Stage 4 and natural pregnancy

[Gemma1986]

Does anyone have stage 4 Endometriosis fallopian tubes blocked etc and has fallen pregnant naturally? Or does anyone have info on IVF like targets you must hit? How many/if any courses you get on the NHS. Any info would be helpful, it’s just been my second follow up to Lap and they’ve only just told me this info. Thanks xxx

[ChloeV]

Hi. I had stage 4 and useless Fallopian tubes (scarred and pushing things in the wrong direction). I had Intra-uterine inseminations (IUI) 3 times on the NHS, which was not successful. This made sense as my eggs never made it to my womb.

Then I was able to conceive two kids with IVF on the first round each time (good news). You will need to check what the IVF policy is in your area as it is unfairly a postcode lottery. I live in London and they covered the first round of IVF which “created” the embryos for both of my kids.

Good luck with everything. Just keep pushing for an expert doctor you trust. X

[Gemma1986 in reply to ChloeV]

Thank you for your advice I never even thought about IVF as I thought after my lap it would all be fine so I’ve never even looked into it, no idea what it’s like in my area and what they’ll fund etc. So thank you xxx

[Lucy39 in reply to ChloeV]

Hi ChloeV,

Do you mind my asking what your two pregnancies were like Endo-wise and if you had worsening of pain/symptoms after them? I have had 2 miscarriages and have felt worse after, but everyone says that pregnancy “cures” Endo. I have an embryo that I can put in this time but am wondering if I should use a gestational carrier instead as I have also heard that Endo can cause pre-term births/complications etc. thanks so much!!!

[StefaniaJW]

The stage you're at doesn't mean anything as I've seen women with severe stage 4 endo get pregnant naturally after a well-performed laparoscopy BUT if you're tubes are blocked, that infertility is irreversible and no surgery will ever fix them.

You may get pregnant naturally if one of your tubes is only partially blocked but otherwise it's impossible.

If you do undergo IVF, only do that after surgery and make sure they follow the endometriosis protocol for ovarian stimulation

[wanwood in reply to StefaniaJW]

Do you mind me asking, what is the endometriosis protocol for ovarian stimulation? Would my fertility consultant know what it is if I ask about it?

[StefaniaJW in reply to wanwood]

That's a very complex questinon as there are several different protocols.

The one I read about included administering progesterone, but don't ask me if that works for everyone or how much progesterone or at what point because I am not a professional.

The appropriate protocol for you might not be the right one for someone else and we all react differently to even the same protocol, so my suggestion is ask you consultant: "Considering I suffer from endometriosis, which would be the right protocol that won't incourage the progression of the disease?" and your consultant will give an answer depending on the most recent findings, which I am not up to date with. The important thing is that they know you have endo and take it into consideration.

[wanwood in reply to StefaniaJW]

Great, thanks for your reply.

[fishee1204]

Hello

I had a double bowel resection and endo excision surgery in May 18. I was told my left tube was blocked when they did the dye test while in theatre. We were given 6 months to 'try' before being referred for IVF and even though I was starting to show symptoms of diaphragmatic endo on the 1st day of my last period (3 months into 'trying'), we surprisingly fell pregnant naturally. We were extremely shocked as we never thought it would happen and when I went for my gynae followup, we had just had our 12 week scan. The consultant was more excited than we were as it still felt so surreal but now he has kept me on to care for me throughout the pregnancy. 22 weeks in and all is well so it really can happen. I never thought we would have a baby and started to get really down about it but I guess there's always a chance. Good luck xx