Re: Awaiting ovarian drilling
From: anonymous@obgyn.net
Wed, 6 Feb 2002 11:00:09 -0600 (CST)
Hi Lis,
Congratulations on your success story. Yes, we've had all other tests
done. My husband's sperm count is "normal range" and I have had an HSG
which was fine as the dye flowed through my tubes as it should and it
showed my uterus to be normal.
The only factor seems to be that I just can't produce eggs. My worst
fear being that the egg reserves I have are not of sufficient quality to
mature to the size that they need to in order for the follicles to
rupture and actually release the egg.
During the follicle tracking ultrasounds that I've had previously my
follicles seem to grow to about 10mm and then just recede again.
My consultant has told me that it will be him who actually performs the
operation, which was initially very re-assuring. He said that the plan
is to follow up the operation with another cycle of injectibles followed
by IUI (if I manage to ovulate)
I'm very confused at the moment but appreciate any help or advice that
you and others give me to help me make a decision.
Thanks and take care
Paula xx
At Wed, 6 Feb 2002, Lis wrote:
>
>Hi Paula
>
>If you are going ahead with the ovarian drilling, make sure everything
>else has been checked to maximise your chance of falling pregnant in the
>"window of opportunity". Has your husband's sperm count been checked?
>During your laparoscopy, will the surgeon also check that your tubes are
>clear? Will he perform a hysteroscopy to check that your uterus is OK,
>no large fibroids etc?
>You don't want to be in the situation where you successfully ovulate,
>only to encounter another problem.
>
>Also, I wonder if the level of scarring is related to the skill of the
>surgeon - check that s/he has LOTS of experience at carrying out this
>procedure. ASk about what pregnancy rates this surgeon achieves
>following ovarian drilling. If you are having your surgery at a
>teaching hospital, you may want to specify on the consent form that you
>want the consultant ONLY to perform the procedure, not one of the junior
>surgeons.
>
>I am a success story for ovarian drilling. I failed to ovulate on
>clomid alone (no metformin for PCOS back then!), but following ovarian
>drilling I now have two daughters. But if I was considering this
>surgery now (I had mine done in 1996), I would definitely explore all
>other options first.
>
>--
>Lis
>
>At Wed, 6 Feb 2002, anonymous@obgyn.net wrote:
>>
>>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
>>>
--
Paula
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