my brain has obviously been affected by this bug too... just realised I missed out half of teacake's questions.
re: scan for Ashermans. Yes you are right a normal ultrasound scan can not detect scar tissue on the cervix or uterus. 2 helpful investigations are
an HSG - dye inserted in the uterus and xrays pictures taken
or an hSG - saline solution inserted into the uterus and 4D scan performed
but the HSG will not always show up mild scarring and the hSG results really need to be looked at by someone who knows about AS to get a good diagnosis. the vast majority of gynecologist are very poorly informed about AS.
If you want to cut to the chase, go and see the doctor who just treated me in London, Dr Adrain Lower,020 7 486 2440 he is one of only two Ashermans specialists in the UK and he is rated as in the top rank worldwide. He takes BUPA patients, and it is much easier to get BUPA to pay out for lack of periods than it is for light periods/infertility (which many AS patients have) so you might want to lie. If you are paying privately it costs £205 for a consultation (which you can do by telephone or skype if you want) and £250 for a 4D scan which will give you a diagnosis. Dr Lower is the only AS specialist who can diagnose AS via a scan.
The only thing is he might want to rule out hormonal issues first and send you for bloods tests (i already had mine done elsewhere by the time I saw him) and these can get quite pricey, so if you can get these done on the NHS then that is better. At this stage it is just as likely that the problem is hormonal as it is AS, so the best place to start is with some bloods tests and charting both of which can tell you if you are having normal cycles.
The great thing about Dr Lower is that everything is very quick, you can get an appointment almost immediately and if need be treatment scheduled straight away.
I do hope you dont have AS, but the good news is that if you do and it is treated promptly by someone who knows what they are doing then the prognosis is very good. I know how scary and worrying it all starts to get when AF doesnt show up properly. If you want more information and support, I would encourage you to enroll on the yahoo AS site which you can find through www.ashermans.org. The ladies on there have tons and tons of information.
xxxxxx