Can IVF cause endometriosis?

[MiniCeeCee]

Hope everyone is keeping well! In my last frozen IVF transfer (my second transfer in total), the consultant found an endometrioma cyst on one of my ovaries. When one of these is found, I believe you’re automatically classified as having stage 3/4 endometriosis. But what I’m trying to acertain, is whether I perhaps had endometriosis before they found this cyst (despite having no real symptoms) or whether the IVF and associated medication has contributed towards it? I’ve heard oestrogen often feeds it. But I’m unsure whether I need to get further checks now to see if I have endometriosis in the uterus, as well as the cysts on my ovaries. Any insight or further perspective would be super helpful to hear! x

[Purple_Badgers]

Hi! The short answer is - No, IVF treatment does not cause endometriosis.

However: It is clear that any surge of Oestrogen can cause existing endometriosis to flare up and even spread. Unfortunately, there has been little viable Research on this, probably due to the difficulty in monitoring / measuring the endo before, during and after treatment.

For oestrogen-sensitive cancer patients, there is an IVF protocol which keeps the level of circulating oestrogen to a minimum, in order to prevent growth and spreading of tumours. This could be done for endometriosis patients as well, but doesn’t seem to be offered as yet.

There have been reported cases of endometriosis flaring, spreading and causing serious damage to various organs following IVF treatment. I believe that the same happened to me, as it was after IVF that my endo issues got dramatically worse and led to part of my bowel being removed.

Obviously, I have no scientific proof that that it what happened to me, but I believe it’s true and logical. I believe that IVF providers should be more cautious when treating endo patients and should discuss the risk.

Heartbreaking really, the choices that we have to make regarding fertility 💔

[MiniCeeCee in reply to Purple_Badgers]

Thanks so much for your response, know exactly where you are coming from. I was popping 5 oestrogen tablets a day on my last FET before the endometrioma was found, and it feels like that has fed it. I’m worried about going on oestrogen again now for any future IVF cycles 🙈

[SeaHorse6 in reply to Purple_Badgers]

Thank you for sharing this Purple_Badgers, and really sorry to hear what you've been through x

[HedgehogMad]

Hi lovely, I saw an endo specialist this week because I've had horrific ovulation pains ever since my first egg collection in 2022 (no significant symptoms before then). MRI shows deep pelvic endo. He said he quite commonly sees women with symptoms that started after egg collection and that the superovulation is known to drive endometriosis. Most likely I had a little bit before and the hormonal surge has driven it to grow. Hope this helps xx