Today DH and I had our followup appointment with our RE to go over the initial round of testing we've been doing this past month (blood work, ultrasound, hsg, semen analysis).

The news was worse than I was prepared for. After getting my HSG results back early, I already knew I had a blocked left tube. And an internet search led me to believe that blockage is likely due to endometriosis. Aside from heavy bleeding and severe pain during my period, I have a lot of the symptoms.

Today, the doctor confirmed that the blockage indicates endometriosis. Apparently my ultrasound revealed that my left tube is behind my ovary. The tech also suspected they were fused since when she moved the wand in me, they moved together rather than separately of each other. This would mean endometrial scar tissue adhered to them and bound them together. So both the ultrasound and HSG point to endometriosis.

Great. I thought the worst was over.

Then we discuss hubby's sperm analyses. Two were done because the first yielded low sperm count. Turns out they both did. 1.4. One point four million sperm. That's all. His count is so low they couldn't even assess morphology. And his motility is low as well. RE recommended hubby go see a urologist specializing in infertility since his blood work revealed no genetic or hormonal factor that would explain a low count.

Then the doctor tells us our only viable option based on these results is <a href="https://glowing.com/glow-fertility-program">IVF</a>. He said two main reasons for <a href="https://glowing.com/glow-fertility-program">IVF</a> are male factor and tubal factor and we have both 😭😭. He said with sperm counts so low, <a href="https://glowing.com/glow-fertility-program">IUI</a> isn't really an option. He said he wasn't kidding (yeah doc, we know). But silver lining, he said our chances of success with <a href="https://glowing.com/glow-fertility-program">IVF</a> are excellent. I guess because there doesn't seem to be any issues with my uterus and my eggs looked good for the most part.

He also said we could choose to do <a href="https://glowing.com/glow-fertility-program">IVF</a> right away or do some more investigating. The investigation involves hubby's visit to the urologist and our RE doing my ultrasound himself to talk me through what they are seeing and see if he can separate my uterus and ovary. After the ultrasound, he wants to consult with me and possibly consider a repeat HSG to see if the tube is still blocked. From there, I guess my next option would be laparoscopy to definitively diagnose endometriosis and to remove endometrial scar tissue.

I was dreading the doctor confirming my right to be suspicious of endometriosis but I had considered it and was prepared for it. I wasn't suspecting such a severe male factor or being told that there really isn't much chance of getting pregnant without <a href="https://glowing.com/glow-fertility-program">IVF</a>. It didn't help that hubby was grumpy the rest of the night after getting the news. Reasonably so.

In case anyone is wondering, just this initial round of testing is going to end up costing us somewhere around upwards of $500 out of pocket even with health insurance. I know <a href="https://glowing.com/glow-fertility-program">IVF</a> is much more expensive than that.

Anyone experience a similar situation? I kind of want to hold out hope that the doc can loosen up my ovary enough to unblock it. Or that laparoscopy can unblock it. And that the urologist can find some solution to get DH's counts up to something reasonable so that maybe we can at least have some chance of conceiving naturally. Am I crazy?