Surgery involving the bowel or Try for pregnancy?

[Amber83]

Hi everyone,

I went to see consultant yesterday in Oxford endometriosis centre. I had a laparoscopy in June where endo was found on pouch of Douglas, overlying ureter, on ligaments and various other places. The pain has steadily increased and I am now at the stage of being unable to do a lot of daily activities, it has torn my mental health to pieces and I am in agonising pain daily.

I had MRI at the beginning of Dec and the results as told to me yesterday are that endo has obliterated my POD and my bowel is stuck to my uterus amongst other issues, have been told the endo there is inactive.

The consultant has said I can have surgery but I know when it's involving the bowel it can be risky and I am scared to death of this operation, my other option is to try for pregnancy. At this moment in time I don't feel mentally stable enough for a baby but it could mean I avoid surgery. I really don't know what to do?

Has anyone had surgery involving the bowel?, is it bad?

Any opinions would be greatly received. Please help me xxxx

[JellyKat]

Who suggested you should have a baby? Pregnancy will at best mask the symptoms for a while, but doesn't cure it, but what happens when you've got a small child to care for you're back where you are now (pain wise) but probably more sleep deprived than ever?

You've said you're not ready for a baby, such stress really can't be good for anyone's state of mind. it's a risky strategy and the operation may be the better option unless the specialist has said there's a good reason you shouldn't have more surgery.

Even my gynae said I should keep trying for baby but I said no, not until I get it treated as I don't want to be doubled over in pain unable to pick up my child, or having to choose between breastfeeding or painkillers xx

[Amber83 in reply to JellyKat]

The consultant said that pregnancy is not a cure but in some cases it can turn things around when it comes to endo. He didn't say that's what he thought I should do but wanted me to have a think whether I definitely want the surgery. You are right and I hadn't thought of the fact of dealing with a child if things didn't change after pregnancy. I think I know surgery is my only option now, just having a hard time dealing with it xxxx

[sazg]

I had a laparoscopy in 2011 which then got converted into a laparotomy and serious surgery because they perforated my bowel. Since then I got worse and after seeing many different consultants who didn't want to do more surgery despite how bad I was because of the risk I finally found the right consultant. Hr agreed to do surgery again and this happened in September despite the massive risk I had no choice to go ahead. During the surgery they found so much damage. My bowel was in the wrong place and stuck to parts of the body it shouldn't be and there was alot of damage and adhesions. They found grade 4 endometriosis and also my tubes were stuck to my colon and blocked so lots of damage. I was scared but I took the risk and glad I did because of what they then found x

[Amber83 in reply to sazg]

God, u really have been through it! What has happened to you is exactly what I'm scared of. Is okay to pm you to ask some questions? X

[sazg in reply to Amber83]

I know it's been hell and still is hell- I have no life! And yes course you can x

[Hidden]

Hey Hun, I had endo and bowel resection in 2009, my endo like yours was severe, my bowel, uterus and pelvic wall were all fused and the pouch of Douglas and utersaceral ligaments a mess! There was a mass in the bowel hence the resection. The endo has since returned and I've had 2 further surgeries but I did had a lot of relief following the op until 2011. And although it has returned, it hasn't got as bad! There are risks, but for me the relief from the pain I was in at the time outweighed them! But everyone feels differently. X

[Amber83 in reply to Hidden]

Thank you for your reply.

I don't really know the full extent of it yet. When I saw the consultant, he briefly said that the MRI had shown things but the concentration of the endo was on the back of my womb and had attached itself to my sigmoid colon?. He said for me to have a few days to think and them email him with my answer, but now I've come away with a lot of questions. I think if I know the full details, I'll be able to make a better decision.

At the moment as such I don't have much choice but to have the surgery, life at the moment is pretty unbearable. I constantly have the feeling that my pelvis/bk is about to crack and like everything has been kicked the crap out of. I can't sleep properly, turning over in the middle of the night is so painful it wakes me up. Sorry I'm babbling now x