Just looking for a little positivity- pregnancy

[A1239]

Hey lovely ladies,

Hope you’re all having a lovely day

Just hoping for some success stories on falling pregnant after endometriosis surgery, how long it took- if it happened naturally etc.

Google just brings up horror stories or test studies and it would be nice for some hope

Thanks ❤️

[Nicola2401]

Hello there,

I know, Google is full of horror stories and it's so easy to get caught up in them all.

I had my second lap for Stage 4 endo in November 2017 and had the Mirena coil fitted at the same time. At the time, I wasn't quite ready for a baby but my consultant said that the Mirena would to help "preserve" my fertility until I was ready.

I had the coil removed in November 2018 (exactly a year later), had my first period in December, started trying in January and fell pregnant straight away. I'm now 20 weeks pregnant.

I realise I am very fortunate for this to have happened, but it does show that it is possible and does happen. I never in a million years expected it to happen so quickly, if at all - and even had a Savings account waiting on standby which was going to go towards treatment if we needed it.

I wish you all the very best of luck with your journey - and remember to never compare yourself or your story to someone else's as we are all completely unique and different. And there are always options out there for us to lean on if we need to x

[A1239 in reply to Nicola2401]

Thanks for your reply Nicola. Since being diagnosed it’s put a massive amount of strain on my emotions and my relationship. I’m currently deciding if I should go on some form or contraception to take away the monthly heartache and concentrate on myself and relationship. Lovely to hear you fell pregnant so soon after the coil, can I ask why u chose the coil over any pill? X

[Nicola2401 in reply to A1239]

You're very welcome! And absolutely, endometriosis is an extremely difficult condition to deal with on both a physical and emotional level, and due to the nature of it can (and does) affect relationships. It's definitely important that you and your partner take time for yourselves first and foremost, and that's exactly why myself and my partner just needed that extra year before trying for a baby - to focus on us. Surgery also takes a lot longer than just a couple of months to recover from - especially from an emotional standpoint.

And of course - since being a teenager I have been on almost every contraceptive pill under the sun, but all of them seemed to exacerbate my migraines and bring me out in all sorts of other horrible symptoms (extreme night and day sweats, irritable moods to name a couple) and my Consultant advised me to try the coil. At first I was very hesitant as I'd made the classic mistake of reading countless horror stories online about it, but decided that doing what I could to preserve my fertility was the most important thing to me, and more important than any potential side effects. For the first few months (I'd say a good 4 months), I spotted every single day and had occasional period-type pains with it, but after that 4 months I had absolutely no bleeding or pain whatsoever. In fact it was bliss - and I never in my life thought I'd associate contraception with a blissful time in my life! They say it can take 6 months to settle, so I was determined to wait it out and it did end up paying off.

But again, everyone responds differently to different types of contraception, so it's just about trying a few things out and seeing what works for you.

It's also worth noting that prior to having my coil removed, I changed my diet to be as anti-inflammatory as possible (there's lots of information online and various books about the endo diet), cut right down on alcohol (I didn't drink a huge amount anyway, but was much more choosy with when I drank) and embarked on a regular exercise routine. And, 3 months before starting to try, myself and my partner took prenatal vitamins (we took the Pregnacare Conception ones but I'm sure there are various choices out there), as having a store of folic acid in your system has been said to be beneficial for conception to occur.

Sorry for the essay but hope that was somewhat useful, and please feel free to ask me absolutely anything else x

[A1239 in reply to Nicola2401]

Don’t be sorry- thanks so much for the essay. My surgeon has recommend I either go to a fertility specialist now or try the Mirena coil, is that the one u had? How long after surgery did you wait till it was fitted? I’ve been cutting out all inflammatory foods too! X

[Nicola2401 in reply to A1239]

That's great about cutting out inflammatory foods! Yea I had the Mirena, and I got it fitted during my surgery so didn't feel a thing! I also saw a fertility specialist a few years ago, which was reassuring as they can count your follicles and AMH levels but what they can't tell you is the quality of your eggs and things like that, so I'd maybe only go if you've been trying for a while and are still having trouble conceiving x

[Bigfatpie55]

I got pregnant three months after my laparoscopy he’s now a happy healthy 4 year old. He was our second child. The first took 4 months to conceive. The doc told me to get a move on if I wanted another (due to the endo). I was 32 when we got pregnant the second time around x

[A1239 in reply to Bigfatpie55]

Thanks for your story, it’s so lovely to hear the nice stories 😊 with your first did u not know you had endo? X