# HSG - do I have to do this??



## liontari (Feb 8, 2012)

Hello Ladies! I am new to this forum and would really appreciate your help and advice. My husband (37) has a very low sperm count (1million) and therefore we are about to begin discussions with the fertility specialists. So far I (31) have done the ultrasound pelvic scan and the blood tests for ovulation and hormones. All results were good. 

This is all new to me so I am not that familiar with the terminologies and procedures yet. I have heard about the HSG test and I am very worried about this as I have heard that this is very painful. My question is do I have to do this in my situation? Is this a standard requirement before starting any fertility treatment or is this only required if a problem has not yet been identified? 

I would really appreciate any help you could give me!


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## Guest (Feb 9, 2012)

Hi hun, welcome to the site  

We are in our first cycle at the moment, we were refered for male factor too. Low motility and count. My doctor refered us to the clinic assuming that they would send me for a hsg which i really wasnt looking forward to. But on our appointment with the consultant they said I didnt have to have one as hubbys count was low so we would need ivf anyway, so it wouldnt matter if my tubes were blocked as they would be bypassing them anyway. I had my normal blood tests and they were ok. So i didnt have the scan.

Im not sure if this helps you at all. What clinic are you at?

Lots of love

Becky

xxx


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## liontari (Feb 8, 2012)

Becky! Thank you so much! This was a huge help! 

We are waiting for the ARGC appointment and also will be seeing the NHS fertility specialist to get as many opinions as possible. Which clinic are you with and are you happy with the choice? We are still waiting for the first appointment so haven't decided yet which one we will use and we still don't know which treatments are best for us. 

Good luck to both of you!!


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## Guest (Feb 9, 2012)

Your welcome   We found out at my baseline scan which i had whilst already injecting, that i have polycystic ovaries. This would probably have been detected if i had had the hsg scan, but it would have made no difference really, we still needed the ivf. 

We are at Burton Centre for Reproductive Medicine in Staffordshire. Im happy with them so far. It was just the one we were refered to by the doctor. But so far so good   Am in my 2ww at the mo so ask me again next thurs when i know if its worked lol   Fingers crossed.

Good luck hun and make sure you ask lots of questions, hope you get a date soon

xxx


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## liontari (Feb 8, 2012)

Fingers crossed for you!  

I will be asking as many questions as possible before we decide about the clinic. Can't wait to finally see the specialist and find out what next for us. The waiting time can be very frustrating!  

xxx


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## spookster (Dec 30, 2011)

Hi Evucha,
Don't know if your consultant will suggest a HSG but just to reassure you that although some people have problems with this procedure from the sound of their posts, it wasn't that bad for me. It was rather uncomfortable for about 20 seconds like really bad period pains but then it stopped straight away and I had no bleeding or after effects. I went straight back to work afterwards ( well I stopped for a coffee and cake first to treat my self). 

So try not to worry about it. I know everyone is different but if it helps them work out the best course of treatment for you and it's necessary then hopefully you wont find it too bad.

Hope this helps a little.
Best wishes S x


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## mrsmcb (May 12, 2011)

Hi there

The HSG is necessary to see if your tubes are clear or blocked so even if your hubby has low//no sperm  then they can give you clear options. I had a bad experience with my HSG but I think I was a rare case and am sure you will be fine, if you are worried then see your GP who will give you pain relief etc. I got diazepam but it didnt touch me lol!!

xx


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## liontari (Feb 8, 2012)

Thank you all so much for your input. 

I guess we will have to go with whatever the doctors suggest. Hopefully they can suggest some pain relief if I do have to do the HSG test... 

Good luck to all of you! xxx


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## Guest (Feb 10, 2012)

Morning hun, yes hopefully you will have some pain relief if you do have to have it. But you never know you might be lucky like me and not have to have it  

Keep us posted, hope you get an appointment soon

xxx


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## Jennyloola (Aug 2, 2010)

Morning, we also have male factor infertility with my DH's SA coming back at about 1 million.  I still had to have the HSG though as they often like to know a full picture of what's going on.  Also, I guess if the tubes are blocked, they would want to know this - I'm not sure if it increases chances of ectopic or anything like that.  

