Saturday, August 3, 2013

Pilgrimage to Boston.

By the time December 2012 rolled around, I was tired.  I was tired of this infertility that was so rudely foisted on me, tired of cramps that felt like monthly labor pains, I was tired of blood draws to monitor my HCG, and frankly, I was tired of mourning the loss of a future sibling for my niblet.  Because yes, let me say that a top of all else, I was sad.  The complications of my miscarriage forced me to go into overdrive to heal myself and find answers, see lots of doctors and get lots of tests, work-out like a crazy woman to lose the baby weight (THIS is a whole other post) and try to mother the child I already had in a way that wouldn't send her into therapy.  And through all of this, I didn't realize how sad I was.  Earlier that summer I was carrying a baby.  Until I wasn't.

By mid-November, even before what might have been the pokiest failed HSG test in history, I had concluded that I was not going to find treatment for my AS locally.  I didn't trust Dr. X at all.  Now, there are currently three doctors in the UNITED STATES who are considered "A-list" experts in surgically treating AS.  Dr. March, in California, Dr. Olive in Wisconsin (who isn't as well known as he should be, based on the number of Midwestern AS sufferers on the boards who never heard of him), and Dr. Isaacson in Boston.   All three have treated thousands of women like me, women who were told their uterus was obliterated, women who were told to give up ever thinking of carrying a baby on their own. *

Dr. Isaacson, besides being the closest to me geographically (though still a plane ride away), performed most of his surgeries in-office, using a device called a flexible hysteroscope.  No HSG bullshit for him, he would insert a scope into my uterus (while I was awake and on copious amounts of ibuprofen) and he would start cutting away - then and there - any scarring he saw using micro-scissors.  Yes, I said micro-scissors (because as I learned from the AS group ladies, lasers or use of heat in the wrong hands could make scarring worse).  So like hundreds of women before me, I called the offices of Dr. Keith Isaacson at Newtown-Wellesley Hospital in Boston.  Doesn't he look nice? 

You guys, my conversation with the Bahston-accented receptionist at the front desk was more productive than four months of conversations I had been having with my own doctors.  When would I like an appointment?  No, I wouldn't need films of an HSG, Dr. Isaacson will just evaluate your uterus in-office and treat you that day.  Yes, it's ideal for him to see you during certain days of your cycle, but you haven't had a period in months?  No problem.  You need to catch a flight back home that day?  No problem.  It was like the goddamn Brigadoon of doctor's offices.  I felt so comfortable that by the end of our conversation I slipped into a yicky habit I am often accused of by friends, I started talking like her.  Thank god a coworker let me use her private office to make the phone call, so no one around me would be wondering "Why is she talking like that?  What happened to her vowels?"

My hysteroscopy was scheduled for December 12th and I received so many emails of encouragement in my inbox.  Every single woman who assured me that I would love this man and he would absolutely "fix me."  I procured cheap flights, a hotel room and a rental car for myself and dear husband.  He lived in Boston for a while, so he was gonna drive.  My ability to deal with stress has a limit after all.

 *Post-script:  I neglected to mention other A-list doctors in NY:  Dr. Palter, in Long Island who is reportedly amazing, and Dr. Copperman in NYC.  Dr. Copperman is a controversial doctor on the Asherman's site, because he actually uses laser surgery to remove adhesions.  Nevertheless, he has many glowing reviews and a track record that shows his abilities.

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