Hello ladies. I luckily just had my prayers answered by finding this site. There is so little information for us out there.

My husband and I are on cycle 12 of TTC. I had a failed 3 step j pouch procedure in 1992 when I was 15. 2 surgeries followed-1 trying to tave the pouch and the second to take it down and fix a permanent ostomy.

I am clearly concerned about scar tissue after 5 major surgeries, and from what I am reading, rightfully so.

My RE says he is scared to do a HSG because he is worried he will puncture my intestine. So many of you have seemed to have this test with no troubles. Am I missing something, or do I have the wrong doctor?

I live in Switzerland, so finding people with experience with this here will be more than difficult.

I would love to hear your experiences with this test. Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

Arabella,
There should really be no problem unless you have a very specific medical condition that we don't know about...most of us who have had problems concieving have gone through at least one (I had 2 after dozens of abdominal surgeries and a k pouch)....you may wish to change docs and find a Gyn who understands this sort of procedure...there was never even a question by my gyn about doing the test...but he was reccomended by my colorectal surgeon...
Sharon

I have a TON of scar tissue and they did mine no problem. Perhaps your OBGYN can reach out to your GI to get their questions and concerns addressed? My OB consulted a GI surgeon through out my pregnancy and even had him there for the C-section.

When you say 12 cycles, does that mean 12 months trying to get pregnant the old fashioned way?

I had a failed j-pouch and four surgeries prior to my HSG and there was no problem.

I also ended up with no identifiable fertility problems but whent ahead with IVF. We did two fresh cycles both of which were successful and also a frozen cycle in between which I miscarried. My kids are now 5 1/2 and 3. Let me know if you have questions about the process or pregnancy with an ostomy.

Thanks ladies for your answers and thoughts.

Yes, this is our 12th month of trying.

I am just starting the search to see if there is a fertility specialist here near switzerland who has experience with women with ostomies. Today I made a request for referral to a GI surgeon who might be able to make a recommendation of a fertility specialist. My surgeries were done in the USA 15-20 years ago. I just dont know where to start here in Europe. I dont want to do IVF in Switzerland or germany because their techniques are not up to date. I hope I can get something moving. I turn 35 in November and after trying for a year, we are ready to for something to happen!
Thanks again!

I wish you all the best

Have you tried coming to France? There are a lot of really good fertility specialists here..And some hospitals specialize in it...although I don't have a G.I doc I may be able to help with the obgyn.
Sharon

Sharon, Thanks so much! I found someone and had my hsg today. Tubes are both open, but the tubes are twisted a bit. The left ovary is stuck to my uterus. We are planning to try ivf in the late spring. Considering that IUI's are covered by insurance, we will go ahead an try them in the meantime. It seems unlikely to work, but if its covered, we'd be foolish not to try it. We will start that in December. Thanks so much for the generous offer.
Thanks for the good thoughts, toughenough!

So if you are doing IUI keep a few things in mind:

The majority of high order multiples are a result of IUI - because you are stimulating the ovaries to produce more follicles and then inseminating with a large amount of sperm, multiple eggs can get fertilized and implant

With IVF you chose how many embryos to transfer so have a little more control. Yes embryos can split but if you transfer one and it splits you have twins not quads or quints.

If you are opposed to reducing a pregnancy and or are concerned about carrying a high order pregnancy insist that they do an ultrasound just before insemination so that you know how many follicles you have and what size they are. This will give you a sense of how many potential embryos you have. If you end up having a lot of follicles and don't want to deal with the issues above you can postpone the insemination and try again another time with less stimulation medication.