Re: Awaiting ovarian drilling
From: anonymous@obgyn.net
Wed, 6 Feb 2002 09:19:47 -0600 (CST)
Hi Tera ,
Thanks so much for your reply. My surgery is scheduled for mid March,
so between now and then I will try to find out as much as possible.
Unfortunately we aren't in a position to opt for any kind of private
treatment due to the current money situation, any savings we had were
invested in Enron for whom I work.
My position here is unsteady to say the least! The NHS in the North East
of England is poor, I sometimes feel that the cost of various treatments
is the limiting factor when deciding upon the next line of treatment for
patients.
Thanks again & good luck
Paula XX
At Tue, 5 Feb 2002, tera wrote:
>
>Hi!
>
>I am one of those women with a "bad" experience. I have had ovarian
>drilling - twice. I did not research the procedure properly.
>
>Are ovaries supposed to be more responsive after ovarian drilling?
>Supposedly, yes. And some women have become pregnant after the
>drilling. Ovarian drilling is a gamble, though. This is why - Right
>after drilling you only have a short window of time to become pregnant.
>Why? Because anytime you "drill" or cut any tissue it creates scar
>tissue. This scar tissue will make it MUCH more difficult for you to
>continue to try to become pregnant after the "window has closed". So,
>there is a CHANCE that you will become pregnant but if you don't you
>will only be left with scar tissue and it will be much harder to try to
>conceive again while trying other methods. That is the gamble.
>
>Not only is it more difficult to become pregnant because of the scarring
>but the scarring can cause other problems. Inside of your body scar
>tissue is sticky. This can cause your ovaries to stick to other parts
>of your body such as your bowels or your pelvic wall. This scarring
>happens to EVERYONE with the surgery. Some may not know it because they
>may not have pain or any other problems caused by the scar tissue such
>as having their ovaries sticking to things but IT IS there.
>
>Listen, I am in about the same boat as you. It seems really tempting
>standing where you are and you may feel as if it is your only hope. I
>know. I had the drilling done also thinking it was my only hope. I had
>undergone rounds and rounds of Clomid and had not ovulated once! I then
>tried one round of artificial insemination using the injectable
>Fertinex. It took a few weeks of raising my dose so that I could make
>mature eggs. I made mature eggs at a REALLY high dose but I did do it!
>I did not get pregnant because of the insemination, though. My
>reproductive endo who performed the insem is supposed to be one of the
>best in my state. She almost flipped when I told her I had been
>"drilled." She thinks the reason my insem was unsuccessful could very
>well have been because of the scar tissue covering my ovaries. She
>doubts that an egg can even get out at all. She said that my next step
>because of the drilling would probably have to be IVF. That is a very
>expensive proposition!
>
>If I could do it over I would not have taken the gamble. I was not told
>about the scarring and that it would be very difficult to conceive at
>all if I did not conceive during the "window" of time. My OBGYN who
>performed the surgery simply told me that it would "be best" if I
>conceived during the first three months but unfortunately I did not ask
>why. My excellent endo said that she NEVER recommends "drilling" under
>ANY circumstance and to me that says a lot since she makes a living
>trying to help women conceive.
>
>My advice would be to continue on the injectables. There are MANY
>different kinds of powerful injectable meds. It sounds as if you have
>only tried one kind. I'd try other kinds and maybe you need a higher
>dose. Make sure you're getting checked often though in case of
>hyperstimulation. If you do not make mature enough eggs while taking
>extremely powerful injectables now you may not after the drilling either
>and you will be left with scarring. Sorry so long. I would not tell
>you NOT to get "drilled", though. This is a very personal decision. All
>I can do is to share my story in hopes of making sure that you know more
>about it than I did. Try typing "ovarian drilling" into the search on
>this forum to read what other women have said about it. Hope it works
>out. I know the heartbreaking pain. I'm with you heart to heart. Take
>care, dear. God bless, Tera. Feel free to e-mail jasonandtera@att.net
>
>At Tue, 5 Feb 2002, anonymous wrote:
>>
>>Hi,
>>I have had irregular periods for as long as I can remember which over
>>time have become absent (am now 29)
>>Having stepped up the dosage of clomid to the maximum over 6 cycles
>>(along with metformin) i still failed to ovulate. My ultrasound showed
>>slight follicle development but nothing significant.
>>I then tried one cycle of menogon (injectibles) which also failed to
>>stimulate my ovaries. The ultrasound showed many follicles, all of
>>which were <10mm.
>>My mother had PCO and my doc has told me that I display several
>>characteristics of it.
>>I feel very dis-heartened as menogon is apparently a very powerful drug
>>which succeeds to induce ovulation in about 80-90% of patients.
>>My doctor has suggested laporoscopic ovarian drilling followed by a
>>second cycle of injectibles as apparently the ovaries are more
>>responsive to the drugs after drilling.
>>Opinions on this procedure seem to differ, some with very good results
>>and some with bad, including scarring, adhesions etc.
>>Can anyone offer any advice please, as other than egg donation I feel
>>that this is my only option.
>>
>>Thank you!
>>Paula
>
>--
>Tera
>
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