I'm 30y/o and was diagnosed with endo last year after a lap op and have been in debilitating pain ever since. I have tried numerous pain relief and either have a reaction or doesn't work. Recently, I have been hospitalised and the gynae team spoke to me about my want for children (I'm aware having children doesn't 'cure' endo as there isn't a cure, they were just asking for my future plans)
I haven't had any hormone tests, and have never TTC before, so I don't know if it's even possible for me to fall pregnant. But I have huge fertility and motherhood anxiety.
I am currently seeking some positive endo and motherhood stories, because I would really love a family of my own one day but am struggling with the thought of flaring and being in constant pain, and that's without a child to look after!
I guess I'm asking if you have endo and children: How do you manage? Have you noticed a difference in symptoms? Is it possible?
Thank you in advance.
Written by
SonnySunflower
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Hello :)I am 31, I have a 9 year old daughter and I have 6 year old twins. All natural, and I have had my endo. Removed once before. I was diagnosed with this about 10/11 years ago.
It is definitely possible, though I know some women haven't been as lucky as me. I hope your journey takes you exactly where you want to go xx
Hi, I completely relate to the anxiety you feel. I was so nervous to start IVF because I was in so much pain I couldn't imagine how I would look after a baby on top of it all. I had 3 surgeries then ivf and I was very lucky that I had a little girl last year. I'm not going to lie, the pregnancy was tough. I had adenomyosis also, so I'm assuming it added to the pain during the pregnancy. I do know that some find pregnancy better because symptoms are lessened. I had great support around me for after the baby being born. You are so busy that you kind of forget the endo pain. The joy of having a baby outweighs everything, more than I could ever have imagined. All the pain and exhaustion are not forgotten, but they aren't important when you have that little baby in your arms, it's the most amazing feeling in the world. I did decide to go for a hysterectomy because my symptoms were debilitating and I felt like I wasn't the mummy I should be for our little girl, so I've recently had the surgery and recovering well thankfully. If you want to know anything else please feel free to message me x
Thank you so much for this. Your reply made me quite emotional. It sounds like you've been on quite the journey, I'm so pleased for you to have your daughter. I'd love to feel that joy one day. I do worry about the support element post baby - as much as my partner is brilliant and ever so supportive, both our families are quite preoccupied with their own kids and other commitments. My close friends are all quite far away, so I am unsure who I'd be able to rely on for support. It's been hard to gain my family's full support since I've been diagnosed, as they just don't get it and tend to say the wrong thing, unintentionally. A lot of them have no idea what I go through day to day unless I explicitly say in detail, and more often than not, I don't hear from my them still (I'm 1 of 4 siblings in our family). So it's tough to go into this decision knowing we'd probably be on our own. Which is definitely fuelling my anxiety about it.
I was told at 21 to have kids immediately as the progression of endo would stop me! I didn’t as I had other things that I wanted to do and I had a belief that despite everything I would still have children. At 30 I tried to conceive for over a year then was advised to have IVF ended up being ICSI, conceived on the first round! At age 33 gave birth to a Little boy. A year later I fell pregnant naturally to another baby boy. Weirdly my endo symptoms were present throughout the first pregnancy, so I was going to have the mirena fitted but they accidentally cut my womb during surgery so they couldn’t! Lucky though or I may. It have had baby boy 2. After him the endo seemed to be only period pain but after about 4 years it returned with a vengeance and I’ve been disabled for the last 9 years by the constant endo pain (bowel, under rib possibly diaphragm and womb etc). Despite feeling that I could be a better parent if I didn’t have endo and adenomyosis I wouldn’t change my boys for the world - they are my world! I’m absolutely blessed to have them. I also think that there’s positives, the boys are very caring and aware that not everyone has bodies that work for them. Wishing you the best of luck and health on your journey xx
Wow thank you for sharing, I can't believe they told you at 21 to start trying! It sounds like it's been quite the journey for you but I'm so happy for you to have had your boys. I respect how highly you speak of motherhood despite endo still very much impacting your life. Definitely agree with your last point about being aware that not all bodies work the same. Thanks again so much xx
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