Do I need laparoscopy before IVF?

Do I need laparoscopy before IVF?

I was diagnosed with a blocked fallopian tube in March. Also have low AMH so I'm booked for a IVF consultation next month.

I'm now worrying that since I have a blocked fallopian tube, I must have uterine scarring and I'm worried that the embryo won't implant because of this. I have suspected Endometriosis. I've read a lot of stories about women doing IVF and it not working because of this.

Has anyone one else been diagnosed with blocked tubes? Did you do laparoscopy before IVF?

[B4mb1]

Hi! I can’t answer your question but I am interested to know peoples opinions. The NHS have suggested HSG and Lap to check my tubes and anything else but I’m not sure I’m comfortable with having that surgery without a clear diagnosis. At the moments it’s a let’s look and see situation. Seems like a big deal for a maybe!

On one hand I’m like is it best to throw the kitchen sink at this for best chances or is it not worth putting my body through it.

Can I ask why you suspect endo?

[Hidden in reply to B4mb1]

I have a few of the symptoms, painful periods, intercourse and that my left fallopian tube is completely blocked. I wish I had gone through the NHS years ago but I didn't and now time is at the essence as my AMH is very low so my biological clock is ticking. I have 1-2 years max to be able to use my own eggs.

My best advice is take all the free care you can get! I would suggest HSG first as it's only a xray and dye test to see if your tubes are blocked (that's how I got my diagnosis).

Don't waste time as I'm only 27 and thought I had years but turns out I don't! Best of luck to you x

[B4mb1 in reply to Hidden]

Oh I see. I don’t ha e any endo symptoms. I’m the same I would recommend anyone get tested and start the process sooner rather than later. My AMH has not been tested but my AFC was 25 in March this year. They have said one reason we might not be conceiving naturally is that my tubes could be blocked from past infection but everything else is coming back normal and fine. I know block tubes don’t impact IVF outcomes. So for me it isn’t quite adding up to have the lo. HSG would let us know for sure but again doesn’t change outcomes or treatment options.

Best of luck to you and I hope it all goes smoothly and well for you and you get your BFP before you know it.

[Hidden in reply to B4mb1]

Your AMH levels are probably good as my AFC was 11 in March so that's really good news! Oh in that case yes only get the HSG to rule out blocked tubes. Thanks love! Hope you get your BFP too!

[Jess1981]

For me I wish I'd been offered my first laparoscopic surgery when we first under went fertility investigations . Would've saved time and unnecessary heartache.My first fertility specialist was dismissing of my period abnormalities. Fast forward 6 years of infertility and many referrals to gynaes later I eventually got my first lap June 2017- this was the turning point into our journey. I was finally diagnosed with endometriosis which can be diagnosed via lap. I had a chemical pregnancy after my first surgery but this was first time we had conceived in 6 years of never managing to. I then had 2 more surgeries. After my third surgery I conceived and had my 2 year old daughter Francesca June 2019 after nearly 8 years trying for a family! We decided to try again after having her mad I know lol- I lost my second daughter Amelia at 20weeks pregnant last November, had a chemical pregnancy in January this year, a miscarriage at 8 weeks of unknown location and I'm now nearly 5 weeks pregnant hoping for my rainbow baby to complete our family 🤞🏻Once I had my endo treated I was able to conceive with not too much issue, I hope that can offer hope? I also have dreadfully low AMH was under 4 at 32 god knows what it is now I'm 39! I think to give your cycle the best chance I would definitely opt to have the surgery. If you need any advice on Laps I'm here I've had 3! Good luck hun Xx

[Hidden in reply to Jess1981]

Unfortunately I'm having to pay for this myself as I've been put on the NHS waiting list but with my AMH being very low time is not in my favour. So we've decided to throw all our savings into treatment. This is why I'm debating whether to go straight to IVF or pay for a lap first. Where they able to remove the scar tissue on your first one? I really don't know what to do 😔 xx

[Niki2368 in reply to Hidden]

Hi Lilly, I just wanted to let you know that I faced the same dilemma but if you pay for the Laparoscopy you can then fast track to have the IVF treatment on the NHS. That's what I did as my time was running out and the waiting lists were so long due to Coronavirus. I didn't realise this was an option or that it was the surgery waiting list for the laparoscopy that was holding things up rather than the actual IVF. I hope this helps. Niki xx

[Jess1981]

Oh goodness I assumed ( wrongly) it was NHS. Yeah they removed as much as he could but left the bowel endometriosis sadly it re grew after my first chemical pregnancy - the only time it was all removed was my third lap with an endometriosis specialist. He did a cracking job, thanks to him we have our toddler and can conceive. My endo symptoms are fine now. I was able to get my NHS surgery fast tracked due to pain and horrendous symptoms. My GP wrote a letter to the specialist and thanks to that letter I got offered a date 2 weeks later. Initially was told it would be a 8 month wait 😱 I don't know if that is an option for you? Xx

[FMohammed in reply to Jess1981]

Hi Jess,

Hope you are well.

I recently found out I have 13cm of endometriosis in my body covering my right ovary and my tubes are blocked and it has endometriosis in my tummy too. I don’t know if I am getting open surgery or keyhole surgery. At the moment they have given my a injection to stop my ovulation so it doesn’t grow further. I have told I can’t get pregnant naturally due to the blocked abd chances are slim. I feel really upset. They said ivf if the only option but I need to lose 6kgs before they can start that. How long did the whole process took from surgery to ivf. I am still waiting for my surgery date. Also how was your body after the surgery. I only found out I have endometriosis due to infertility and a few times I did had a sore

Tummy like cramps and someone has stab me.

