Trying to fall pregnant... help?

[Cori]

Hi all...

ive suffered with my endometriosis for 10 years so far, i have had a diagnostic lap which confirmed two spots of the endo on the back of my uterus.

I have tried many contraceptives to help control the endo for approx. 5 years

(probably not all spelt correctly as i can barely remember)

- Microgynon pill

- Marvelon pill

- Cerazette pill

- Implanon rod in my arm

- Depo injection

- Mirena coil

I have been back to my gyne as non of these respond well to my body i have chronic pain with some, bleeding for months on end with others.

He says my final option is the Gnrh? menopausal injections? with my past experience i am terrified to try this i am so eager to have children, so me and my partner decided we would try it has been 3 months with all negative tests results.

my question - even though ive had sometimes 3-6month gaps between all of these contraceptives and it hasnt been continuous have i destroyed my body along with having my endo also when i had my lap i had the ablation to remove the spots of endo?

please any advice is appreciated - really low somedays as you all know. thank you!

[Zolta]

No you would have not destroyed you body I was on the contraceptive since 16 years of age (mycrogynon) and came off it age 21, periods were so bad went back on the pill at age 22 and had really bad migraines on pill so tried a few different ones, settling on Loestrin 30 for 5 years.

I went off pill at 26 years of age as was fed up with headaches it gave me and thats when my endo started invading my ovary, diagnosed last year when my endometrioma in the ovary ruptured.

Had so many drugs last year over course of 6 months! Morphine, tramadol, codeine, diclofenac (not all at once) but enough crappy chemicals in my system like a drug addict! My body felt knackered! Finally after a laparoscopy to drain the cyst I went on Prostap to stop periods and let my ovary heal up.

Periods returned last October and conceived January this year at the age of 28. It took 4 cycles of trying I was lucky that my ovary was saved as cyst was 6cm and really deep inside and only have that ovary and tube. It can take up to 2 years for 'normal fertile' couples to conceive so it can take time. We were trying for a year before my laparoscopy with one chemical pregnancy I think but came on period on time, but was a really bad one and had pregnancy symptoms 2 weeks before period started.

Me and my partner are sub-fertile and it took me 3 months of trying after my Prostap injections and when periods returned, so I was very surprised with a positive pregnancy test. I think what really helped me to get pregnant really quick after Prostap was fortnightly acupuncture, yoga, gym 3 times a week, eating really healthy with no alcohol and my fiance gave up smoking to increase his sperm count, and we both took pre-natal/conception vitamins from October last year.

Now 38 weeks and waiting for my son to arrive very soon. Good luck. xx

[Zolta in reply to Zolta]

P.s. I really was sad about going on Prostap injections for 3 months as wanted to get pregnant and it made me menopausal, but the injections was only a temporary solution to let the endo shrink and let my body recover. For me it seemed to work because when periods returned I only needed paracetamol and ibuprofen to ease the pain, as opposed to Tramadol before the lap and cyst drainage and injections. It is worth the wait I think, lets the body heal up when oestrogen is blocked for a few months. xx

[Zolta in reply to Zolta]

Sorry I forgot to add - not sure if this info is any use to you but I think if trying to get pregnant I think that not having a bath around the time of trying and ovulation time can help keep everything 'up there'. I always have a bath pretty much every day, but when reading ivf info I read that after iui or ivf procedure, not have a bath for at least 24 hours after the procedure. Well the month of trying where I did not have a bath for a week during my ovulation time was the month that I conceived, not sure if coincidence or that no long soaks in a tub did the trick!

