HSG Clean as a Whistle...We are Cleared for Take-Off!

Good news came from Dr. Vaughn's office yesterday. My HSG results came back and we are clear for take-off!  The nurse said the HSG showed the same slight uterine septum that has always been present, but other than that no scarring in my tubes or uterus. Many RE's do an HSG following an ectopic pregnancy to see if it reveals any new damage or structural issues, but many also require it before proceeding with IVF. If you have blocked tubes with hydrosalpinx fluid leaking out of them, this can cause unsuccessful IVF, so that's one major reason why they require the HSG (or one of many other tests that looks at the fallopian tubes).

While I am over the moon happy that I don't have any major blockages or scarring, I'm still confused on why I had an ectopic pregnancy to begin with. Here, I have a test showing that my tubes are "open" but for some reason I had an embryo that implanted in there and wouldn't come out!

The more I read on the topic, the more I realize that...

A) It's a complex process for a fertilized embryo to travel out of the fallopian tubes.
B) Sometimes it just happens, and I may never know the true cause with 100% certainty.

Even though the HSG didn't show any detectable damage in my tubes, there could be something microscopically small there preventing safe passage of an embryo (like mild endometriosis, etc.) that just doesn't show up on the HSG. Likewise, the HSG could have flushed out anything really small that was blocking my tube(s) prior to the test. It doesn't take anything very big to block something the size of a grain of sand (like an egg or embryo) from passing through, so there's no telling.  Either way, they're pretty darn clear right now following the Spring cleaning that just took place. Ha!

Many RE's say that fertility is increased following an HSG, because it basically flushes out your lady parts and removes anything getting in the way of things flowing smoothly. I am actually a believer of this. Following my first HSG in 2011, I became pregnant the first cycle following the procedure.

The HSG seemed to make me fertile myrtile once before, and there's always a chance it could work again. We were given the official go ahead to being trying to conceive again!  If we want to try this month, it will have to be naturally, because I'm already on CD10. It would be too late to start a medicated cycle this month, and trying on our own is our only option if we'd like to try right away.

We realize we have an increased risk of a repeat ectopic (20%) trying naturally, but we both really want to give it another shot before moving onto IVF...especially since the HSG seemed to do something for us the only other time we became pregnant. Plus, we feel we are emotionally ready. I can't even tell you how happy it would make us to become pregnant with a HEALTHY pregnancy ON OUR OWN and save ourselves the physical and emotional rollercoaster, not to mention $15-$20K for one cycle of IVF. Let's just say I'm going to be praying A LOT in the coming weeks that we can somehow miraculously conceive on our own this cycle!

I saw something Joel Osteen posted on his facebook page today and it was exactly the reminder I needed...

It's taking a lot of faith for me to believe it CAN actually happen for us on our own with no medication and no doctors this month. I know this is basically a last ditch effort to try again naturally, seeing how it hasn't worked soooo many times before, and we've had so many setbacks. But you know what? I do believe in miracles. I believe that God wants us to have a family and be happy. Maybe He wants to use this one last try to show us just how powerful and compassionate He truly is. And if not, at least we have other options available. All I can do is focus on what my heart wants more than anything else in this world right now and believe it IS possible.