Endometriosis - how does it affect having a child

[wfaMiracle]

I have Severe Endometriosis. Had laprascopic surgery in January. Did a few rounds of IUI then tried clomid which triggered the endometriosis (I think) because I was in so much pain the cycle after clomid. Anyway I had called an endometriosis specialist and while on the phone the woman stated that the endometriosis it self can be toxic to an embryo and make it impossible to get pregnant. I wanted to know if this is possible? I dont want to believe her for one second. But with so many IUI's and now what might be a failed IVF Im starting to think that is what my body is doing. If anyone has more info on this please let me know. Thank you.

[Nat256]

I'm no expert by any stretch of the imagination but I also suffer from endometriosis. I was told that my tubes were unblocked and though they had suffered some scarring should be fine. Now four failed IUIs later my doctor is telling me that he thinks that the endo. is causing more problems than previously believed. I am very scared and confused so I really do understand what you're going through. I'm not certain if it can create a "toxic" environment but I will tell you what I was told by my OB/GYN and my sister-in-law whose endo. was so severe that she had no choice but to undergo a hysterectomy in her early 30s (although fortunately she had two beautiful children very early on). What they told me is that endometriosis can take over. It can grow and spread over all of your internal organs including your heart. Like you I sincerely hope that the "toxic" part is a bit of a stretch or overstatement but it can seriously mess with your entire body from what I understand. Of course, women with endometriosis do have babies (like my sister-in-law). I really don't think that our doctors have all of the answers and that we have to fight and struggle to try to stay positive (and I will be the first to admit that I have recently failed miserably in doing this). I think you should keep your options open and ask, ask, and then ask some more questions from your doctor. I will be doing the same at our upcoming consultation with our doctor. I hope and pray that we will all get our BFP soon.

[Quinns momma]

I have severe endo as does my older sister.  On a brighter note I am preggers with baby #2 and my sister has 4 daughters.  My sister was able to get preggers naturally and I got pregnant with the assistance of Clomid.  So stay positive it can happen.

We both had multiple Lap surgeries. And our endo had spread all over and we both had multiple large cysts.  Endo does not cause a toxic enviornment but it can cause some women to become infertile.  Look for a doctor that is sympathetic to your plight and is willing to move mountains for you in order to get pregnant.
Good Luck!

[Nat256]

If you don't mind me asking.... how many lap surgeries did you have before you were successful? Also, did you do IUI or IVF after the surgery? I am VERY interested because our fertilty specialist is considering my having a second lap. surgery with a 5th IUI vs. IVF. Thanks so much! :)

[Quinns momma]

I ended up having 2 lap surgeries. The last surgery being a full year before my husband and I actually started to try for a baby. After that surgery my doctor had me on contiuous birth control pills in hopes the endo would not grow as quickly. I did not do IUI or IVF. I was lucky enough the Clomid kick started my ovulation. Once I had my daughter my doctor inserted an IUD which kept the endo away and then I got pregnant with this baby 5 months after the IUD was removed.   My endo is pretty much in remission since my daughter. Thank Goodness!

[Nat256]

I really appreciate your response. I, unfortunately, have to do at least the IUI because we're using donor sperm as my husband suffers from azoospermia. It's so good to hear a happy ending that involves endometriosis. I had the first lap. done a few months before we started the fertility treatments (it took us a while to pick out a donor and for me to come to terms with it). My OB/GYN told me that having a baby could very well put endometriosis into "remission" so to speak and I'm very glad for you that this is your case. Here's to hoping it stays away forever!!!!!!!!! Again, a million times thanks for your reply!

[wfaMiracle]

Thank you all for your responses.

Ive had endo for 5 yrs. Not properly diagnosed until Jan 09 with the laprascopic surgery. I knew I had endo all those years and no OBGYN would listen to me. I was constitly told its just really bad period pains. I knew better. Finally after trying for a yr to get pregnant with no success and having pain so severe that my body went into shock once a month 1 new OBGYN said they would do laprascopic surgery. Again, my doctor said Im sure its fine. Well after the surgery that was only supposed to be 45 min turned into 2 hours she came back saying it was a mess in there (which were my exact words to her before the surgery....I could just feel it) Turns out I had severe endo.

She told me normally a doctor would just close me up and said on to IVF but she knew how bad I wanted to try on my own. I have many pics from my surgery its pretty cool to see my insides like that.  I also have a big endo cyst on my right ovary which she tried to remove but problem was there was a nerve that pulled of of my body somewhere(she was not sure where) and pulled and grew into my cyst. She told me she has never seen that before. She thinks alot of my pain is from that plus the severe endo.

Anyway, after the laprascopic surgery...I tried on my own for 3 months then I was able to try IUI - 2 without any medication and the 3rd with clomid. No success. After that last attemp with the clomid I had started to get the endo acting up again and was in pain for a full 3 weeks. They told me I should do IVF and I agreed.

IVF: first I was put on birth contol pills finished 3 weeks of it then they put me on Lupron which is kind of throwing you body into menopause before you take all the drugs to sup everything up. After 2 weeks of Lupron I stated the injections. Hard to get used to at first but I knew I had to do what I had to do. Then the embryo retrieval followed by the transfer. 2 eggs were transfered and 1 frozen.

2 weeks later I had the blood test that confimed pregnancy but my BETA numbers are low and not doubling. So this is where I am at. I have another blood test tomorrow and I am trying to stay positive and hope that the nimbers double or triple.

Of course everyone is different. This was just my story. Best part is endo will usually calm down endo. Good luck to all.