Endometriosis and conceiving

Hi Guys,

Just trying to find some info on endometriosis and conceiving. I have been trying to conceive for the last 2 and a bit years with no luck. I have just been told i have endometriosis and have my 1st lap on the 1st of feb. I am quite nervous as to what to expect and worried that they may tell me I cant have kids afterwards. Has anyone been through this and conceived or not please share your stories! I'm really praying i will happen soon after!

xoxo L.

I fell pg accidentally about 7 months after my first lap surgery. It really depends on the severity of the endo, scarring and if your tubes/uterus has been affected by it as well. Some women may only need a lap to give things a good clean out so to speak and start fresh while others may also need medication and assisted conception. It would be very unlikely that they will do the lap and come outright and say you can't have children but you could expect that it may not happen straight away. Good luck!

Thanks trillian :) I am so nervous! and i still have a week to wait. It will definately be a long wait! How did u feel after the lap?

After the first one I had I felt great - no shoulder tip pain and only minor pain at the wound sites. the second one I had recovery was longer - killer shoulder tip pain and it was really sore for ages and I did have the rely on panadeine forte for a few days.

is there anything you recommend i should get before hand?? and what should i take with me?? did u go public or private?

Hi there,
After trying for nearly 2yrs I had a lap & found out I had severe endo.
Didn't fall pg after another 4 months so I went on chlomid & did IUI & the second go we fell pg but who knows maybe we would have fallen pg naturally if we had waited longer.
I definately needed strong pain killers (although not everyone does) & I would suggest taking pads with you.
Good luck with it!
Jo

Thanks for all the info! Im hoping the endo isnt to bad and ill be able to fall soon after well fingers crossed anyway.. has anyone had it done at liverpool private in sydney?

Hi there, I ttc for nearly 5 years before i fell pregnant with our baby. I underwent IVF in 2005 only to be told AFTER a negative result that I had grade 5 endometriosis. We were never going to fall pregnant with that amount of endo inside of me. I was referred to Dr Michael Cooper in Macquarie Street Sydney, who operated on my 4 times in 2 years to remove all of my endo. I ended up having a bowel resection and some of my bladder removed due to the extent of the disease.

Fortunatley I was under Dr Cooper, who is one of the worlds best in removing endometriosis. If you google his name you can find his website. He operates Privately at St Vincents Private, Darlinghurst, and St Lukes Private, Potts Point. Or you can go public at RPA ~ Camperdown.

In the end we ended up having IVF again, AFTER endo was removed and fell first go with a huge improvement in egg quality and amount of follicles retrieved.

Endo is a horrible disease but it doesn't mean you can't have kids. All the best for a succesful op and outcome.

Hi There

I had a lapraoscopy in my early 20's during that procedure severe endometriosis was discovered. After I came to back on the ward my surgeon came and saw me and asked if I would like to have children. I said "yes I would one one day" If I had said no he was going to schedule me straight in to have a hysterectomy. That was his recommendation. He led me to believe I would have a very hard time trying to conceive. I did 6mths of Zolodex treatment after the lapraoscopy, and the following year I fell pregnant with our first born son Kameron. I had only been off the pill for 10 days when we conceived.

I wanted to try for another child and had been having mid cycle bleeding. The same surgeon was quite suprised that I had 1 child to my name. He did a 2nd lapraoscopy where a ligiment had adhered itself to the womb. After 4 mths of trying (3 actively) I fell pregnant with Lachlan our 2nd born.

2.5 years later Ashton our 3rd child was born. He was a suprise baby for us. We were not actively trying when we conceived him.

So I went from a surgeon telling my a hysterectomy would be my best option, to having 3 happy and healthy boys.

Hi there,

I was diagnosed with stage 4 endo about 4 years ago and have just had my second lap to remove some of the endo and unstick my ovaries and uterus from my bowel.

The second lap was definitely harder than the first and I needed a good three weeks recovery time.

I am now on a course of Zoladex (third injection) and hoping to start my next IVF cycle in Feb/March. I have had two previous IVF attempts which both failed so am hoping this one will be successful:crossfingers: as I have decided this will be my last try - due to finances and the fact that I don't think I can keep putting myself through this.

