I was diagnosed with secondary infertility after having 4 kids and a year of TTC with my new husband. After 18 months i had an HSG showing both tubes were blocked. We were sent to a FS specialist who wanted us to jump straight to IVF. Even when i asked about other options she said "we dont like to recommend that, when would you like to start ?" For a lot of reasons we have no interest in IVF, including money, we too have to self fund and we were denied medical loans. I started doing my research online and decided to get a tubal recanulization. It took some hoop jumping but I had it scheduled. My OB's office kept trying to tell me "we dont refer for that" and that i'd have to go to another OB local to the hospital where i was going (its not done at my local hospital) and on and on and on. Finally the woman understood. I tried to tell her that if i needed bloodwork before dental surgery i didn't need a new dentist, just a facility where i could get my blood drawn, apparently that made sense.
A tubal recanulization is NOT a surgery ! Its performed by an Interventional Radiologist (not available at all hospitals), the same Dr who performs a heart cath and in exactly the same manner. Its a simple procedure, low risk and can be covered by insurance as a diagnosis for infertility, as it's not technically a fertility treatment.
I had it scheduled for the 22nd of October and went in ready to have the procedure. They did another HSG and confirmed both tubes were blocked. THEN the brilliant man used a cath balloon, added some internal pressure and IMMEDIATELY my right tube opened and my left was partially blocked distally (at the ovary not at the uterus, theres not necessarily much they can do for that). When i got my first HSG they had a theory i probably had one or both blocked tubes but manged to get pregnant (3 years between kids, no BC, we also werent TTC just NTNP). The new Dr suggested I might not have any trouble getting pregnant even with that partial blockage.
My HSG is not hurt, at all, not a single bit and I wondered if it was because both my tubes were blocked. Everyone else that said their hurt had at least one open, or partially blocked tube and mine were both blocked at the uterus.
