HyCoSy didn't work (or it failed?), any thoughts to share?

[meadowlark3]

I've just come from my HyCoSy which didn't go well. The doctor had to put the balloon in three times, as it kept falling out. It was very painful and I felt like I really needed to open my bowels and almost fainted. He then couldn't see my tubes at all when he put the dye in. Because we got pregnant (11 months ago) and miscarried, I would think that meant my tubes (or at least one) is open, but the doctor said he didn't see anything on the scan. I didn't understand if it meant he didn't see the tubes or didn't see the dye. My womb looked fine and he said I had five follicles on both ovaries which he said is "average". He also said my dominant follicle would burst "any minute" but I am day 16 of my cycle and my EWCM is gone...so does this mean my eggs aren't hatching, or not hatching at the right time?

And does not seeing my tubes mean they are blocked? He said because of the follicle count, my AMH, and DH's SA, he would refer us straight on to IVF. I was a bit stunned to hear that so I don't think everything he said really sunk in. He said he could arrange a HSG also but didn't think it would be useful for us. We are on the NHS in London.

Would appreciate any one else's thoughts and experiences. Sorry for the ramble and moan but my head is still spinning. (And my womb still a bit achy!)

and to you all for the weekend...xx

Hello there.
I'm afraid I don't have any experience to share - the opposite in fact as I have my HyCoSy this coming Tuesday.
I'm sorry you didn't have a very good experience with it. It has made me a bit more worried about mine now.
Were your amh and sa bad then? It was it just the result of the scan that has concluded in going straight to ivf?
Sorry that my response is nothing but questions. Hopefully someone else will have some information helpful to us both.

Hi meadow sorry to hear about your experience. As far as I understand it this test is to look for blockages in your tubes. Do you think he was referring to blockages when he said I can't see anything?

Being referred straight to IVF must be daunting, but if they think you are unlikely to conceive naturally then this will hopefully speed up your journey to becoming parents.

I've been trying for over a year and have our initial consultation with the specialist next week - so am feeling some anxiety over that and what they will say. It's a lot to get your head around.

Thank you both for your replies.

Summer, I hope your HyCoSy goes better than mine! Apparently it is pretty unusual that it's doesn't go very well...I found online that only about 7% of them don't work for some reason. The problem with mine was that the balloon kept falling out so it was hard to flush the fluid through, and the doctor said if he inflated it anymore it would be too painful for me. I would also warn you that I had a bit of bleeding with mine, and when I stood up from the couch there was all of the fluid that had dripped out, mixed with blood. I am a nurse so it was okay to see for me, but might be surprising for other people. Also, I wore loose trousers and granny knickers to fit a pad to wear afterwards. I also took two paracetamol beforehand but it didn't seem to do much. (TMI alert: I also could feel the fluid dripping out of me all evening ) My AMH was low-normal for my age (9 at 35). DH's SA was also low-normal: 9 million sperm per mil and good morphology/motility. His second SA was up to 15 mil but with less good motility. I think that since the doctor couldn't see my tubes at all he felt it would be better to just go straight to IVF since me and DH are both sub-normal.

Londonjam Thanks...I'm not quite sure what he meant. I think that he couldn't see the tubes at all (which is normal on some scans) but once they fill with fluid they should pop up on the screen, I think? So because he couldn't see them, I guess it is hard to know if they are blocked or just hidden (or spasmed and slammed shut because of the pain and stimulation). Starting IVF it is quite hard to get your head around, isn't it? I am of course grateful that we are being referred along but it was quite a surprise for him to tell us he'd refer us on to IVF that day...it felt as if there was some urgency that he didn't want to divulge, if that makes sense. Especially since the initial visit with the consultant one month ago was very reassuring and she seemed to think we should be able to get pregnant on our own.

Good luck to you both with your upcoming visits. Please update us on how you get on.