Complex Endmetriosis Excision and Impact on Fertility

[EnglishRain]

I (finally) got to speak to my consultant after receiving a damning diagnosis of endo with bowel involvement. I’ve had fertility struggles since 2017 and 2025 was the first time anyone mentioned or considered endo.

I have one child. I would like another, but the age gap would be big (DD already 5.5). DP is more it would be nice to have one but not the end of the world. Much less keen than me. I think IVF is probably not on the cards and it’s naturally or not at all. I can get pregnant but I have very early losses.

My consultant said they bank on your AMH being cut in half by it. He said ‘you have to break a few eggs to make an omelette’ 😳 he said if this sends AMH below 10, which it would mine if 50% reduced, they recommend freezing eggs. As IVF is a no, this would be pointless for us.

It has made me feel very panicked. The endo has a big impact on my life. But the thought of my fertility completely disappearing (I’ve now gone down the rabbit hole of what if I lose both ovaries) is something I don’t feel ready for.

Has anyone had complex endo excision surgery and known what the impact ended up being on their AMH?

I feel like ChatGPT can be full of toxic positivity at times. It said that my fertility/inability to carry a pregnancy is basically trashed by the endo right now and even with a reduction in AMH my odds could still be better naturally post surgery with a reduction in AMH but also a significant reduction in endo tissue.

Bumping for the evening crowd

Sorry to hear of your situation.
I have had endo excision but not with bowel involvement so I don’t have relevant experience- hopefully helping bump this for you.
I was told my tubes could be damaged in my surgery, but I needed to have it as otherwise risked having large ovarian cysts burst (again) or just continue to cause infertility. I felt it was worth having the surgery done but I’m aware it’s a different situation.

I was told I was unlikely to ever become pregnant naturally and would need ivf- I already knew this however.

wishing you luck on your journey

@EnglishRain Really sorry to hear about your diagnosis, I have endo too so big commiserations for how painful it can be. I had surgery for it last year however my bowel wasn’t impacted so I’m not sure how similar or not my situation is as I don’t think mine was quite as complex. Is your dr suggesting your AMH may be impacted because of endometriomas on your ovaries? My surgeon purposefully didn’t remove my endometriomas for me and instead just drained them, with the main reason being to not to affect my ovary function (although they have since reappeared) and he just removed the rest of my endo instead. I had an egg collection following this and actually did better than my collection before the surgery.

It sounds like the potential to impact your AMH is feeling quite scary for you/panicking you. I just wanted to check why an egg retrieval beforehand as suggested by your dr is such an absolute no? Is this because that’s how your partner feels about it? Because no disrespect to him, but this is your body and your eggs, and if it’s important to you to preserve your fertility then I do think it’s important to consider an egg retrieval. If IVF is something that could ease the risks regarding your AMH, surely it’s something worth considering? I completely respect if it’s not something that you want to do of course ❤️

Hi @EnglishRain I’ve just been advance searching you about floor beds (can’t decide what size to get etc) and saw this post. I thought I’d share my experience if it might be helpful.

I couldn’t get pregnant, IVF didn’t work, etc etc. Then finally I was diagnosed with deep infiltrating endo, bowel involvement, pouch of Douglas, the lot. Everything tethered to everything else.

I had excision surgery in August 2023, and I was put in medical menopause prior to that as it was a condition of surgery in my NHS Trust. My period came back in October 2023 and within just two cycles of trying I fell pregnant naturally. And I was over 40!

My surgeon said the inflammation from all the endo was preventing any embryo from implanting. So that would align with your ChatGPT advice!

I would definitely have the surgery if I were you. I feel there’s no point being able to get pregnant if you can’t sustain it due to the endo. And even if your AMH is affected by surgery, you only need one egg to fertilise and then you have a nice fresh hospitable environment waiting for it!

You can AS my posts and you’ll find the full story if it helps. 💐 Best of luck.

PS 😁 What size floor bed did you get and would you recommend it? I now have a 16mo cot-refusing, co-sleeping boob barnacle DS…!