It is lovely to hear some of the success stories on here though and gives me hope that my next attempt will be successful!!! Thanks everyone. :hug:

Lisi_lou, I went public the first time and private the second time. You will probably only need to take a pad with you as you really wont feel like doing anything other than going straight home to rest and the bleeding usually isn't that heavy, in my experience anyway. You wont need to take painkillers with you either as they will prescribe you some strong analgesics to take home with you as well as a basic instruction sheet on what to expect over the next few days. Anything they remove during the lap will be sent to pathology to determine if it is endo or not and your Dr will call you in about a week with the results of the path tests.

Also make sure that you wear loose fitting clothing - a dress would be ideal - because you do feel quite bloated afterwards and you don't want to wear anything too tight. Also your wound sites will be very tender - one in your belly button, one above your pubic bone and one on either the left or right hand side of your abdomen and clothes rubbing on them can make them feel a bit sore.

Hi sweetie..
I know how your feeling.. I been in your shoes along with many other ladies on here...
Me and my DF have been ttc for the last 10 yrs with Endo also.. I was DX 5 yrs ago have had 2 laps.. First one in 2006 and i had a lot but my tubes were following thru and nothing was damanged..
the second lap was in june of 09 and then in dec 09 we found i was prego but lost thebaby to a blighted ovum..

As for the Laps dont worrie sweetie now that i have hads one i will say there is no pain u wont feel nothing

all they ask is that you dont lay around to much cause you might end up getting blood clots also drinks lots and lots of fluid..
and depending on how much you have and what damnaged if you are about to concieve but im sure you will be fine and you will also one day concieve a precious healthy baby

Stay strong and dont stress to much!
xoxo ANita

Thanks so much guys for al of your feedback. and EMMA good luck with the ivf my fingers r crossed for you!!! My surgery is tomorrow i am a bit anxious i just want it to be over and back at home in my own bed. I will just online sometime in the next few days to let you know how it all went. I really appreciate eerything you guys have said and the stories have made me feel a bit better about it :) hope every1 is well :)

Lisi_lou - Good Luck for tomoz :goodluck:, I am sure you will be fine. Take care and rest lots. Let us know how you get on in the next few days. xxxxxxxxx

Hi Guys,

Ok so I had the surgery.. at first the worst pain was from the gas.. very very uncomfortable.. now just still bleeding and very cramped and bloated.. I go back to the specialist on the 16th so i will know more about how it went and all that by then :) fingers crossed i can have babies now :)

Hi Lisi_lou,

Hope you get some good news on the 16th but remember even if you are told you have severe endo doesn't mean you won't have kids.

I had a lap in '07 that discovered severe grade 4 endo and was told to go onto a course of zoladex and told I would have trouble conceiving and would most likely need IVF. I did not take the zoladex and have since been pregnant 3 times, and now have a 13month old and have had two miscarriages.

I don't believe my endo affects my ability to conceive, although I'm not sure if its affecting my ability to stay pregnant. I have had bleeding with all pregnancies, with the first ending at 7 weeks, and my last m/c in december ending at 12 weeks.

Also, pregnancy did not 'cure' or help my endo at all. I have found it is just as bad as before i was pregnant. And I believe the bleeding with my daughter as due to the endo too.

It is a horrible disease that i would not wish on my worst enemy. Hopefully you'll be really fertile now you've had the lap and will get that BFP you've been after.

Hello :)

Thank you so much for telling me your story :) I am trying so hard to stay positive but i have been getting really down. i dunno i just dont feel as though I am going to get pregnat.. I dont know whether its just because im stressing about it or what but is just a really strange feeling i have.. since the surgery i have had a lot of pain and i can feel the pain shooting up to my ovaries.. i could never put the pain specifically to them before so it feels really uncomfortable.. hopefully on tuesday the dr can give me some answers :)

<3 <3 <3 happy valentines day by the way :)

Hey guys dont no if any of you are still reading this but :
The Dr said it was endometriosis and that the lasered and burnt it off and did the dye test and everything is fine for at least 6 months however she doesnt see how the endo would have been affecting me falling pregnat and she couldnt see anything that would be stopping me. She said she thinks I fall in the category of unexplained infertility :( and If i dont fall pregnat in the next 6 months she recommends trying IUI. What do you think?? and do you know much about IUI? and its cost? I am really scared :(