https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Sun, 12 Jul 2026 19:35:52 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/met-with-the-re-today-good-and-bad-news#post-625442 Fri, 08 Mar 2013 18:17:29 +0000 CupQuakeWalk 625442@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@spaniellove: I was goin to say this too</p> <p>It only seems logical to treat endo with lap first before potentially wasting so much $$$ on IVF or IUI that ends up not working because of the endo :/ </p> <p>I wish you the best &amp; keep is updated! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/met-with-the-re-today-good-and-bad-news#post-625423 Fri, 08 Mar 2013 18:08:45 +0000 Caly 625423@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I'm sorry you guys are having a difficult time...I also have a good friend who had lap surgery for endo &amp; she ended up conceiving afterwards pretty quickly for both her children. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/met-with-the-re-today-good-and-bad-news#post-625409 Fri, 08 Mar 2013 18:03:06 +0000 raintreebee 625409@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@twodoghouse: I am so sorry to hear your diagnosis. I wrote most of this on Rainbow Sprinkle's post but I will relay it again here. My transvaginal showed that my left ovary was stuck to my uterus so the RE is nearly positive it is endo (PID would typically cause both ovaries to be stuck and I have other endo symptoms). His view is that routine laps to diagnose represent the old view and that laps should be done only to treat pain since there is no or little evidence they increase fertility. I myself have read a ton of studies about whether a lap increases the success rates of IVF and the more modern ones conclude that they don't. Also endo just grows back after the laps. So I am about to start IVF, which circumvents the problem, after 15 months of TTC and 3 failed IUIs. Two friends of mine had laps but had to go on to have IVF. There are risks in laps, including damage to ovaries. My doctor's view is why take them if you can circumvent the problem. I may get a lap after I am done having children for pain, but I chose not to beforehand because of the risks and little evidence of enhanced fertility. I do not like my RE from a personal perspective, but he is one of the most well-respected ones in the country at an elite clinic. From all I have read, I think his view represents current thinking. Good luck! Let me know if you have any more questions. If you do get a lap, get an endo specialist who knows what they are doing. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/met-with-the-re-today-good-and-bad-news#post-601645 Thu, 28 Feb 2013 15:46:50 +0000 sweetooth 601645@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I'm so glad to hear that you like your doctor. That's really important. Hopefully you like the staff too, because I find that I'm dealing more with the staff at my RE office during the bloodwork &amp; monitoring appointments.</p> <p>I don't have experience with endo, but I did have a hysteroscopy procedure to remove a fibroid from my uterus. I was hopeful that it would be the answer as to why I'm not getting pregnant. But 3 cycles later, including 2 IUIs, and I'm still not. So I guess what I'm saying is that everyone is different and you should do what you're most comfortable with. You may have a lap and it may be the answer. Or you may go on to IUI/IVF and it may be the answer. TTC isn't easy, it's hard. But I know you know that after 2 years. I know I do, after 20 months. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/met-with-the-re-today-good-and-bad-news#post-601146 Thu, 28 Feb 2013 14:24:46 +0000 twodoghouse 601146@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@mediagirl: That's awesome about your friend! I love hearing stories like that. February was 2 years TTC for us.<br /> @grizz: Wow, sounds like a lot of benefits to doing the surgery!<br /> @Shutterbug: Good luck at the appointment. I hope it goes well for you! Let me know how your like your RE!<br /> @Bao: Thanks!<br /> @spaniellove: Thanks so much. Are you doing IVF now? I really hope it works for you! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/met-with-the-re-today-good-and-bad-news#post-600858 Thu, 28 Feb 2013 13:39:08 +0000 spaniellove 600858@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>That's awesome that you guys are feeling positive about the appointment and your doctor has a sense of what may be going on! I don't have much knowledge about endo, but after having gone through IUI + injects and now IVF, I'd say you may want to treat the endo first instead of risking a wasted IUI/IVF with untreated endo. Best of luck to you guys! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/met-with-the-re-today-good-and-bad-news#post-600832 Thu, 28 Feb 2013 13:34:04 +0000 Bao 600832@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I'm glad you like your Dr., sorry you have to go through this though! My sister had very severe endo and she has 3 babies now :) Don't give up hope! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/met-with-the-re-today-good-and-bad-news#post-600809 Thu, 28 Feb 2013 13:30:07 +0000 Shutterbug 600809@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@twodoghouse: congrats on loving your doctor! I think that's really important! I'm a couple weeks behind you - we have our first RE appointment on the 13th. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/met-with-the-re-today-good-and-bad-news#post-600807 Thu, 28 Feb 2013 13:29:41 +0000 Boheme 600807@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@twodoghouse: I would push for it if you're comfortable with it! Even if we hadn't gotten pregnant quickly, it would've been worth it simply for the pain relief I got, and less cramping/clotting/bleeding. My periods lightened up by about 50% and became about 2-3 days shorter. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/met-with-the-re-today-good-and-bad-news#post-600676 Thu, 28 Feb 2013 13:08:09 +0000 mediagirl 600676@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@blackbird: @twodoghouse: one of my friends had this surgery and got pregnant with twins two months later. Just sayin'. ;-)</p> <p>Good luck. I'm sure this was pretty hard news to hear but it sounds like you're taking it well! How long have you been TTC? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/met-with-the-re-today-good-and-bad-news#post-600651 Thu, 28 Feb 2013 13:03:41 +0000 twodoghouse 600651@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@blackbird: Thanks so much for the additional info!