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kel716
member
Ladies with endometriosis, come in please
kel716
member
My sister is having a pelviscopy (not sure if that's the name or not?) next week for suspected endometriosis. She has always had issues with her period, and at her recent annual they asked her several questions and did some feeling around. She knows very little... and I know some but not much.
If she is diagnosed with endo, what can she expect from there? Also, what can she expect from the surgery? (any tips... she's being given a week off work)
At this point, she is not TTC but would like to in the future. If she does indeed have endo, what are her options for conceiving? (likelihood of natural vs IF treatments... what routes would she have to go, etc...)
In other words, please educate me. She's been thrown a curve ball... I could post this on the IF board, but it's nice when I 'know' the responders...
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Ladies with endometriosis, come in please
It sounds like your sister is getting laparoscopic surgery to 1.) check for endo and 2.) possibly remove some of the endo deposits on her uterus and other lady parts. The reason she's probably going to be off work is because you need at least two to three days to fully recover from laparoscopic procedures. I'm not sure by your post whether they will actually conduct a procedure or are just diagnosing.
I have endo and it sucks. The problem is that there is no evidence that endo causes infertility. Some women have a horrible time conceiving and some women have a very easy time conceiving. I'm sure the doctor will explain this to her. I was forewarned that I might have difficulty and ended up getting pregnant after one night without contraception.
The main purpose of endometriosis treatment is to control the symptoms of horrible periods. BC pills did not help me at all. It was extremely frustrating for many years dealing with extremely heavy periods and pain. The docs can do surgery to essentially scrape the endo deposits off of the uterus. I never had this done, but my mother did. She was in pain for several days post-surgery. It did help relieve some of her symptoms for a few years. Some women who have severe endo decide to have a hysterectomy because they determine that the pain is not worth it. My mother ended up having this done in her late 40's. At the same time, my mother had no problem conceiving me or my brother when she was in her late 20's.
On the other hand, one of my dear friends had a horrible time trying to conceive with endo. She was on Lupron for a period of time. Lupron essentially puts a person into pseudo-menopause in order to reduce the endo deposits on the uterine lining. It's a horrible drug, but my friend ended up conceiving after a regimen of the drug. My doctor also advised that it might be a treatment option if I was unable to conceive in the future.
I have found the magic bullet since having Caroline. I have the Mirena IUD and it has ended my periods entirely. My OB suggested it not just for contraception, but also to relieve the symptoms of my endo. It has been a God-send. I would recommend it to your sister if she isn't planning on conceiving for some time. They are continuing to do scientific research to determine the effectiveness of Mirena on endo. I am a believer.
It's not a fun thing to have, but the symptoms can be managed with a variety of hormone treatments/birth control at the most basic level to surgery, to full hysterectomy. Again, it's important to understand that there is very little evidence directly tying endo to infertility based on the fact that many women conceive without any problems. At the same time, she should be aware that some women do have problems and plan accordingly. I hope everything goes well for her.
I think it's a laparoscopy based on your description. It's to check for endo and scrape off any parts if they find it. They're supposed to go in through her navel and vagina.
I'll mention the Mirena thing... I
mine and wish there was a way to keep it and still conceive #2 (I really am not looking forward to AF). Granted, she's had no kids so I'm not sure if she's a candidate. In addition, she had her hymen stretched before she got married so that she would be actually be able to have, um, relations. (According to her gyn it would have been impossible because she was that small in her pelvic region.... all I have to say is YOUCH!)
PS: Thanks for the insight! I really appreciate it!
I had 2 surgeries last year for endo. I had the 1st in July and it was a laprascopy (sp?) and they went through my naval and had to make an incision on my left side. I didn't have much on my right so they didn't need to make one there but I knew that was possible. I had surgery on a Friday and then went back to work on Wed. You can't do stairs at first because of pain and I needed help getting off the couch that first day/night. I slept on the couch because it was easier and a friend recommended a boyfriend pillow (the one that's like a chair back with arms) slightly leaned back. I had one from when I was in college and it was nice. You don't want to make your stomach muscles do that much work right away so the semi sitting up position was nice. You also have to have someone with you for the 1st 24 hrs. It was nice having someone help me to the bathroom and whatnot right away too. Don't wear any kind of pants! I did a maxi dress and it was wonderful because they fill your abdomen with air and you don't want anything on your belly much less worry about fitting into your clothes! lol The surgery is supposed to keep the endo away for 6-12 mo. when burned off and mine only lasted 2 mo. So I went to see a specialist. She was awesome!!! She did an u/s on my 1st visit and found a fibroid in my uterus as well as PCOS on my right ovary. So in addition to clearing out my endo, she could remove the fibroid. I had that surgery in Nov. I went in for surgery on Wed. and back to work on Mon. Same things as before with recovery. This surgery was slightly different though. They only went in at my naval and vagina and it was called a laparoscopy and hysterscopy (sp?) The Dr. also ran dye through my tubes to make sure that the endo wasn't on my tubes compressing them since your tubes are so thin. When my 1st Dr. saw the pics from the surgery, she said the endo was all in the same places as it was in July. I had to go on estrogen and progesterone (like bc but a lot stronger!) for 2 cycles after my Nov. surgery to make sure that my uterus had healed from the fibroid removal. Jan. I started clomid and I got preg the 1st mo! I was originally preg with 3 and lost 1 a few weeks ago. There is less than 1% of a chance of 3 with clomid though so don't worry too much!
Oh, and I ovulated 2x out of one ovary and 1x out of the other so if PCOS is an issue too- there's good chances for pregnancy!
Sorry if this is a little all over the place! Feel free to ask any questions if you have any!