hopefully you don't have to go back there very often.

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