Questions about Laparoscopy and Endometriosis. HELP!

So my 10th month TTC and BFN.  Waiting on AF and they are going to put me on Clomid again, 150 mg (was on 50, then 100 mg for two months and now 150 mg) and we are going to do the second IUI as planned.  We were suppose to do two in a row but were unable to fit it in this past month so we tried on our own.  Anyway, she said the next step was going to be possibly injectables or maybe even a laparaoscopy.  Can anyone tell me if there are any symptoms with Endo?  I know there doesn't necessaraily have to be symptoms to have Endo, but I was just curious if there is anyone out there that could shed some light on this.

Thanks so much.

Heather

[Cheesecake7]

I had a lap just to see if there were any problems, I had no symptoms.  When the doctor was in there he found and burned off a small amount of endo, that he said may or may not have ben causing fertility issues. The bottom line is that I felt better because if it was it was gone, and if it wasnt it was still gone and didnt matter, so it put my mind at ease. But, I never did have any symptoms at all and did have some endo.

[jjsh44]

Hey, first of all I am terribly sorry about your struggles. Alot of women with endo experience painful intercourse and extremely painful periods. I don't understand why your doctor didn't do a laparascopy first, before your first IUI to make sure that was the best way to go for you. If you do have to have a lap, don't worry, it is very quick! I have had one and was so terrified because I had never had to be "put under" before but it was so fast and the pain was so minimal!  Also, if you do have one and they find scar tissue or any signs of endo they can hopefully remove it right there on the spot.  Maybe you should get one before your 2nd IUI?  It will save you time and money to find out now rather than going through another IUI that is not successful.
I hope this helps and much luck to you!

[mommyof3andhopefully4]

Should I ask my doctor to do that?  I hate to be my own doctor, but I know that sometimes you have to.....I am almost tempted to call my regular OB-GYN.

[bny807]

I had a lap three months ago or so.. they had found a cyst (endometrioma) on my ovary it was 6cm and i had never really had any symptoms at all!! i had premenstrual spotting before AF since getting off the pill, and my first obgyn thought that was coomon and normal and never was concerned.. it wasn't until i got an ultrasound that they found the endometrioma - which automatically means the endo is severe, so i was in absolute shock!!!! they did the lap and i had it everywhere and they removed most of my ovary on that side with the endometrioma.. so i never had painful periods (other than taking a motrin on the first day every 3 months or so!) and no painful intercourse or anything.. the only real syptom (symptom) was the spotting.. anyhow.. for me i was glad we found it and did it so that we knew what we were dealing with.. we ran to the RE after that!  
  the lap was simple as a surgery can go.. a little sore, but the bad was very very minimal!   I would talk with your doctor about it, but I don't know how common it is to have a lap without any symptoms after 10 months of ttc... Some dr's might not want to dr an invasive surgery quite yet.. but it differs for each dr of course.. and your preference!  Good luck and let me knwo if you have any questions! : )

[mommyof3andhopefully4]

bny807-  Thank you for all your info!  I actually just called my regular OB/GYN to talk to the nurse.  She said since I have no insurance coverage for fertility it wouldn't be out of line to ask them to do the lap.  However, I don't want to be annoying and ask!  But then I hate to throw down $400 for an IUI that may not take because I  could have something wrong that a lap would show.  I am so confused.  They are closed right now anyway so I can't even call her to talk to her about it.  It just seems to me that they would go forward and exhaust every resource before making me put down more money on something that may not take.  If that may be the next step, why couldn't we go ahead and do it now?

I don't know....not sure what I should do.

[Heather5]

Hi Heather! I haven't had a lap...but I'm also thinking about having one done. Does anyone know how long after the lap you have to wait before TTC again? Can you try again that first month?

[nevaeh222]

I am in the same boat as you sort of. I already have had 6 unsuccessful IUI's and finally my doctor wants me to do a lap. I'm scheduled for one next week. I don't have any signs of endo either but hopefully they find the answers we need. We decided to do a lap before we move on to injectibles too considering it is more expensive.  Good luck!

[mommyof3andhopefully4]

See!!

Now, I think that should be done BEFORE you get SIX IUI'S!!  Why not rule out what could be?  I mean, if it isn't that, well then...at least you know!  But the fact that nothing else is wrong, DH is good, you are good....why not make sure your lap is normal?  Grrrrrr....it makes me mad.  

Heather-  I thought you could try right after the lap?  I have heard they usually try to get what they can while they are in there and then I would think the next month you would be good to go....but I could be wrong.  I thought that is what I have heard.

[bny807]

They gave us the green light to ttc as soon as we felt like we could bd after the lap.. which was about a week or so.. unfortunately I o'd 3 days after the lap, and defintyle couldn't bd that quickly!     I also had chromotubation (hsg under anesthesia). A lot of people get bfp's soon after thier laps esp if they find something to "clean up" ..  I was just shocked when they found what they found inside me and still am!!!   Good luck to all of you and let me know if you have any questions about anything!: )

[mommyof3andhopefully4]

Unbelievable.  I can't believe what they found in you.  It really makes me wonder....

What do you think I should do?  I am suppose to start my clomid again on day 3 of my cycle.  Do you think I should ask for the lap?  Is that something they will do if I ask?

Any advice would be great.

[bny807]

Gosh, its hard to say what you should do.. as for me - my gut told me to do it... in fact the dr i was with originally (my obgyn for 6 years) had always been great (however i'd only been to her for routine paps thats it) she thought it was likely a hemorrhagic cyst and not an endometioma becuase those aren' tas common and i didn't have symptoms.. but the radiologist told me it was an endometrioma.. soooo they wanted me to wait 4 months and then get another ultrasound.. then she said even if its there she isn't a strong believer in surgery for endo! (What!!!) so i high tailed it to a diff doctor (sooo many people i know use the old one too, but its always for regular healthy pregnancies and routine checkups!) anyhow she re ultrasounded right away and said definite surgery asap.. sooo it was really my gut that made me think something was wrong and needed to be done.. Otherwise i cant' really say what you should do... lots of people have unexplained infertility so i would hate for you to undergo an invasive procedure, however sometimes the piece of mind is worth the hassel.. I would imagine most dr's would consider a lap for sure..just tell them your concerns and your reasoning and they should be able to explain why or why not too.. and if you dno't feel comfortable then get a 2nd opinion....Insurance might not cover a lap for infertility, however if you have any DUB (dysfunctional uterine bleeding-spotting, pain, etc) they can code it that way and usually get it covered!
   GOOD LUCK! keep me updated!

[boosty]

i had a lap to remove a cyst from my ovary. i too was ttc . and i got another cyst a year later which is 7 months ago when i was put on high dosage of clomid. 100mg. i guess that was too high for me since i already have pcos. but the cyst went away the month later and i got pregnant that month.