Anybody diagnosed with endometriosis?

[Heather]

My SIL more than likely has it, and I'm curious if anyone on here has been dx'd with it who's conceived naturally without medical intervention. She's 32 and not married, although she's been in a relationship for 10 years. I'd love to give her a positive story of someone who didn't need medical intervention as she's got two girls in her office who have Endo, but both of them conceived with IVF.

TIA!

[PinkPaisley]

as of last year I was told I have it. Now not sure for how long I have had it, but I conceived both of my kids on the first try.

[Heather]

Thanks Brenda! Good to know. Do you mind if I ask how old you were when you conceived? Had you noticed any Endo symptoms ever before you had the kids?

[PinkPaisley]

I was 26 with sadie and 29 with Dylan.
It was a surprise to me that I had it since my symptoms were very similar for years, even before the kids.

[lilbunnygirl]

Tell her not to worry. Endometriosis is NOT definitively linked to infertility. I have it BAD, I've had 2 surgeries for it, still have it, and still got pregnant 4 times (neither of my losses were connected to it in any way, one was due to a fibroid tumor, one was a chemical)

The reason people think it's connected is because the VAST majority of people who have it are never diagnosed with it until they go for infertility treatment and when they do the laproscopy to check out the woman's insides, they see the endo. Because there's no other way to definitvely diagnose it and most people are not going to have an exploratory laproscopy just for painful periods. But it's not actually the cause of infertility, that has never been proven in any way shape for form.

So tell her that :) I've had it probably since I was a teenager and was diagnosed for sure at 32 but conceived 4 times between the ages of 34-38.

[Farah]

The dr says I have it and I've been pregnant 5x. My losses would not have had anything to do with it.

[Heather]

K, thanks girls!

Lily, the doctor told her it can cause infertility. Weird. I know she thinks she's probably had it since college because the reason she originally got put on birth control 12 years ago was for long, painful periods. She has a tilted uterus (apparently a sign). She quit taking the birth control a couple of years ago, and all Hell broke loose. She lost 15 lbs, started getting spots on her forehead that look like sunspots but that a dermatologist told her was hormonal, and started getting facial hair above her lip. She's been in severe pain ever since for about a week before her period. But yeah, the doc said they could do a lap but that she recommended waiting until she was ready to ttc because apparently you're most fertile for the next year or so.

Farah, when you had been telling me about your symptoms, Janine was going through her stuff too and I was thinking that it all sounded so similar. So your doc thinks it's Endo AND pcos?

[lilbunnygirl]

K, thanks girls!

Lily, the doctor told her it can cause infertility. Weird. I know she thinks she's probably had it since college because the reason she originally got put on birth control 12 years ago was for long, painful periods. She has a tilted uterus (apparently a sign). She quit taking the birth control a couple of years ago, and all Hell broke loose. She lost 15 lbs, started getting spots on her forehead that look like sunspots but that a dermatologist told her was hormonal, and started getting facial hair above her lip. She's been in severe pain ever since for about a week before her period. But yeah, the doc said they could do a lap but that she recommended waiting until she was ready to ttc because apparently you're most fertile for the next year or so.

Farah, when you had been telling me about your symptoms, Janine was going through her stuff too and I was thinking that it all sounded so similar. So your doc thinks it's Endo AND pcos?

Some OBs believe that, but all the specialists I've seen for it (quite a few!) tell me it's pretty much bunk, it's just that infertile women are more likely to be diagnosed.

I had a laproscopy in 2003 and one in 2006. I conceived Cash in 4 months of excessive trying after the second one but I conceived Daisy on the first try 3 years later, so I don't know if I buy that business about being more fertile either. I never heard that from any of my 3 specialists.

[Heather]

Who knows. I HAVE always heard that you're more fertile after a lap because it cleans you out, but that's only really been from girls on message boards and never a doc or anything. Either way, thanks for the info. She's coming over tonight, so I'll tell her everything y'all have told me.

