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Having babies after being diagnosed with endometriosis
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I’ll never forget when my doctor said “right now, you have a zero percent chance of getting pregnant.” It was the follow-up appointment after my laparoscopy. I knew it wasn’t going to be good news because when I woke up from the surgery my doctor came in and told me that I had stage 4 endometriosis and one of the worst cases he had seen, but I didn’t expect it to hear that I had no chance of getting pregnant! I was so upset and just couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I was 32 and just assumed that one day I’d have kids. The doctor told me that during the laparoscopy they had blown air into the fallopian tubes to see if anything could get through, the tubes were so blocked from the endometriosis that nothing could get through, or so they thought... Imagine my surprise when I found out five months later that I was pregnant! The only explanation the doctor could come up with is that the work they had done during the laparoscopy which included getting rid of some of the many cysts and tissue that had set up camp inside my body from the endometriosis, in addition to the air they blew through the tubes, must have helped the cause. (Sorry about the gory details, but this stuff isn’t pretty!)
Before this whole experience, I had never heard of endometriosis. Endometriosis is a condition where tissue similar to the lining of the uterus which is supposed to be found in the uterus is found elsewhere in the body. It is one of the most common gynecological disorders and affects about 5.5 million people in North America. People who suffer from it, usually suffer pelvic pain and in some cases infertility. I had been getting these debilitating pains in my abdomen off and on for about 5 years. The pain was so intense that it would literally have me curled up like a baby on the floor unable to move. I had been to 2 other gynecologists over the years to try to find out why this was happening, the only thing they did, was to prescribe 800 milligram Motrin to take when the pain came on, in hindsight, I can’t believe they didn’t diagnose it. I was so thankful when I found a doctor in Minnesota who immediately did an ultrasound, scheduled the laparoscopy and diagnosed the problem.
Typically when a person is diagnosed, the treatment plan is to put them on a drug or treatment plan to manage it. In my case, the doctor recommended Lupron, which puts you into a sort of menopausal state. The goal is to keep the woman from having periods and hope the excess tissue goes away. Once the treatments are over, you are supposed to try and get pregnant.
I didn’t do the treatment and was lucky enough to get pregnant without it. I know other women who have done the treatment and also got pregnant. The point is, that there is hope after being diagnosed with endometriosis. I have two beautiful kids and had one of the worst cases of endometriosis. My advice would be to get a great physician who specializes in endometriosis.