[Cori in reply to Zolta]

Hi zolta,

thank you so much for your post its made me feel much more positive about it all, i cant believe what you've been through with the rupture, if the prostap injection like the Gnrh injections i am really worried about them i feel like m body would reject or respond badly as it has with all the other types of treatment.

i'll defo try the bath theory though im not much of a bath person i prefer a shower so maybe that ok? but is it best to wait 24hours to wash atall. im not a complete clean freak but i do worry about my personal hygiene

thank you so much again and good luck with the birth of your son! xx

[Zolta in reply to Cori]

Thank you I am so terrified and excited at the same time! Prostap is a drug that stops hormones, but gnrh - doesn't that add more hormones to your body? The contraceptive pill adds artificial/synthetic hormones. Did the doctor not offer prostap? I was diagnosed at Addenbrookes in Cambridge, under Mr Prentice gynaecological team. Very expert team in my opinion and he specialises in endo and prescribed me Prostap after my lap for 3 months. In theory it is a drug that blocks oestrogen and testosterone in the body allowing endo to shrink and allow the body take a break from ovulation and periods. Makes menopausal symptoms but goes after injection is stopped. Had one injection every 4-5 weeks. Docs also prescribe this drug to women with breast cancer and men with prostate cancer so looks at first glance to be an effective hormone blocker. Perhaps worth asking your doctor about it x

[Zolta in reply to Zolta]

Oh and showers, yes fine in theory soaking in a bath, small amounts of water can swish up there and wash away some of what was put in there during the baby making session not having a bath but shower instead so more stayed in there!

[ffionsmummy]

Hi Cori

My husband and I were trying for 3 years before getting pregnant. I don't ovulate, and a lap and dye confirmed, like you, spots of endo at the back and attached womb to bowel. They removed what they could during the lap and dye but said alot of adhesions were old and very little they can do about them. I was 32 at this point and had been on contraceptives from being 15 (for acne, initially) until we started trying for a baby when I was 30. Further tests confirmed I don't ovulate naturally and I have a thyroid condition with pernicious anaemia.

It is always worth asking for a blood test (21 day test) to establish if you're ovulating - or if your periods are irregular, they can do blood tracking (every 3 days a small blood sample) to see what is happening with hormones. It's worth asking. Because endo is progressive I found my doctor took me loads more seriously once I had a diagnosis. They said once the endo was cleared I had about a 6-9 month window where it would be most helpful to use fertility drugs, so I was prescribed clomid. 3 months later I was pregs, after 3 years of trying (and beleive me, we tried lol!).

Also, little things to help are - eating pineapple and drinking pineapple juice - increases your 'stickiness' to help the embryo attach. There is a certain time of your cycle to do this - but I can't remember - a google search will tell you. Also, healthy diet and NO alcohol I found this really helpful. On all the months I tried with meds I was advised no alcohol as it can have impacts on your hormone blood levels I beleive.

Hope this is helpful! L

[Cori in reply to ffionsmummy]

Hi

Thank you for your post on this i'm really glad your doctor took you seriously after your diagnosis i'm still waiting for a single doctor to take me seriously, unfortunately because im 20 years old and had been told from very young when all the pain started with puberty that i would be too young to have endo etc... and now they have discovered it is endo there not interested. i feel like my body clock is ticking to have children and thats why i am worried so much.

when you had the dye done in the lap how was it afterwards? i did ask about that when i had my lap done but the Dr. said that when i was trying for 1 year he would then consider doing the dye test as it can be quite 'messy'

it sounds like you almost had alot against you and i am so pleased that you fell pregnant! it does give me hope and when i read your post and other peoples i feel that i am not in that bad of a situation.

will the doctors do this test straight away or do you have to push them especially with my age and legnth of time that me and my partner have been trying will it be a waiting game?

p.s what is clomid? ive read it alot in posts but not sure what it is and if im googling the right thing.

thank you xx

[Zolta in reply to Cori]

No one is too young for endo, doctors make me mad with this assumption! Partly why it takes most women 10 years to get a proper diagnosis and the longer left untreated the worse the outcome I think.

I know it might sound wrong to some, but I lied about how long I was trying for a baby. We were trying for a year and I wanted a Hysterosalpingogram (dye up your noonoo and live xray showing shape of uterus and whether dye spills out of ends of fallopian tube/s showing if they are blocked or not). I wanted to know if the fallopian tube that I have was clear or blocked. Often the NHS don't offer fertility test procedures until after 2 years of trying so I said that was trying for 2 years as really did not want not try for another year with wondering if it was all going to be in vain. And being 28 at the time, I felt I really wanted a baby under the age of 30 so another years wait for tests and hospital waiting lists was really too long for me.

