Late 2009
So, naturally, at around 14 or 15 months, my body decided to mess with me. 10 days of bleeding. 4 days off. 7 days of bleeding. 7 days off. etc. I called the OB/Gyn office, where the midwives worked who had delivered my baby, and got assigned to an OB/Gyn nurse. Now that I think about it... I have bad luck with the nurses who get to do doctor-y stuff. Not the assistants, who get you in the room and tell you to strip down, and take your temp and such. But the ones who do the exam/consult. They just end up dicking around wasting my time. Precious baby-making time.
But anyway. After that fun little preview...
I go in, and she orders a blood draw, to test for iron deficiency and such. But not hormone levels. Or at least not an in-depth hormone panel. I mention that I have a history of uteran polyps (treated at a different office initially. I chose these guy because they were attached to the hospital I wanted to give birth at. And I came back to them, since I'd use them again for the next pregnancy.) I also have a family history of women's cancers. My maternal grandmother had uteran cancer [dingdingding! Any doctor worth his salt would have ordered a biopsy based on my history and symptoms at this point.] And my sister once tested positive for pre-cancerous cells on her cervix.
So this nurse? She recommends I start birth control. Seriously? I explain my history with BCP, and that I suffer from clinical depression, and that every time I have ever used hormonal birth control, I suffer from depression. It had gone away during pregnancy (very surprisingly!) and I hadn't suffered from post-partum depression (again, a total shock. We were all prepared for it.) So I was somewhat loathe to risk triggering it again, just because she couldn't think of anything better to do. Especially since my goal was to get pregnant again. Birth control seemed a little counter-intuitive.
I go home, with a paper in my hand, trying to decide whether I want to fill this prescription or not. Probably not. I want to know what's causing this. Will it come back? Will it interfere with getting pregnant? Is it polyps again? Cancer?
My sister had looked up all possible causes for irregular bleeding, and was shocked that a biopsy of my endometrium hadn't been ordered. The irregular bleeding alone should have warranted one, as they are very low risk, and relatively easy to do. When consulting with our Family Practitioner during one of my daughter's check-ups, he said that not only would he have ordered one, but that technically, he could have done it. But he would probably have farmed it out to someone more experienced at actually doing them. So with that in mind, I call back my OB's office and talk to the nurse's assistant and make an appointment for a biopsy. I get a call back the next day that the nurse feels that it is too risky and unwarranted and has cancelled the procedure.
Luckily, my sister is a bull-terrier. Especially after her doctors dicked around, not telling her that she had pre-cancerous cells on her cervix, but she knew something was wrong, so she demanded a copy of her file and went to another OB/Gyn to get a second opinion. One that she trusted, who she had seen in the past, when she lived closer. Ironically, this OB/Gyn had treated our mom, delivered my youngest sister's first child, seen my sister, and, when I was much younger, did a biopsy on some bumps I was worried might be genital warts, as my previous doctor had diagnosed (they weren't.) She'd seen all the pooters in my immediate family!
So my sister harangues me until I call this doctor. And make an appointment. And actually go to it. A month later, which is the soonest opening she has for new patients. And my sister comes with me. And asks for records release forms, which she fills out and makes me sign, so they can get my records from every doctor who's ever looked up my hoo-hah. But I'm so glad she made me do this. This doctor takes me seriously. This doctor does a full hormone panel. This doctor not only agrees to a endometrial biopsy, but suggests it herself first. Plus she wants to do an SHG to check for polyps.
We schedule these procedures. While waiting, my blood test results come back. There's a handwritten note over one of the results (FSH level I think.) "anovulatory." Okay. What does that mean? So I go back in to discuss my test results. Even after talking to her, I'm not clear. She says that the hormone levels indicate that I wasn't ovulating that cycle. But I was getting the gooey egg-white-like discharge. She said that didn't necessarily mean anything. *sigh* But when I'm getting a period every 14-16 days, who knows what's even going on in there?
Early 2010
After waiting for pre-authorization from my insurance, I go in for both. And my period is so heavy, she can't do the SHG (since there's a risk that shooting the saline in can push blood up in and block my tubes.) We opt to go through with the biopsy, since there's a slim chance it could detect a polyp too. Plus, you know. I was already there with my knees in the air.
Now, I'd had an SHG at the fertility clinic, and it hadn't hurt a bit. A little discomfort. But nothing like the HSG in 2006. But this? I wasn't expecting this level of pain. Like the HSG. Only I was caught unawares, with no time to prep myself psychologically. This hurt like a motherfucker. It hurt so much I had a hard time remembering to breathe. Like a rod of pain had been inserted into my cervix opening. And was prizing it open by force. Only, I don't normally feel anything all up in there. And to top it off, while hurting like a motherfucker, she made it hurt in a new place while taking the biopsy. Not as bad a pain as the insertion procedure. But like someone pinching off a bit of flesh in a place woman was not meant to be touched.
We hold off on rescheduling the SHG, until the biopsy results. And, Lo and Behold! She happened to snag a polyp. Well! Mystery solved! Polyps! Thanks for nothing, useless, time-wasting nurse biotch at the first office!
She recommends that I start birth control pills, so that we control my cycle, so we can schedule a D and C with polypectomy for the right time window. So, with a valid reason, and not just a lazy shot in the dark, I agree to try BCP again. And had to go back on my antidepressants. Surprise, surprise. Bleah.
After waiting a month, to suppress my period, she has me stay on the 'active pills' and not stop them until a few days before my procedure.
Since this doctor is totally awesome, and understood my sense of urgency about the whole thing, and that every month counts when you're trying to make babies, she scheduled my operation during her lunch hour since it was the soonest opening in the surgery center that didn't fall on one of her days off.
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