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CarrieLiz
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Endometriosis/lap questions
CarrieLiz
member
in Infertility
At what point did you decide to have a lap done?
What were some of your obvious or not so obvious symptoms?
We are dx as unexplained and the next step is injectables + IUI, but my RE said that if I wanted to have further testing done (including the lap) he would be willing. Initially I was gung-ho about starting treatments, but since we're OOP I started thinking of what a waste the treatments could be if there were in fact an underlying problem.
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Re: Endometriosis/lap questions
I just asked the same question a few days ago. I'll post the thread below and hopefully that can help you make some decisions based on other posters answers.
https://community.thenest.com/cs/ks/forums/thread/29762243.aspx
We are also unexplained and I guess I just want to know for sure that there is nothing wrong before we move to injectibles+TI, then IUI.
I do have pretty significant cramping the first day of AF and taking Tylenol really doesn't get rid of the pain. Other than that, I really don't have any of the other classic symptoms, but some people with state IV endo don't have any symptoms either. My lap is Wednesday!
Good Luck!
Blog BFP Chart
Other stuff was found during my saline ultrasound, but the endo wasn't found until the lap! This is the case for a lot of women.
I had some pulling pain when I coughed and that was really my only symptom. My doc told me to call him in September (I forget why now) if I wasn't pregnant but I couldn't see any reason to wait - I wanted to get on with the TTCing already - so I had it done in July.
I would think something like a lap would be covered since it is not necessarily for IF but rather a condition that can cause pain, etc. I have no coverage for IF, but my lap was covered.
I had a lap last month.I decided to have it mainly because I had a cyst on my left ovary that wasn't budging after 3 months of BCPs. I also suspected that I may have endo because I have always had very heavy periods and painful cramps.
Some obvious symptoms: Painful, heavy periods; pelvic pain, especially on my left side (where the cyst was)
Not so obvious: Someone on the board mention spotting for a couple day before AF as a symptom - I also had this.
They ended up removing an endometrioma (chocolate cyst) and other mild endo, and I was dx with moderate endo.
Good luck!
::side eyes RE:: Hmmm...
Blog BFP Chart
Based on my experience, the lap was the best thing I had done. Endo was found on my ovaries, which was preventing the eggs from reaching my fallopian tubes. All of the IUIs and drugs in the world would not have gotten me pregnant with the endo remaining there - only IVF would.
My only symptoms of endo were spotting for 4-5 days before AF as well as the fact that I have a retroverted uterus - my RE said that he finds endo in 1/2 the women with the retroverted uterus.
Started TTC 05.08
Me: Stage II endo, borderline high FSH
DH: perfect
1 lap, 5 IUIs = 4 BFNs and 1 c/p
2 IVFs, 2 FETs = 1 BFN, 1 c/p, 1 ectopic and finally a sticky BFP in May 2011!
1 FET in Aug 2013 = BFP!
I mean, I don't have "M.D." after my name, so YMMV! LOL But that's my opinion on the matter.
Sounds like you know your stuff Dr. Sulfa!
I was told the same thing; a lap is the only way to dx endo.
It has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?...
We decided to have the Lap when my U/S showed a cyst that appeared complex. I started to notice discomfort just prior to seeing the RE. If it wasn't for that endometriomia cyst I wouldn't have done the Lap. Of course I would have never known that I have stage IV endo and tons of adhesions and organs bonded together.
Before the cyst I had no symptoms. 28 day cycles, ovulated regularly, no pain. Mild cd1 day cramps. Short periods. The only symptom I ever had, which I didn't know was a symptom until after the fact, was that I consistently spotted three days prior to AF. A little spotting on CD25 and then nothing until CD28.
I was a strong candidate for endo. My older sister had an ovary removed at 18 due to endometriosis. She suffered with long painful periods her whole reproductive life. Had multiple laps to remove adhesions to correct her infertility to no avail.
I really thought that I defeated the odds. So much for wishful thinking.