The GP did not even want to give us a sperm sample kit to test my partner's fertility when I said we were trying for a year and GP only was persuaded to when I told a white lie, and spontaneously said that he and his ex were trying for a baby for 2 of years in the past (as opposed to 7 months). And that procedure certainly shouldn't cost the NHS much as only giving the hospital a sample pot and someone looking down a microscope and doing a few little tests!

Clomid I think stimulates ovulation, given to some women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome I think when women do not ovulate every month, as a couple of women with PCOS I knew got pregnant within a few months after taking it.

[Cori in reply to Zolta]

Yeah it took 10years for the GP's i was seeing and i seen almsot everyone at the surgery i was at for a different take on my situation it was originally stated that "your a woman and you have to put up with it" not exact words but you get the idea then it went onto "you have IBS" which i didnt get a referal for IBS till october last year so it wasnt like they offered much support in that area neither. i've had to change doctors because they were really unkind to me over these sensitive years of the condition. i am unfer referal to a gynae in gateshead where i live at the queen elizabeth hospital, and the first referal i got there they had me in for my lap within a month which i stupidly thought would solve all my problems and couldnt wait to feel better after that the only thing they have done is put me back onto pills and i come off then all in june/july this year because of my choice to try to get pregnant. they are unaware at the moment that ive come off the pill because my next appt. isnt till november so if i spoke to them i think they said i would have to be trying for a year then they would sent me to the fertility side of things which like you say will probably be a looooong waiting list. but i dont think i can lie to them as they know how long ive been going etc. but can i just ask my new GP about the sperm sampling?

its funny you should mention ibuprofen because last september i was in hospital for the obvious chronic pain (it gets sickening going on about the same pain i always feel like people roll their eyes at me) anyways the doctors claimed i had pelvic inflmmatory disease (PID) and give me A LOT of antibiotics but ive still never felt right and sex still always hurts before the lap and now after too still i went back to the hosp when i come off the pill because the pain worsened almost straight away and same thing again "oh youve got PID" and give me antiobiotics again but how on earth can i continuley be getting PID?

(ive been with my fiancee for 2 years + both been tested for STI's chich are negative, as i know that where that can sometimes stem from, however before me partner i was with someone for 6months who was cheating and did catch an STI which was cleared with antibiotics) that confuses me the most and so they tell me to take the ibprofen too but i think i'll stay clear from now on.

I really appreciate your information and posts i've never known so muhc in such a short space of time and feel much more positive to have someone to speak to who takes the time to tell me these things!

p.s just come on my period this morning here goes the rollercoaster ride for a week at least

THANKYOU!!! XX

[Zolta]

Little bit of random info. I recently learned that ibuprofen can delay ovulation as some inflammation is needed in order for the follicle in the ovary to push out an egg so if in pain try to avoid Non-steroidal Anti-inflammatory Drugs (NSAID's) when trying for a baby... I wish I would have known that as used to take a lot of NSAID based drugs for my pain in the past. xx

[Zolta]

Your welcome it's nice to have someone to talk to and pass my experiences too I felt so alone last year with all the endo pain the A&E visits I think (don't want to sound like a drama queen) left me a little traumatised. In early hours of morning it happened on two occasions after emptying bladder, each time like a POP something went inside and the pain ooh so so bad! Paramedics gave me gas and air which helped me to walk to the vehicle but ended up being given morphine! Blogs on the internet say that ovarian cyst rupture is as bad a labour pains, but labour get breaks during contractions and you get a baby at the end of it, rutpure is just pain and soreness after and fear what damage done with leaking fluid and blood inside leaving and scar tissue fearing the worst for my fertility. The last two years have been a real roller-coaster ride!

You are lucky had a lap within a month I was referred for one last February and had my lap mid May and in the meantime the cyst ruptured again 2 times, once in February and March, while waiting for cyst drainage - waiting lists are awful! In meantime my fertility could have been ruined! They gave me 6 month window for conceiving naturally when cycles returned after Prostap and if no luck then said I would go on ivf list...

