One blocked tube - advice please

[MagicHouse]

I'm posting this on behalf of a friend. Hope that's ok. She was in hospital today for a laproscopy (I think). She said the procedure was pretty horrible, and that they found that one of her tubes is blocked, and they are/ were unable to do anything about it.
She left me a voicemail earlier and sounded so upset about the whole thing, and shocked at their findings. I think she's been ttc about 3 years.
I want to reassure her, and say one blocked tube is not really a problem, but really I don't know much about the statistics and I don't want to brush it aside if it is a problem.
She is new to considering help with ttc, and has just started taking clomid (she rarely has periods, so the clomid was preceded by another drug to bring one on) and had this procedure today. I think she is beginning to think she'll never conceive.

Just wondered if anyone has any reassurance or advice about the blocked tube/ clomid etc that I could pass on to her.
TIA xx

Not quite the same, but I went into hospital for a laparoscopy and ended up having one tube removed (left). I do ovulate regularly, but even so, due to pelvic adhesions on my right ovary, we were advised to take the assisted conception route.

One blocked / removed tube may delay the time it takes to get pregnant, but if everything else is OK then natural conception is definitely achievable and probable if you give it long enough.

However, it does sound that your friend is also failing to ovulate regularly - irregular periods are a dead give away to this. Coupled with the blocked tube, then yes, although not impossible, it is probably going to be very difficult for her to get pregnant without assistance. It sounds like the clomid is being given as the first step on this journey.

There is a poster called boba82 who was on the CBFM thread for a long, long time. I think she had one blocked tube plus polycystic ovaries. She managed to get pregnant on Clomid despite the blockage, so it certainly can happen.

You are right in what you say about not brushing it aside. I was devastated after my salpingectomy. She'll need support and may want to talk about it. From a personal perspective, the absolute worst people said to me was "stay positive and it will happen" or "relax". I wanted to scream and shout "FFS so easy for you to say, I've lost one tube and the ovary on the other side is in the wrong bloody place, relaxing really isn't really going to help!". The thing I found most helpful was when my friends acknowledged that it was going to be tough for me to get pregnant, but were positive about the potential success of assisted conception whilst being realistic about the fact that it doesn't always work. Everybody is different though. Asking her how she feels and if she wants to talk about it might be a good starting step.

Thank you so much for taking the time to reply. It's really helpful for me to hear what you say, because as a friend you do find you want to tell someone everything will be ok. But of course it makes sense to ask how she's feeling and listen to her before anything else, and acknowledge what she's going through, as well as being positive about assisted conception. Thanks so much again. xx

My pleasure. You sound like a really thoughtful and sensitive friend. One of the nicest things somebody said to me is "tell me when you want to talk about it, and also when you don't". It's difficult for you too in this situation because you can't fix it for her, and that must make it hard. I am sure she'll really appreciate your support. I really hope it works out for her x

How funny I just stumbled across this thread? I was told had blocked right tube & that chances of conceiving from that side were slim to none. Was put on Clomid & told I would most likely require IVF to conceive. I fell pregnant in second cycle of Clomid & was told on early scan that I had in fact ovulated from the right side so miracles can happen
You sound like a lovely friend. I too was shocked to have a blockage as I expected results to be clear. All you can do is be there to support her. It helps to talk as too often people deal with this pain alone. Best of luck to your friend - tell her to keep positive! x