The long process of "IVF workup" is finally coming to an end. All of my labwork came back normal, meaning that there are no deficiencies or blood clotting disorders. My genetic screenings also came back negative, which means that I am not a carrier for any genetic disorders. The uterine biopsy revealed that I have the necessary receptor cells for embryo implantation. All good news!
The final step was to have at least one fallopian tube removed because it was retaining toxic fluid, which would destroy an embryo. I went in for surgery on Thursday of last week. We knew that one tube would be removed, and that there was a possibility of the second tube being removed depending on what was found once my pelvic cavity was cut open.
When I awoke after surgery, my doctor came in to talk to us. I think he was floored by what he found, but it was really no surprise to us. He was not able to remove either fallopian tube. He said it looked like someone dumped a bottle of Elmer's glue inside of me because all of my organs are glued together. He said it took him some time to even figure out what was what in there. My tubes are buried in adhesions and glued to my bowel, which is glued to my uterus, and so on. This, of course, is all due to endometriosis. My doctor said that if he would have tried to separate anything it would have turned into a major surgery with potential complications (i.e. perforated bowel). He was, however, able to ligate both tubes, which he found necessary to proceed with IVF.
It's kind of funny when you think about it--most women have their tubes ligated to prevent pregnancy, while I had my tubes ligated to increase my chance of pregnancy. Of course, now our only hope of conceiving is through IVF. We will never experience the miracle of natural conception again, but we can still have a miracle baby with the help of IVF.
Now we wait for my next cycle to start. Once that happens, we will receive a calendar from our nurse, which will instruct me to take certain medications at certain times. We will once again go through the priming phase and then the stimulation phase (lots of injections) before we get to egg retrieval. If everything goes as planned, we could be pregnant by the end of the year.