I was too diagnosed with IBS when got bad pains when was 26, put on buscopan which made my ovary cramping worse - unsure if was bowel or ovary myself?! It defo was my ovary cramping/spasming with evil endo cells invading it. Sex used to hurt a lot for me at times before my laparoscopy and was investigated for UTI, STD's and I knew they would all come back negative and had all the classic symptoms of endo but GP's were blind to it even though I mentioned it numerous times. GP just issue out drugs drugs and more drugs instead of referring to the hospital to find the the real problem. However the hospital did take my cyst very seriously the last time it ruptured as the trans-vaginal ultra sound scan showed hard bits in it, they thought was just blood clotting and luckily was, but still they had the radiologist come and scan me and the oncologist look at the pictures of the cyst and referred me for MRI scan a week later.

I wanted to know my chances with conceiving and knowing my fiance's sperm quality really helped I think because he was classed sub-fertile last year, with 3% normal shape sperm whereas normal shape sperm should be at least 15%. I think they changed the stats now so apparently now only 4% normal shaped sperm is now classed as fully fertile. Knowing this last year really gave him the incentive to quit smoking and drinking as research shows that smokers' sperm counts are on average 13-17% lower than non-smokers. That is quite a difference. And we both went on pre-conception vitamins to up my iron and his sperm quality. It wouldn't hurt to book an appointment for you and your partner to discuss fertility and get his sperm tested too. Then at least can rule out any other potential obstacles that may interfere with the chances of conception. It is so simple with men! Women need invasive prodding and poking, men can just splosh into a pot (sorry to be crude).

Perhaps on your GP appointment explain how frustrated you feel and that you want to go for an ultrasound scan or MRI scan to see what is causing your pain, and really push for a referral perhaps bring your partner for some moral support. It is our right to have answers to why we are in so much pain, and should not have to suffer the pain and be dismissed the way we are by our GP's.

I find the medical professionals at the hospitals took my pain a lot more seriously than the GP so got the ball rolling faster once was referred. I don't think you have repeated PID either and just because you caught it once wouldn't mean it would definitely be that again looks like doctors just making easy assumptions again. My fiance's brother had his appendix removed when he was 16, and 10 years later he had agonising pain in that area and the docs were getting him all prepped for theatre and he did not know what was going on as they were rushing as thought was emergency and he asked what is going on?! And they said 'we need to urgently remove your appendix.' But he already had it removed 10 years ago! Hahaha! Stupid doctors! The pain turned out be be build up of severe scar tissue under the skin apparently causing his really bad pain after he went running for the first time in years!

Hope your period is not too painful this month - take lots of baths if you can they really helped with my periods, and stay glued with the hot water bottle too

[Zolta in reply to Zolta]

P.s Just a thought... maybe bring up that the fact you had an STI in the past to your GP. Depending on what one you had they might be more willing to send you for a dye test to see if your tubes are clear as STI's, depending on how long they are left untreated, can damage the fallopian tubes. Perhaps tell your new GP you had the STI it for a while before getting it treated he may then be more willing to refer you for a dye test. And as ffionsmummy suggested maybe have bloods done to check if you are ovulating. Clear tubes and ovulation, as well as good progesterone levels in the 2 weeks after ovulation is, I believe, is a must for a high chance of conception to occur. Perhaps tell a white lie to your new GP and say you forgot to mention to your doctor that you were not using any protection with an ex for 2 years and you did not get pregnant would that count as 'trying for a baby' maybe that will influence him to give you tests. It is so hard trying for a baby when in pain and having to take painkillers and waiting for that test to have a second line at the end of yet another month... in the meantime awaiting anxiously for your next period to arrive. Hope you get pregnant, and answers to your pain soon. xx

[Zolta]

Sad I felt that I had to 'white lie' to my GP to try and get him to listen to me and refer for fertility tests and take my pain seriously, shouldn't be necessary. Damn the NHS!