Dx MFI, AMA, Endo, AMH .16
Lap 10/09 Removed endometrioma, stage IV endo and adhesions
Lap 2/10 Endometrioma cysts & adhesions returned.
Ivf #1 4/10 Antagonist, ET Cancelled.
IVF #2 2/11 A/ACP+E2V C/P
IVF #3 6/11 Letrozole/Antagonist BFN
IVF #4 11/11 Low stim Antagonist BFN
Lap 3/12 Lap & Selective HSG
Many cycles of Letrozole and LP HCG w/TI and LDN
IVF #5 8/12 Low stim BFN
IUI #1 10/12 BFN br> S&PAIFW
My quote feature is messed up for some reason, but I totally agree with Sweetky. IVF was my only option because of ovarian tubal and fimbrea damage.
I am so glad I had a lap, I had a normal HSG and immeditately after my second ultrasound I was scheduled for a lap. I had only minor symptoms that seemed normal for me. I had stage four endo with severe ovary and pelvic involvment, but not much pain. I don't know if it can be misdiagnosed as PCOS, but I was diagnosed with mild PCOS along with the endo. It appeared that I had been ovulating ok, through temping and OPK's, but my ultrasound and hormonal essays pointed to PCOS.
Good Luck!!
I would have pain at all different times of the month, sharp stabbing pains that would knock the wind out of me and then go away as quickly as they came. I had really long heavy periods with crippling cramps the first day or two. I literally could not function, and no meds could even touch the pain. I would just curl up in a ball with a heating pad and try to sleep it away. I had pain during sex, and pain in my lower back.
After my lap 2 1/2 years ago, I have had some cramps here and there that can get bad but nothing like I had before the surgery. My random pangs of pain still happen occasionally but not nearly as frequently as before... and the pain during sex has gone. The back pain is lessened but I still have it sometimes. Overall, the lap has greatly improved my quality of life... obviously it was not the magic cure-all for my IF but I'm still so glad I had it, for pain reasons alone.Endo cannot be diagnosed without a laparoscopy. Your RE may be able to see signs of it based on if your ovaries are adhered due to the endo, but if it's not later-stage endo or if it's simply not affecting your ovaries, you would not be able to tell unless you have the actual surgery. Dr. Sulfa is correct!
I had a lap scheduled to remove my tubes, so my choice was unrelated to endo. However, once they got in there they found Stage IV endo. My periods were not heavy, although I had bad cramps. But the worst symptom for me (which I didn't attribute to endo until after the lap) was that it hurt after I had a BM. Sorry TMI, but it was excruciating. It also hurt during sex. I was misdiagnosed with IBS and diverticulitis.
Anyway, the reason that these symptoms presented themselves was because the endo was wrapped around my colon and intestines. So, i think that endo will present itself in different wasy depending on where it has attached, whether it be your ovaries, tubes, ute, digestive organs, etc.
I have Stage IV Endo which was suspected since I was very young (when I first got AF, my cramps were so bad I was hospitalized more than once). I have been on BCP for suppression since I was 16...went off of it the first time in 1999 so we could TTC. Have had to go on and off for about the last 10 years when it would grow back.
Now that we are AMA, I had been off BCP for 12 months straight when I had to do the lap since I had a huge endometrioma encompassing my ovary. It was a huge mess in there, I got to see pictures, yay! lol
I had my lap done two weeks ago. We found a fibroid that was smack in the middle of my uterus so I had to be put under to get rid of the fibroid, based on my sypmptoms my doctor thought it would be good to check for endo while under. Sure enough I had endo all over but only stage 2. There was some on my one ovary so i'm hoping this will increase our chances.
My insurance covers the lap but not IUI so I wanted to make sure we tried everything that was covered first. Every person is different and you can have pretty severe symptons but not bad endo and have bad endo and no symptoms. I had a lot on the surface which was causing my pain. My symptoms were very painful periods, bm pain during periods, pain during sex, and blot clots. I never had very long periods and only one day that was heavy. I started yesterday and already have noticed a huge difference in my level of cramps. And I too have an inverted uterus interesting fact above.