Anyone had a laparoscopy?

[Ask4joy]

DH and I have been TTC for the last 8 months. DH's SA was normal and so far all my hormone tests, uterus and ovaries look normal. I am on my 3rd round of clomid this cycle (though I ovulate normally on my own) and my Obgyn said that next step would be a lap and dye. She said I could have endo when I told her I get severe lower back pain the first day or two of my period during heavy flow. I don't feel ready to do surgery when we haven't been trying a full year but also don't want to waste time as I'm 34.

Has anyone else had laparoscopic surgery or been diagnosed with endo? Anyone else get pretty intense lower back pain (cured with ibuprofen)?

 

[Sheece]

sorry I can't be much help here, but I've been scheduled in for a lap in January because of suspected endo. In my case I had an ultrasound to check for PCOS and she saw some scarring in there. Also the ultrasound wand hurt me in certain places and it's not supposed to hurt.

My only other clues were my period had gotten heavier the last two cycles & my pain had grown from 1 day a cycle to 4 days. I didn't get any back pain though, and pain meds got rid of it for a while.

If it helps, my doc said that usually they don't go straight to a lap unless they are very sure you have endo because it's quite a serious surgery to do for no definite reason. But unfortunately its the only way to know for sure that you have endo.

I hope you get some answers soon

 

[Ask4joy]

Thanks for the reply, Sheece. I was surprised my doc suggested a lap, as if it were a routine test. I go in again on Friday for a clomid monitoring ultrasound and will ask her more about it.

 

[mnelson815]

I've talked with my RE about lap's as well. Turns out, my clinic does not recommend doing them anymore. Previously, it used to be routine with screening of infertile patients just like an HSG, bloods, etc. However, it was found that even if endo was diagnosed, there was not a big increase in pregnancy rates after having it excised (removed) in patients with stage 1-2. With stage 3-4 it can help if your organs have been distorted in position due to adhesions and scaring, but typically in these instances you will need IVF anyway to increase your chance for pregnancy, so doing the lap did not increase chances much for those women anyway.
My RE also noted that each time you do a lap or surgery, you create more scar tissue, theoretically just making the situation worse. So he pretty much told me that if we plan to move onto IUI or IVF anyway if we dont conceive naturally, then doing the lap really does not benefit you much. Also, if you have stage 1 or 2 your chances were the same pre and post lap due to many studies.

Most women that get laps for endo are usually doing it for pain reasons, not necessarily ttc anymore since it likely causes more harm than good in that area.

Anyways, some thoughts to research and bring up with your RE. I found quite a few articles stating the same thing when I did my reasearch!

 

[HopefulB]

Hi I have stage 4 endo and have recently had a lap and am now actively TTC. It is proven that your chances of conception are significantly increased after a lap (if you have endo) which makes perfect sense really as they will have cleared the 'blockages' and your body will be able to function more normally. A lap is by no means a cure but that is why they advise you to actively try to conceive as soon as possible after a lap. However having said that I would not rush into having a lap if you doubt you have endo as it is after all an operation and not merely a procedure.
Sorry it is a tough one as I know what you mean about not wanting to wast time. I would advise you to investigate the symptoms of endo a bit more, if you have it chances are you dont realise some of your symptoms are 'symptoms' rather than just normal and how everyone felt (that was the case with me) hopefully after more research you might be able to make a better decision. Also my cysts were viable on an ultrasound and CT scan so maybe its worth having them done first to see if the Doc can see anything that way first?
Hope this is some help.

 

[2much]

I had a lap back in 2009 for suspected endo. It was really, really hard on me. I did it because I had horrid abdominal pain, I had ended up in the ER multiple times due to it prior to the lap. Honestly, my doctor said I had "slight scarring due to possible endo" which did not help me at all.

Honestly I would not do a lap unless you were fairly confident you had endo that needed "cleaned up" in order to conceive. For YEARS I told my husband if I couldn't conceive due to endo and needed cleaned up again, I would rather not conceive. I know that sounds dramatic. Some people are fine with the recovery but I was not so lucky.