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Re: to Ally...Re: IUI and endometriosis
From: Ally (anonymous@obgyn.net)
Thu Jul 3 11:11:09 2008
Dr. Koh did my excision. He is in Milwaukee. I had heard good things
about him and my mom (who is a nurse) has worked with him before. He
was very thorough with me - my surgery lasted almost 8 hours (including
the bowel resection).
Where are you located?
At Thu, 3 Jul 2008, Wen wrote:
>
>Well, I already started the fertility drugs this month, but I guess I
>could always stop! :-) If you don't mind me asking, who did your
>excision surgery? (Since I know that is a limited practice)and how did
>you find out about the doctor?
>Thanks again!
>
>At Thu, 3 Jul 2008, Ally wrote:
>>
>>Excision didn't work to get me pregnant (yet). Like I said before,
>>though, it was worth it for the pain relief and for the assurance that I
>>did everything I could before I pumped my body full of fertility drugs.
>>
>>At Thu, 3 Jul 2008, Ally wrote:
>>>
>>>I was told the only way to tell of a blocked tube is through an HSG.
>>>They can't see a hydrosalpinx on u/s. I had the HSG done last August.
>>>You're right; it is not pleasant. The pain only last for 15 sec. or
>>>less though, so don't let that deter you from it. I was also told that
>>>I had pain because my tube was blocked. Maybe yours are not blocked,
>>>you will have no pain, and it will give you reassurance that all is good
>>>in that area.
>>>
>>>At Thu, 3 Jul 2008, Wen wrote:
>>>>
>>>>Thanks so much. Yes, you have given me some food for thought. Is the
>>>>only way to find out about the tubes by the HSG test? I know this month
>>>>when I was monitored they said everything looked good and I believe they
>>>>said it had gone through the tube, but I could be wrong. Do you know
>>>>anyway to tell this for sure? The doctor was willing to check the tubes
>>>>again if I wanted, and I keep thinking maybe I should. I heard that it
>>>>is a really unpleasant procedure, though. The last time I had it I was
>>>>already out for my lap.
>>>>
>>>>I've actually had 2 RE's tell me that surgery would be a last resort due
>>>>to the affect on the eggs. Neither of them are experts in endo though,
>>>>but do treat endo a lot and the one did my last surgery and has some
>>>>kind of special skill with laproscopy.
>>>>
>>>>This is all so confusing and stressful! Thanks so much for your support
>>>>and advice.
>>>>
>>>>Good luck to you too!
>>>>
>>>>At Thu, 3 Jul 2008, Ally wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>Wen,
>>>>>
>>>>>Good luck with whatever you decide. It sounds like your tubes are
>>>>>probably open (due to the fact you were pg in Jan.). I would say too
>>>>>that it's a good sign that you did get pregnant. Maybe the IUI is all
>>>>>you need.
>>>>>I understand about the FSH issue. The problem is, if you can't have
>>>>>someone that's a skilled excision doc do the surgery, you can do more
>>>>>harm to the ovaries than it's worth. So, if your doc isn't comfortable
>>>>>with it, for whatever reason, I definitely would not have him do a lap.
>>>>>
>>>>>Here's a thought, what if one of your tubes is open, but the other is
>>>>>closed? Ask your doc about that. I was told by my RE that some clinics
>>>>>will not even do IVF if there's a blocked tube. Something about the
>>>>>fluid leaking down into the womb from the tube. That whole toxic
>>>>>environment thing. I had one that was blocked and it was removed during
>>>>>my surgery. It had already been unblocked once and I was told that it
>>>>>would just close right back up again if they didn't take it out. My RE
>>>>>said that 1 good tube was better than 1 good tube and 1 bad tube.
>>>>>
>>>>>Hope I've given you some food for thought. Babydust :)
>>>>>
>>>>>--
>>>>>Ally
>>>>>
>>>>>At Wed, 2 Jul 2008, Wen wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>Thank you so much for your replies. And best of luck to both of you!