</p> <p>@grizz: Wow, that's amazing. Maybe I should push for a lap after all. Thanks for the hugs too! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/met-with-the-re-today-good-and-bad-news#post-600630 Thu, 28 Feb 2013 13:01:45 +0000 Boheme 600630@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@twodoghouse: I have endo, and got pregnant 3 months post-laparascopy with no additional interventions :) If that hadn't worked so quickly (we literally weren't even trying again yet!) we would have done IUI. I'm glad you got some answers today! Hugs! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/met-with-the-re-today-good-and-bad-news#post-600613 Thu, 28 Feb 2013 12:59:32 +0000 blackbird 600613@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@twodoghouse, I had really heavy and painful periods for years (i was on vicodin for them) and one of the doctors i saw was finally like, 'Uh...you probably have endometriosis" and i mentioned it to my mom and she said, "oh i had that! that's why i had my hysterectomy". Uh, thanks for telling me! It was ultimately diagnosed through a lap surgery and they found lots of erroneous tissue plus a few cysts. My bowels and bladder had it all over them--my bowels were sticking together from all the tissue. So they had to separate a lot of my organs. I saw a regular OB for the first lap and an RE for my second lap. My RE told me that there is no correlation between pain and "how bad" your endo is; it's all about scar tissue placement, so he wanted to open me up when I started seeing him a few years after my first diagnosis. The treatment for my endo included birth control, no periods, and Lupron injectables for six months to 'freeze' my reproductive system before i was ready to have kids (i was diagnosed at 19). After those six months, I went back to birth control every month. Was on it until we started to TTC. </p> <p>When my RE did the surgery, I had barely any recovery. The first time, it was horrendous. The RE used a laser and some newer equipment and I healed SO fast. </p> <p>No, i didn't need IUI or IVF. I've gotten pregnant relatively easily 3 times and none of my issues have been related to endo--i have a genetic blood issue that has caused problems. But it's not the endo! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/met-with-the-re-today-good-and-bad-news#post-600577 Thu, 28 Feb 2013 12:50:20 +0000 twodoghouse 600577@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@sorrycharlie: Thank you dear! Despite all the news, I feel really hopeful. Moving forward just feels so productive which is a relief after months of not getting preg! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/met-with-the-re-today-good-and-bad-news#post-600575 Thu, 28 Feb 2013 12:49:29 +0000 twodoghouse 600575@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@blackbird: It's great to hear from someone else with an endo diagnosis. I was wondering how you were diagnosed with endo? I was under the impression from my sister that it can only really be diagnosed through lap surgery (which is what she did last week). However, this dr. doesn't generally perform the surgery unless the patient is complaining of extreme pain. He cited some studies about it, but I don't remember the details. He said generally when he suspects a patient has endo, he treats them like they have endo. He cited another study where a group of women with endo were split in half and one group was "treated" for endo (lap surgery) and the other half way not. At the end of six years (I think he said) the number of successful pregnancies in both groups was nearly the same. So, I'm not sure if he would do the lap, although if I insisted on it, he probably would. My sister just had it (and they had to remove her appendix in surgery because the endo tissue had attached and they couldn't remove it) and it was awful. Much harder recovery than she was expecting AND she's still planning on doing IVF because her dr. doesn't think anything else will work for her (she's done two rounds of IUI though). Sorry, this is getting to be a novel! I am just trying to absorb all of this new information now. </p> <p>If you don't mind me asking, did you do IUI or IVF to get pregnant @blackbird? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/met-with-the-re-today-good-and-bad-news#post-600515 Thu, 28 Feb 2013 12:42:02 +0000 sorrycharlie 600515@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>glad to hear you like your dr! sorry to hear about all the news though, must be overwhelming!! I'm crossing my fingers for you for this month :) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/met-with-the-re-today-good-and-bad-news#post-600493 Thu, 28 Feb 2013 12:39:11 +0000 blackbird 600493@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I have endometriosis and also a low number of follicles in one of my ovaries. I don't know if he brought this up, but I know a few women who had lap surgery to clean up the scar tissue and check for tube blockage, then were able to get pregnant shortly after :) It'd be cheaper than IUI or IVF and would be covered by insurance, at least. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/met-with-the-re-today-good-and-bad-news#post-600454 Thu, 28 Feb 2013 12:32:33 +0000 twodoghouse 600454@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My husband and I had our consultation this morning with the RE's office. The good news is that we both realllllly loved the doctor. My husband isn't generally very emotive, but after the appointment he was sort of gushing about how great the doctor was, so that was awesome.</p> <p>The bad news is that the doctor thinks with my previous blood test results (from OB) + symptoms (like heavy heavy periods and really bad cramps) + family history, that I have endometriosis. (My aunt had severe endometriosis that resulted in her having a hysterectomy at the age of 35 and my sister was diagnosed with endo last week through a lap). </p> <p>He recommends moving onto injectibles + IUI or IVF at this point, but he's leaving the decision up to us. Tomorrow I have a call with his office's finance manager to talk about costs. I'm not sure what my husband and I will decide because we were sort of thinking adopting if it got to this point, but now I'm not sure.... </p> <p>Regardless, we're sort of holding tight for now because I'm on CD18, so we'll just wait and see if my period arrives and then go from there. I did have a vag. ultrasound today and the dr. showed me the (three!) follicles that I ovulated from, which was really cool and amazing. Unfortunately, I don't have much hope that any of them will stick, but who knows! It's just nice to know my little ovaries are working right. :) </p>