Endo, PCOS, & TTC - HELP!

Promoesrose · 10-29-2008, 11:17 PM

Hey Everyone!

I'm new to to soulcysters and am already enjoying reading and learning the great information provided. I'm 27 and my story starts 6 years ago when I was first diagnosed with endometriosis. My first lap showed just one spot of endo on my right ovary. The dr took care of it and told me I was cured...yeah right. I ended up moving on to a new dr who did another lap and put me on Lupron. The lupron didn't do what it was supposed to, but it was better then before. I ended up moving to a new town and got a new ob/gyn who's awesome. I've had another lap and done another 2 rounds of Lupron with BC in between. We were going to start TTC then, by my DH got diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma. He's clear of that now, thank God!

About 6 months ago we decided to start TTC, which wasn't going well since I wasn't ovulating. Thats when I got dx with PCOS. I'm on 1500 mg /day of metformin and have had one cycle. Yeah! Unfortunately that was almost 2 mths ago. Now, the pain is back and it's unbearable and pretty constant. I don't go back to the dr for another 6 weeks, but have talked to the nurse over the phone. She wanted me to think about doing another lap. That would be lap number 4. What do you think I should do? I hate to do another surgery, but the pain is preventing the most vital part of TTC.

Any ideas, suggestions?

Thanks for your help!

Michelle

OliviaLeigh · 10-30-2008, 07:46 PM

Hey! I don't have much time to write right now, but I wanted to say I feel your pain!

I am on hold TTC b/c of pain. About to do Lupron to try to help....

I will write more later.

Hugs

OliviaLeigh · 11-02-2008, 12:10 PM

I know how you feel...I had to make a decision about TTC and pain, etc.

I had lap, but they couldn't get the endo out of my deep tissue, so I still feel pain, etc. I thought about going right back into TTC, but 1) it's too painful to have i-c, and 2) my body feels so defeated right now b/c I'm almost always constanlty in pain. I've decided to put TTC on hold for 6 months to do Lupron injections. Then I'm hoping to be pain free for 1 year, feel better (b/c pain is gone), and be able to have pain free i-c. Lofty goals, huh?

I hear lots of women have great luck getting pregnant soon after a Lap. Unfortunately for me the endo is now too deep to remove and it's caused some damage.

You have to weigh your options and see what is best for you.

Good luck, I hope this board gives you support/help as it has for me

Promoesrose · 11-03-2008, 12:20 AM

I'm a big fan of the Lupron injection. Granted, it's never lasted more then about 6 months after the injection, but overall, it gives me about a year of no pain. The first time I did it, I didn't do the add-back therapy and it didn't work so well. The next two times I did do the add-back therapy and it worked great.

My dr was able to get what he could see on my last lap. I had a lot of endo around my colon, which was the worst part. I've heard mixed views on lap helping/hurting TTC. I think I'm going to make an appt with my dr to talk about my options.

Thanks for your advice & help! It was great to find this site and see that there are other women out there in the same place that I am.

DiamondInTheRough · 11-03-2008, 12:32 AM

Promoesrose - You said you had endo on your colon. Could you tell you had it before the lap - I mean, did it hurt - what kind of pain, etc. What about rectal bleeding? Sorry if I'm prying, but I think I might also have colorectal endo.

OliviaLeigh · 11-03-2008, 11:33 AM

Thank you so much for your view on Lupron. I've read very differing opinions, but I think it treats each women differently and I'm willing to try it.

Promoesrose · 11-04-2008, 12:34 AM

Diamondintherough - I didn't even know it was a problem until my dr pointed it out. Once he did, I was able to look back and see the symptoms. The main prob for me was the excrutiating pain with bowel movements and the irregularity. I did not experience any rectal bleeding though. Sorry if this was TMI.

I hope this helps.

DiamondInTheRough · 11-04-2008, 01:21 AM

Prose - not tmi at all! Thank you for explaining, that actually makes a lot of sense. Welcome to the board, btw! Have you been trying diet/exercise to manage/treat your pain? I don't yet have a confirmed case of endo, however I have focussed heavily on d&e this cycle and it has made a huge difference from my last few cycles. The pain is significantly decreased, I actually had normal bowel movements during af (as opposed to loose/diarrhea).

I had a lot of success on Metformin. I was also dieting/exercising during my time on it which I believe was a factor in my succes (i.e. conceiving). My cycles were coming every 30+ days or so on Met (compared to every 3 or 4 months w/o). I knew I was ovulating because I was getting my day 21 progesterone tests. I started vitamin B6 and conceived that month with a 28-day cycle. I would suggest you add this to your metformin, along with a regular b-complex.