Laparoscopy or straight to IVF? Endo

[CAA121]

Hi everyone,

Thank you to anyone who reads and can offer any help or guidance or share their own experiences.

My partner and I have been TTC for a year now (both 32) I’ve always suspected I have endo and after repeatedly telling my GP they finally put me forward to gynaecology and I’m on a 12 month wait list for laparoscopy. I’m also on a separate 14 month wait list for fertility dept. Gyny tell me I need lap first before fertility treatment.

We decided with all the wait lists to go for initial tests at private clinic to rule everything else out. The private clinic found my right ovary is stuck to my uterus and found endo all around my bowels on ultra sound scan. All other things tested for both of us are good. Private consultant said with the sheer amount they found on ultrasound I likely have stage 3 or 4 endo and to go straight for IVF rather than a laparoscopy as there are risks with the lap and it may not improve my fertility, it could have the opposite effect on my fertility. They said I could opt for a Hycosy to see if my tubes are blocked which if they are it’s IVF anyway, and if not could try to conceive naturally but they think my chances are very slim.

Just wondered if anyone has any similar experiences? Fertility consultant says skip laparoscopy and go straight for IVF (and if IVF doesn’t work after 3 rounds then go for laparoscopy) and gynaecology consultant says laparoscopy first….. what do I do??

Hello OP, I had suspected endo and confirmed adenomyosis. We opted to go straight to IVF and I’m glad we did as in our case it wasn’t just these issues that were causing problems. My eggs were slow to grow during both rounds of IVF, DH’s morphology was low and defragmentation was higher than optimal…if we had just done a laparoscopy I wonder if it would have dealt with the issues. I did initially want to try it but in the end we went to IVF and thought if IVF doesn’t work we will do a laparoscopy. Luckily I’m pregnant so 🤞 won’t need to

Hi @CAA121 I have had a Hycosy’s when they put the dye in I ended up with the worst contractions and they had to stop I nearly passed out then I had a laparoscopy on the 16may they found out I have blocked tubes and cyst because my pcos I am now having ivf on the 17th august I hope you get your answers too xx

Hi everyone I have had a #hycosy and then laparoscopy to see why I can’t have children my tubes are blocked they said I had my operation may 16th was wondering has anyone fell pregnant after laparoscopy naturally ? I start ivf 17th august was just wondering how to unblock them naturally and hope we have our Miracle baby naturally I am so so tired from the op was anyone else really tired after and have the strangest feeling inside belly button x

@Universxx sorry to hear you have blocked tubes and a cyst. Have they said whether they’ll remove the cyst before starting IVF? Did they try to unblock the tubes during your laparoscopy? I’ve only heard of tubes being unblocked surgically but I guess it depends on the cause of the blockage?
I have since had a Hycosy which found my right side is completely blocked. My consultant said that minor blockages can be unblocked surgically but because I have stage 3/4 endometriosis it’s highly unlikely that they’ll be able to unblock mine during laparoscopy and there are risks in trying to unblock it e.g damage to ovaries. So I’ve opted to go straight for IVF and I’m currently on day 4 of my stoke.
Good luck on your journey x

Sorry ‘stoke’ is meant to be ‘stims’ silly auto correct

thank you so much and I don’t know why they never unblocked my tubes they took a cyst off to the lab and still not heard about that yet I have scar tissue from previous cervical cancer surgery maybe it’s not fixable 🥲 x

I thought I had endometriosis I get the worst pain on my groin and my periods are soo bad but it’s because my blocked tubes and I read the risks of lap and it’s scary to think they might damage my ovaries but they had to do this to me first before I’vf and I send you all the baby dust 👶x

@Universxx Have you taken an NHS route? I’ve been told that they usually do opt for laparoscopy first. But every case is different so what works for one may not work for another. Have you asked if they’ll unblock your tubes?

Sorry to hear you’ve had cervical cancer, that can’t have been easy. I’m not a doctor so your consultant may have an alternative approach, but from what I’ve read and researched I think scar tissue is difficult to remove. But on a positive, IVF is perfect for those with blocked tubes as it by passes them completely. Good AMH levels are beneficial for IVF too so any laparoscopy or surgeries that have a risk to the ovaries or may reduce AMH levels are probably not worth it until you’ve given IVF a go.

Good luck with your journey!

Hello, I was due to have a laparoscopy to check for endometriosis but they have now decided against this and are pushing me towards ivf without the surgery.
Not sure how this will impact success if I do have endometriosis

They never even unblocked them and I don’t know why just told me ivf never really told me anything at all and when the doctor came round I was so dosed up on morphine how are you mean to remember it’s silly really and thank you so much

Do you get really bad burning pains in your groin and find it hard to put your leg down sometimes they thought maybe I could have edo because the pain I have but it’s PCOS snd blocked tubes they should of definitely had a look but your lucky 🍀 I would of loved for them to say no surgery it’s been more than a month and I stil fell like I’ve done 10000 sit ups good luck on your journey x