Fertility Worries after Abdominal Surgery

[Bamargera17]

Hi everyone,
I had keyhole surgery nearly two years ago to remove my appendix and some of my bowel due to early stage cancer in my colon. I did not need chemotherapy because thankfully my cancer was caught very early.
I am worried that I will not be able to fall pregnant easily this time.
DH and I are now trying for a baby. We already have a 2 year old. She was born before my surgery and diagnosis.
Have any of you ever had abdominal surgery like mine and gone on to conceive relatively easily?
I am in a negative head space this month, having only gotten BFNs, so I would really appreciate some positive stories.
Thanks xxx

I had my appendix removed via keyhole surgery aged 9.
Conceived DC1 first attempt.
Had my gallbladder removed when DC1 was 4 months old, again via key hole surgery - two incisions in abdomen & conceived DC2 2years later, again first attempt. Allthough it would seem I'm quite lucky there.

I had my gall bladder removed under emergency key hole surgery and had no problems conceiving. I fell pregnant first time with first baby which sadly ended in a MMC and then fell pregnant again first time and I'm now currently 35 weeks pregnant. Sending you lots of baby dust x

I had emergency surgery to remove my large intestine and have an ileostomy formed due to Crohn’s disease. Like you I wasn’t sure If it had caused any damage, but fell pregnant a few months into trying. Fingers crossed won’t be too long for you either x

I’m not a doctor but I wouldn’t think surgery like that would affect infertility unless they mentioned it could when you agreed to surgery or after surgery. I had keyhole surgery to remove an ovary a few years ago but even with that I was able to conceive.

So don’t give up hope. Best wishes for the future.

Hi!
I have had different surgery to you, but three major ones in total and I am now 33 weeks pregnant... Is it perhaps worth speaking to your doctor/consultant to alleviate your worries?
Good luck...though I am sure all is fine :) Sadly our bodies (or life!) doesn't tend to give us what we want straight away! x

I had a laparoscopy three years ago, which found I had moderate stage endometriosis and a lot of scar tissue that had to be removed. I conceived naturally in three months and I'm now 17 weeks. Good luck x

Yes, and worse!

I had advanced bowel cancer when I was young. I initially had keyhole but developed a complication after so ended up having open surgery a week later. I also had 6 months of chemotherapy, most of which was at a really high dose until I simply could not take it anymore. I also had a stoma which was reversed and then issues with scar tissue which meant scar revision surgery a few years ago. I've also developed a hernia in a scar, so another surgery!

Because of that, DH and I were fully expecting a long journey and IVF...I fell pregnant naturally surprisingly quickly.

Thanks Tiggery Bear for taking the time to send me that message. I am delighted things went so smoothly for you. Hopefully, I will get my BFP in the not so distant future. I have a gene mutation that means I have an elevated risk of getting certain cancers. For this reason I have yearly screenings. All my screenings for this year were clear so I would love to fall pregnant soon before I have to do it all over next year.

@tobytoes1403 thank you so much for replying. I am sorry to hear about your MMC. That must have been very tough and disappointing for you. Delighted you are now expecting a bundle of joy. Only a few short weeks to go. Best of luck xxx

@Sibz20 Hi there, thank you so much for your reassuring message. I'm sorry to hear you have been through so much with your Crohn's. I wonder how you are doing now that you've had your bowel removed? Hearing your story gives me great hope. I am such a pessimist and have been through a hard time health wise so I am really looking forward to having some happy news soon. Thanks again

@NinaMimi Hi, thank you so much for taking the time to send me a message. Its my first time posting on a forum and I can't believe how many responses I got so quickly. Its lovely to be able to chat about these things.
Thank you for the reassurance and I am happy to hear you conceived after your ovary removal. Thats wonderful.

@TH22 Hi and congrats on your pregnancy. You must be getting very excited. Before my surgery nothing was ever mentioned about fertility being a problem, so hopefully that is a good sign. A few months ago I saw an Instagram doctor talking about fertility and she said that abdominal surgery can sometimes affect fertility because it can shift the position of the womb. To be honest I haven't been able to find much evidence online to support her claim, but she planted the seed in mind nonetheless. It has been wonderful to hear all of your stories.

@ekoocahs hi there, this is such lovely news. I am delighted everything is progressing well for you and you are expecting a bundle of joy this year. Thank you for sharing your story xx

@MsHedgehog Hi Ms Hedgehog, thank you for sharing your story with me. I am in shock as to how much you have been through in your life. I am truly delighted that conceiving came easily to you- you've had your fair share of other crap to deal with! Your story has given me great hope. I'm coming up on two years past my hemicolectomy. I don't think I have any issues with scar tissue (none that I know of anyway fc)
I sometimes find it hard to imagine my body being able to conceive after the hardship it has faced over the last 2 years, but your story is amazing so that gives me great hope. Thank you

[quote Bamargera17]@TH22 Hi and congrats on your pregnancy. You must be getting very excited. Before my surgery nothing was ever mentioned about fertility being a problem, so hopefully that is a good sign. A few months ago I saw an Instagram doctor talking about fertility and she said that abdominal surgery can sometimes affect fertility because it can shift the position of the womb. To be honest I haven't been able to find much evidence online to support her claim, but she planted the seed in mind nonetheless. It has been wonderful to hear all of your stories.[/quote]
Hi :)

I think with anything related to pregnancy, there is always a risk in some form. No matter how small. They even class something as a risk purely on the basis of doing no testing and that they can't tell you it's not a risk (if that makes sense!).
They tell you that C sections can affect future pregnancies, yet people go on to have many of them!
Don't let anyone scare you...people love to project their fears on to other people.
Good luck, I am sure you will be fine :)

Another Crohns sufferer here. Had laparotomy surgery few years ago for small bowel resection. Conceived baby first month of trying, 7 years after surgery.
Had another laparotomy last week for small bowel resection again. Hoping to try to conceive in six months when I'm healed and hopefully the Crohns stays settled.
Wishing you luck and hope you conceive quickly.

@Bamargera17 Life is good thanks. It’s made my life a lot less stressful and now I have been able to have my ds it’s so much better. I was like you before I conceived I had no idea If I could after everything, as I have had crohns since I was 14 and been on countless medications n then then major op x

@minnie465 thanks for your reply. It's a huge relief for me to read that you conceived easily after your first bowel resection. Sending you baby dust this time around too.
How has your Crohn's been since having your second resection? Crohn's sufferers have a special place in my heart because that is what doctors thought I had before I was diagnosed with my colon cancer. My bowel was very inflamed. It was a long time before I received my cancer diagnosis and subsequently had my surgery and I will never forget the pain of the bowel inflammation. You guys put up with a lot.