>>>>>>You have both given me things to think about. For some background... I
>>>>>>have had three laproscopies, with the last being in April 2007 and my
>>>>>>tubes were checked at that time, although I do realize things could
>>>>>>change. With each one the doctors found things adhered to each other. I
>>>>>>also got pregnant on our own and had a miscarriage in January at about 5
>>>>>>weeks. I guess the doctors were optimistic that since I got pregnant
>>>>>>once I can do it again (as they kept telling me), so until last month we
>>>>>>did nothing but natural. This past cycle, I did injections,
>>>>>>progesterone cream, and natural and was monitored the whole time. All
>>>>>>blood levels and ultrasounds looked good the entire time, so something
>>>>>>went wrong at the end. So, IUI along with the injectibles and
>>>>>>progesterone is where I am now at.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>We talked about doing another lap. but my FSH is borderline and the doc
>>>>>>is concerned that the more we go in the more we are hurting the eggs. So
>>>>>>another lap, in his opinion, would be a last resort. I had never before
>>>>>>heard anything about the "toxic environment" this creates in the womb.
>>>>>>That's scarey!
>>>>>>
>>>>>>Thanks again!
>>>>>>
>>>>>>At Wed, 2 Jul 2008, summer wrote:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>Yes! And as I just posted, my tubes were adhered to my ovaries, and my
>>>>>>>uterus was adhered to my colon! Not married or trying to get pregnant,
>>>>>>>but there can be so much going on in that area! Toxic indeed...pain
>>>>>>>relief is good! But imagine getting pregnant, and having all those
>>>>>>>things pulling on each other as the baby grows...
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>a lot of women have things bound up together!
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>At Wed, 2 Jul 2008, Ally wrote:
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>I just saw Summer's post too. I should add that my RE recommended
>>>>>>>>excision surgery before fertility treatments. He said that just the
>>>>>>>>presence of endo can create a "toxic" like environment in the womb. I
>>>>>>>>was hesistant for the surgery, but just the pain relief that it has
>>>>>>>>given me was well worth it.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>At Wed, 2 Jul 2008, Ally wrote:
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>Hi Wen,
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>I just saw my RE yesterday, who is also an endo specialist. We are
>>>>>>>>>doing Clomid/IUI this cycle for the first time. He said we have a 15%
>>>>>>>>>chance per cycle with it. Unfortunately, we are not in a mandated
>>>>>>>>>state, so we would have to pay for IVF out of pocket. Take that, along
>>>>>>>>>with the invasiveness of the procedure, and we are not ready for
>>>>>>>>>it...yet.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>Just a little history on me: Stage IV endo, 1 tube removed. Last
>>>>>>>>>surgery was in Dec. RE had us trying on our own for the first 5 cycles.
>>>>>>>>>So, at least for us, the RE thought there was a possibility that we
>>>>>>>>>could even do it on our own.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>IMO, IUI is definitely worth a try. I don't think you're wasting time
>>>>>>>>>unless your tubes aren't open. Did you have an HSG? I understand your
>>>>>>>>>frustration with wasting cycles. Who knows, maybe you'll get an IUI
>>>>>>>>>baby and then be thankful that you didn't have to go through IVF! Best
>>>>>>>>>of luck and babydust :)
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>--
>>>>>>>>>Ally
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>At Wed, 2 Jul 2008, Wen wrote:
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>Hi-
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>It is finally time to move on to IUI. Has anyone had any experience
>>>>>>>>>>with it? My doctor is great, one of the best infertility docs in the
>>>>>>>>>>country, and he's basically told us that IUI is waste for women with
>>>>>>>>>>endo. because in women with endo they don't just need to bypass the
>>>>>>>>>>mucus, they need to bypass everything. Unfortunately due to insurance I
>>>>>>>>>>have to go through 2 or 3 cycles of IUI before we can move on to IVF. I
>>>>>>>>>>realize that I am VERY fortunate I live in a state that mandates
>>>>>>>>>>infertility coverage, but it is so frustrating to know I am probably
>>>>>>>>>>wasting the next few months when I feel I've wasted so many already. If
>>>>>>>>>>anyone has any advice, experience with this, etc. please respond. I am
>>>>>>>>>>very down right now and could use support. Thanks for letting me vent!
>>>>>>>>>
>--
>Wen
>
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