I am 35 and feel as the clock is ticking for me. Stressing me out since I want a child

Soo badly.. sorry for long message.

[keepfaith1982 in reply to FMohammed]

Hi there so sorry to hear about your endometriosis it’s devastating when you are given this news and hard to digest i too have endometriosis had surgery came back monthly cycle is erratic after surgery body felt a bit sore but wasnt too long of a recovery have you had amh tested? Did they said what chances are of ivf working? I have only been given a 10-12% of it working 😞

[FMohammed in reply to keepfaith1982]

Thank you for your reply. They have taken my blood test to check how many eggs I have got in my body and also they said I need to lose weight to get IVF. I am still waiting for my surgery date and at the moment they given my injection each month to stop my ovulation so the endometriosis doesn’t spread. My next appointment with my dr is in November but I still hadn’t heard anything from the surgeon.

I am getting anxious about and can’t stop researching..

[keepfaith1982 in reply to FMohammed]

The op will reduce the endometriosis it took me a long time to get diagnosed and now its back they did get rid of a lot of it if thats any help as they say it only takes 1 good egg and a good swimmer i wish you all the luck once you have the op you will feel much better for it X

[FMohammed in reply to keepfaith1982]

Thank you x

[Hidden]

Oh wow that's amazing! I'll definitely try speak to my GP and see if they can give them a nudge! Thank you xx

[LuxFleur]

Hi lovely. I have stage IV endo and had to have both tubes removed, but I did not have any problems with implantation from an FET. I had double hydrosalpinx so they advised to get both fallopian tubes removed.

[Hidden in reply to LuxFleur]

Thank you! Did you have any uterine adhesions or scar tissue they needed to remove? X

[LuxFleur in reply to Hidden]

I have a large uterine fibroid that they left in place, but no uterine adhesions or scar tissue that I know of. It was the fallopian tube damage that they said was so bad I couldn't keep either tube. I have endometriomas on my ovaries but so far they are still making embryos that make it to blastocyst, so I figure all hope can't be completely lost.

[Hidden in reply to LuxFleur]

That's amazing! Gives me hope, thank you x

[Roobs33]

Heya,

I was diagnosed with stage 4 endo in October after laparoscopy. I had an ovarian cyst removed and lots of lesions removed but still have it on my bowel. I have been trying to conceive a second child for almost 2 years and will now be going the IVF route. I had an MRI recently to see how much the bowel was adhered to my uterus and they spotted that one of my tubes is very inflamed. I’m now having a second laparoscopy on Thursday to either clip or remove the tube. I have been told by my consultant and a fertility specialist that this will greatly increase my chances of IVF working. I think sometimes it depends on what is blocking the tube? But I’m not too sure on that. Are they able to do an MRI and dye test? I think if you have suspected endometriosis then the best thing is probably to have the laparoscopy first as you can get a better picture of everything and how best to proceed. Wishing you all the luck xxx

[ZiggyandBC]

Hey I had my first lap on Friday after trying to concieve with no luck. They found that both my tubes were blocked and I’ll need IVF. I’m so thankful I’ve found out now when I’m young rather than later when I have less time. It’s a scary thing to need to do but I always think it’s better to understand what’s going on in there to be able to tackle it! Xxx

[sunset212]

Hi I have a partially scarred left tube from endometriosis which was flagged at the Fallopian tube patency test. Although not blocked it took a great volume of liquid to flush to see it flush out around the ovary to say both tubes were patent . It was already suspected though as I have 2 small endometrial cysts on left ovary. My right was apparently in the testers words ‘lovely’. However I didn’t have any issues getting pregnant with either IUI (3rd attempt) although later lost the pregnancy at 6-7 weeks and then went on to have my son via IVF at age 35 which was an FET cycle non medicated) ( just some progesterone added) and now at age 38 I am again nearly 19 weeks with my second FET cycle baby. It’s a very individualised case by case it doesn’t necessarily mean your uterus is scarred because you have a blocked tube. Your consultant would be the best person to speak to about it as we are really just novices on what to advise you. However IVF I do think offers you the best chance and are biapassed when it comes to getting pregnant as of course the embryo is replaced directly in your womb skipping the sperm /egg meeting part that is required in conceiving the natural route. So blocked tube in itself ( depending the cause) should not have a huge impact on whether IVF works for you. The main aims are providing uterus is receptive with a good lining (8mm + ) , hormone levels are balanced ( oestrogen / progesterone levels and embryo is good enough quality and development you will conceive! Wishing you the best of luck.xx

[Dogmum37]

Hi there. I was diagnosed with endometriosis before commencing IVF. During IVF they also noticed I have adenomyosis. We are currently almost 17 weeks pregnant from the first FET of our 6th IVF cycle (ICSI and PGTA). After cycle 5 which was unsuccessful as all embryos didn’t make it to day 5, they recommended a laparoscopy due to fluid around my ovaries. I had this done and the result was removal of a blocked tube - interestingly the dodgy tube was on the side I’d had a very large endometrioma removed years before so we did wonder if our repeated implantation failures had been caused by the fluid from this tube affecting the environment. We’ve never ever had a positive so weren’t expecting much but our first transfer after this op was successful. I was concerned at first about removing a tube however my surgeon reassured me since I was having IVF and he was going to preserve as much of my ovary as possible in the process, it wouldn’t affect treatment. Hope this helps xx