To Laparoscopy Or Not To Laporoscopy? That Is The Question!

Hello Ladies,
I am day 26 of my 'Crazy Conception Plan' cycle having ovulated on day 20 so I am 6dpo. I went to my gyn yesterday who wants me to have a laparoscopy and flush the old tubes out. Aparently this increases the chance of conception. I am booked in for the 10th of March - 1st day on my new cycle. Aparently this is Ok by the surgeon. It is too early in my cycle (6dpo) to do a pregnancy test to see if the "Crazy Conception Plan' worked so I plan to do a number of pregnancy tests 2-3 days before I go in to ensure I am not pg. I don't have any pg symptoms yet except my bb's are slightly larger and I have slight sensitivity on my rhs lower abdoman. I get these just before AF arrives too so I discount them as pg symptoms. How early do the symptoms arrive?

I am a little anxious about this as the laparoscopy seems very invasive and I wonder if there are other options. Can they do anything else to detect endometriosis or blocked fallopian tubes? My gyn was a bit dismissive of alternatives.

Thanks again ladies!!!
Melissa

Hi there,

I had a laparoscopy after about 16 months of TTC. I was having very similar thoughts to yourself about the invasive nature of the op, but went ahead and did it anyway on my OBs recommendation, as I really don't think there are any similar alternatives.

The procedure itself was simple and painless, under a general anesthetic. I can remember coming round from the anesthetic and my OB holding my hand and telling me it was "Good news. Your tubes are all clear & there is no endo and no apparent problems" Which was of course good news, but my emotions must have been running high as I pronptly burst into tears and said "Well if my insides are all OK, why am I still not bloody well pregnant???"!

Anyway, I concieved 2 cycles later, so I think maybe the theory that it assists conception maybe has some truth to it. (I sadly had a mc with that pregnancy, which I have been assurred was nothing to do with the lap at all.)

HTH.....

Thanks Lucy for the reply. Very sorry to hear about your m/c. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you! It is so hard to trust someone else with your fertility. I know the gyn is trying to help me but I still don't trust her 100% Maybe it's because it is so important to me and I feel that she couldn't possible care as much about it as I do. I don't know!
Thanks again.

Melissa

Hi Sedony,

Unfortunately, there is no other way to detect endometriosis for sure. There are many symptoms of endometriosis but you cannot get the diagnosis for sure without the laparoscopy.

That said, ultimately the decision to go ahead rests with you. The doctor can only suggest you do it. If you are unsure, then maybe you would like to hold off until you feel you have enough information or are satisfied that it is the right choice for you.

Mine was scheduled to take place on the day my period was actually due. The period didn't start that day as I recall but I took a chance, mainly because it was becoming increasingly obvious to me that I had endo and it was getting worse by the month. I was pretty sure I was not pregnant because the familiar pattern of cramping and intermittent bleeding had started again. It was also the last day of surgery for the year and I wanted to have it out of the way.

The doctor also mentioned to me that the chances of conception are significantly higher four to six months after the operation.

Anyway, good luck with your decision. Let us know how you go.

Hi Melissa,
I had a laparoscopy in December, after 2 years of TTC, and got pg the second cycle after the lap. I also miscarried but at least I got a lot further than we have in the past 2 years. I also have 2 friends that had laps and also got pg. 2 cycles after that.
There really is no other way of telling whether there is something inside you not quite right but you have to feel OK about it.
good luck

Hey there Melissa. Id say go for it. Its not terribly painful or anything and at least you will have a much better understanding of how your 'bits' are going and how well they are working...

Fingers crossed that you dont get that far though, and you get that BFP instead!


Keen

Hi Melissa
I've had 11 laps, my last lap lasted 4hours! (the resected my colon, diathermed bladder & abdomin, lined abdomen, proppred up my retroverted uterus, D&C, tubes dye, fibroid removal, etc etc etc)

So a lap can go from a half an hour process to a major operation. It depends on the purpose of the lap and what "they find" when they are there.

But I don't think you have much to worry about, it would appear that your dr is suggesting a diagnostic lap - whereby he wants to get in there and some anatomical testing and reviewing (like patent tubes, endo, etc).

Laps can improve your fertility, if they can flushed slightly blocked tubes, diatherm endo etc. But mainly laps are diagnostic - as I said - so that the drs can determine the best ART.

But you need to be aware of the risk of adhesions, which if developed near ovaries etc can actually reduce fertilty.

Getting through the procedure is another thing......sometimes I've taken pre-meds so help with the nerves but this can increase your recovery time. If you haven't had a general anaesthetic you may be nauseous afterward - that can be fixed with a needle though. I have been known to get by on panadol post op but it again depends on "how much work" they do ( Iwas in hospital on morphine for the last one).

As far as my experience with laps and falling pg, its been 50/50. In that: *lap#10 was 20/11/2000, then had 3 months of provera (progesterone), 2/01 FET cancelled, 9/01 FET SUCCESS :D
*lap#11 was 3/6/2004, 8/04 IVF, 10/04 FET cancelled,11/04 FET, 12/04 FET and now doing another FET this month.

So in summary I suppose there is pros and cons of laps - which you need to consider when making your decision.

I would recommend that you find out more about the surgeons experience/skills and perhaps get a second opinion.

Hi Ladies,
Again I thank you all so much for the time you have taken to reply to me. It is so comforting to know that there is this site and people like yourselves who are willing to share and support others. Your help and advice is truely appreciated =D> and I will keep you posted!
Melissa :D

Hi Melissa
I am just 3 weeks out from my last lap, and recovery is fine, I feel I am practically back to normal.
Just to ease your mind on the maybe PG side of things, the nurses ensured they did a test on me before my op

Good luck in everything.

Hi Sedony,

I echo the thoughts of everyone else. I have had 3 laps done and in my opinion, I really think that if there is unexplained infertility dogging you, then the next step really is to have a look. A lap is the best way for a dr to really sort out what is going on. And remember, laps are much better than the ol' "open you up to have a look" like they used to do!

That said, I think that you need to be comfortable with your specialist and/or the surgeon. If you have no or little faith in them now, this feeling could get out of control if, following the lap, you still didn't fall pg as quickly as you thought you should.

At the end of the day, even with laps (and yes, they are supposed to increase your chances of falling pg) there are no guarrantees that all will be well afterwards.

But as for the recovery, I was fine and sare say that most women react well to the surgery.

Hayseed