[Kara]

My uncle's ex wife tried desperately to conceive with him for their entire marriage, which was 15 years. Never happened. She has really bad endo. The doctors told her she never would conceive without IVF. She had a reproductive endocrinologist tell her that.. so I am confused as to why it wouldn't be linked to infertility. Anyway, at 41, she wound up pregnant with her boyfriend. She has a 3 year old little boy. :)

[Sign Of The Fish Burger]

Me!

I had surgery in 2007, fall. We had been having issues conceiving and they did lap surgery to remove the endo and to flush out my tubes.

We tried for 3 cycles after the surgery and went on to artificial insemination... we ended up conceiving naturally several cycles after that (we were not trying that month, go figure).

Conceived Jude naturally, without trying (a surprise blessing).

[Heather]

Sweet, thanks Candice! Sounds like they're something to this lap surgery after all.

Another question for you all - How painful was the lap surgery? I've always thought it was a pretty basic procedure with minimal pain, but is it different for Endo when they're removing the layer? SIL is a drama queen to the nth degree, and she makes it out like she's having brain surgery. When she tells her story thus far, she talks about being in the hospital 3 times. She hasn't been in the hospital at all, these are all visits with her gyno that she's referring to who's office just happens to be affixed to the hosptital. :rolleyes:

She also keeps talking about how she's been told that if she has Endo and has experienced that pain, then child birth should be nothing. I told her that that may be true, but to go ahead and expect that child birth will still be pretty painful just so she isn't caught off guard. :hehe:

[lilbunnygirl]

Sweet, thanks Candice! Sounds like they're something to this lap surgery after all.

Another question for you all - How painful was the lap surgery? I've always thought it was a pretty basic procedure with minimal pain, but is it different for Endo when they're removing the layer? SIL is a drama queen to the nth degree, and she makes it out like she's having brain surgery. When she tells her story thus far, she talks about being in the hospital 3 times. She hasn't been in the hospital at all, these are all visits with her gyno that she's referring to who's office just happens to be affixed to the hosptital. :rolleyes:

She also keeps talking about how she's been told that if she has Endo and has experienced that pain, then child birth should be nothing. I told her that that may be true, but to go ahead and expect that child birth will still be pretty painful just so she isn't caught off guard. :hehe:

The surgery is not that bad, honestly the worst part of it is that they blow up your belly with gas to give them room to do everything so you have gas pain from hell for like a week or more afterwards. The best advice I can give is to get a bottle of charcoal pills to help with that (but take them in between taking painkillers because they will absorb some of the pain meds if taken together!) and when she has a bad pain to get on her knees with her head on the ground to help move the gas.

When I had mine, Sean was overseas. A friend came and stayed with me for the afternoon just to cook me dinner and stuff, she went home when I was ready for bed and I got up the next day and went on with my life as normal.

And as far as childbirth, there may be something to that. When the contractions started from the pitocin, up until I was at about 5 cm, my comment was "This is labor? I've had periods worse than this!" but around 5 cm I asked for the epidural because it was too painful to bear. But once the epidural started working, yes childbirth was a lot less painful than a period :)

[AshleyMommyto2]

Who knows. I HAVE always heard that you're more fertile after a lap because it cleans you out, but that's only really been from girls on message boards and never a doc or anything. Either way, thanks for the info. She's coming over tonight, so I'll tell her everything y'all have told me.



I too was told it was my infertility issue. By my infertility specialist. After we had Eli he told us it was our best bet to start trying right away for another. BC while you are pg it stops the endo. And yes after a lap your chances become higher for a short while to get pg. I wish her the best and know her everyday pain well. I feel like I am about to get AF 24/7.
My contractions with childbirth were about the same as my af cramps. Except I don't feel like something is trying to rip its way out of me like childbirth. LOL I got an Epi with Eli at 7 didn't work though. With Addy I did but wish I hadn't the only reason I got it was bc it was getting close to the end and the end hurts alot more than the labor. With Addy the end was nothing she came out in 1 practive push. I pushed over an hour with Eli all bc his head was stuck in my hips. His birth was the worse pain of my life.