My Asherman's Syndrome Story

I have went back and forth on writing about my experience with Asherman's Syndrome. You can visit that link to see what Asherman's is all about. But basically it is having adhesions/scarring in your uterus and/or cervix. It often develops from c-sections, miscarriages resulting in a D&C or leftover/retained placenta. Mine is from the first two.

But let me back up a bit and tell you all something I kept a secret from my blog and many people. I was pregnant in June 2021. It was a surprise and after the initial shock wore off, we were very excited. We had some worries about me and my health after having an emergency c-section with the girls, but my doctor was confident in my pregnancy care.

Fast forward to end of July 2021 (right before my birthday) and I had a miscarriage. Devastated doesn't even begin to cover my feelings (I am crying even typing this out). After trying pills to "complete the miscarriage", I ended up having a D&C. I went under general anesthesia for it, woke up and felt empty. 

Fast forward to December when I still hadn't had a period since getting pregnant. My doctor tried the wait it out method, tried using progesterone to kick start my period, tried using estrogen and progesterone combo and nothing was working. I requested some blood work on my hormones and everything came back normal. I told my doctor that I had done research and suspected Asherman's Syndrome. After 5 months of advocating for myself, they went to the next step.

The next step was a hysterosalpingography or a HSG. This is a test where a radiologist places a balloon and catheter in the cervix and injects dye into the cervix and uterus and then takes x-rays. This is to see if there is any blockages. The first attempt at mine and the balloon came out. The second attempt, they were able to inject the dye, but it only went in about an 1/8th to a 1/4 inch. When they tried to push more dye in, to break up any blockages, the balloon came out again. They tried one more time and it was the same result.

The radiologist gave me my results in real time and said I had major blockages. I also want to note that this isn't a comfortable procedure for most. If you have a lot of blockages they say it hurts more.

My doctor was given the results and I was told that they suspected that I had Asherman's. The next step was a Hysteroscopy using TruClear. This is a procedure where a scope goes into cervix and uterus that shaves/cuts out the scarring and sucks it up which goes into a medical waste container. The scope projects onto a big screen tv, so they can see all of the adhesions/scar tissue and remove it all.

I found out my diagnosis on a Tuesday and surgery as scheduled for the following Monday.

The procedure took about an hour and a half to complete and I woke up feeling better than I have after most surgeries. I think this is because my anesthesiologist found the right meds to not make me so sick after.

My doctor told me in recovery that everything went well. I had a lot of scarring at the opening of the cervix to the uterus, all along the sides of my uterus, where my c-section scar is (the internal side of it), and at the top of my uterus leading into my fallopian tubes. So basically, I had a ton of it. She got almost all of it out. She then put me on estrogen to help thicken the lining up and prevent more scar tissue from forming (fingers crossed).

I took that estrogen for about 2 weeks and was told that I would have to do a repeat HSG about 7 to 9 days after my next cycle. They will then check if the scar tissue came back. She did say that 50% of patients had it come back and had to have another repeat of this surgery. But let's hope I am better than the 50%.

And that is secret that I kept from you all and the journey I have been going through for the last 6 months.