TTC with endometrisosis

[happygojo]

Hi everyone. I had a MMC - blighted ovum which was medically managed on the 13th September. I already had Gynae appointment pre-booked for the 3rd October for general lower tummy issues (IBS, Bladder) and the gynae said Endometriosis is the likely culprit. She said my treatment options were progesterone only contraception, pregnancy or a laproscopy. I have migraines and the mini pill made me hysterically emotional. As in I sobbed over a broken glass.... just a tumbler but I was inconsolable. So I have been hormone free for nearly 3 years as I had a copper IUD before TTC.

Now I don't know what to do. Sex is uncomfortable, I have bloating, tummy ache etc so. But I don't want to go on the pill again and I am scared of the risks of an operation. Part of me wants to TTC right now and see if I get a stickie asap and have the op afterwards.... but TTC is less fun if sex hurts and you have an irritated bladder.

Also did this cause my MC?

I never suspected it as my periods aren't THAT painful anymore, they were in my teens but now I have dull tummy ache most days, somedays worse than others but my periods are 27-29 days, they were heavy on the IUD but not hugely I don't think, although I don't tend to compare flow with my friends.

Advice, success stories and moral support all welcome

Thanks xxxxxxxxxxxx

Very sorry for your loss.

I have severe endometriosis (stage 4) & migraines and I can offer you a bit of personal experience & hope.

Fingers crossed if you do have endometriosis it is not as severe.

I had an NHS emergency laparoscopy (they suspected my extreme pain was appendicitis). They didn't treat my endometriosis and ovarian cysts though and I didn't have much luck with the NHS, just got put on the waiting list and my appointments were cancelled.

Therefore I had a non-NHS laparoscopy at Benenden Hospital in Kent. If you are having NHS issues then it is seriously worth considering joining Benenden for £8 per month and then you can get treatment after 6 months of membership at various hospitals around the country.

The laparoscopy was to free my internal organs which were stuck together and to remove an endometrioma (chocolate cyst) from one ovary and a haemorraghic cyst from the other ovary. I still have a lot of adhesions / scarring left but the surgeon tried not to touch too much as it causes further scar tissue etc. In my case I will very probably need a more radical surgery in the future. You can get your entire pelvic cavity treated where all the disease is cut out leaving no endometriosis behind which takes several hours in severe cases.

Soon after this surgery I was pregnant and now have a 3 year old little boy :o)

However I didn't leave it to 'just' surgery. I had such a bad couple of years I felt dreadful so wanted to try everything I could. I would recommend considering other ways to help yourself, for instance I did:

Anti-candida diet & probiotics, anti fungals & supplements like vitamin B complex, magnesium, zinc (saw a complementary doctor)

Acupuncture & Chinese herbal medicine

Pregnacare & fish oil capsules

Read books about fertility, nutrition etc.

Hope this helps a bit.

Also despite what the gynae told you pregnancy is not a treatment / cure for endometriosis.

Before your surgery did you TTC? I am already on some of the vitamins and fish oils.

I think the pregnancy things is just because it stops it growing, it will not effect ahesions already in place which I think is what I have. Basically they wanted to know whether I want to try and have babies soon. I was TTC to conceive for 3 weeks before my MC, so I fell quickly even though the pregnancy failed.

I also think I am 'irritated' sorry TMI, but I have basically worn pads for months due to irritated bladder and the MC. SO I am back to cotton underwear (with spares if necessary), I am using that expensive BV gel and some vagisil to try and ease the irritation which obviously makes sex worse

Thanks for your advice..... I know nothing about it really. I don't know how bad it is because it isn't just at my periods

No I wasn't TTC before surgery but I got told by the surgeon to try straight away afterwards and if it didn't work out naturally in the first 3 months then I would need to have IVF.

I think it really would be beneficial for you to know what you have going on inside your pelvis and they can't tell without doing a laparoscopy.

You ideally want them to be able to tell you aren't too badly affected and your ovaries and tubes are okay and are situated where they should be.

My ovaries were obviously not okay and the ovarian cysts had to go but I was lucky that my tubes were pretty unscathed. Also incredibly lucky that both my ovaries were saved as they were in a total mess.

Endometriosis can mean the egg can't physically get into / through / out of the Fallopian tube because they are blocked or not in the right position.

Hormonally active areas of endometrisosis can affect egg quality and it gives off chemicals that can be harmful for conception. The risk of miscarriage is higher with endometriosis.

If you have had it for a while then you can see in photos of your insides there can be old blue/black inactive areas of disease and active fresh red areas.

My ovaries were each glued back completely out of position towards the back of my pelvis, my bowel was stuck back too. I have a lot of adhesions in what they call the Pouch of Douglas area.

Symptoms wise I get painful periods, painful ovulations, clots, upper leg pain, back pain, deep vaginal pain and bowel issues. Bowels not so bad if I avoid gluten as much as poss.

I also have a lot of scarring behind my belly button so they had to use a different point of entry to do my treatment laparoscopy (since giving birth I have an umbilical hernia too so it will be fun to get that sorted in the future). Pregnancy also caused pain with the scar tissue and I had a spell of really bad pain due to this that they suspected an ectopic pregnancy which is higher risk in endometriosis but thankfully wasn't the case.

Also, I have started taking serrapeptase this month as I found out about it on health websites, read reviews and thought it was worth giving it a try.

It is well worth doing as much research as you can about endometriosis - a lot of doctors have limited / poor knowledge of it including a number of gynae consultants. Make sure if somebody is carrying out a laparoscopy that they actually do know about endometriosis and it is not a general gynae who might have a completely different specialism.