I had it done in July 2010 and just took 2 ibruprofen beforehand.  I had a sharp cramp that lasted about 15 seconds and then it was absolutely fine.  I know everyone has a different experience but the vast majority are fine.  Don't google it though - it will frighten the life out of you.   There are threads on here where lots of people explain their experience of it - I will try to find it for you.  

All the best of luck to you hun  

Jen
xx


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## Jennyloola (Aug 2, 2010)

http://www.fertilityfriends.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=257266.0

Lots of different experiences on here.

xx


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## liontari (Feb 8, 2012)

Jen, thanks a lot for this link. I will definitely read it! 

Your twins are so beautiful and your situation has given me so much hope!   Was everything done via NHS or did you go private? Was that IVF or ICSI? Do you have any tips to share regarding the clinic and the procedure? 

Ewa  xx


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## ClarissaN (Jan 1, 2012)

I had my HSG back in April and it was nothing to worry about.

There was pain similar to bad period pain for a short time (I did have to grit my teeth for a few seconds) I was eventually given a muscle relaxant injection towards the end of the procedure as my right tube was not 'spilling' but I would say be brave if you are booked in for one.  It's over pretty quickly and with little pain 

I went off to see Kylie straight afterwards so no after effects!!


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## Jennyloola (Aug 2, 2010)

Ewa,

Awww, thank you - they are rather cute!  

We were very lucky and were successful on our 1st NHS funded ICSI attempt.  We were at Barts in London and I honestly cannot fault them.  They were all fantastic from day 1 and as you can see on my signature things moved extremely quickly for us!

I think so much of it is down to looking after yourself.  I made sure I ate lots of protein, drank lots and lots of water and tried to keep stress out of my life.  I also think I went into it with the attitude that it HAD to work.  I don't know how I would have reacted had it not worked but I just felt positive that it would.

Where are you based and which clinic options are open to you?  If you don't mind me asking, why would you go to the ARGC if you have NHS open to you?

Jen
xx


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## ronniesgirl (Mar 31, 2011)

Hi Evucha
We have just started investigations through the Centre for life in Newcastle. I have had my bloods redone and a pelvic scan and my next test is the HSG in a couple of weeks.
Now heres the thing DH had attended the Centre for life 4 years previously with his first wife and it was found he had a low sperm count. He has had 2 other SA that showed no improvement and has just done another one on Tuesday. My bloods came back normal first time around and I will get results from recent ones when we go back in March but my scan showed a teeny follicle starting. Our consultant suggested we may need ICSI.
Sorry for such a drawn out reply but I wanted to explain that yes they might require you too have an HSG


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## rockandrose (Aug 11, 2011)

Hi Evucha
Just to add to all the reassuring messages... I had an HSG this week and it was uncomfortable but not really painful. And it was over surprisingly quickly! It was like a smear test that gave me period pains for the rest of the day.  I just took a couple of paracetamol.
Good luck


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## ♥JJ1♥ (Feb 11, 2006)

they might like to see what your uterus is like and an HSG can give some information they wouldn;t need to see if your tubes are patent if you are having ICSI


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## liontari (Feb 8, 2012)

Girls, thank you all for your advice and opinions!  

Jen,

We are based in London and my GP told me that we would probably have to wait another 6 months for IVF through the NHS. We don’t want to wait that long to start and also we want to make sure we are in a good clinic. We are deciding now between ARGC (first appointment on the 29th February), and Serum in Greece as we heard very positive opinions about this clinic too. I haven’t heard of Barts so I will look into this clinic too. 

Our first appointment with a fertility specialist from the NHS is on the 6th of March so I guess we will then find out more what NHS can offer…  

I will keep you posted about our results and next steps! xxx


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