My saga continues...

[berbles]

I just had my appointment with the fertility specialist. Her initial recommendation was to go straight to IVF. Since that is not covered at all by my insurance and very expensive, not to mention that I'm not sure either of us want to go to that extreme to get pregnant (and IVF would still leave me with severe endo), I asked what the second option was. She wants me to meet with an endo surgeon, who of course is out of network for me, and see what his opinion is.

Most likely I will be having another surgery in the near future. I was prepared to hear this though. I am a little worried about how much a second surgery will cost me, especially since the surgeon is out of network. BUT the doc did say that she will code it so that there is no in-network option (this guy is the best best best and does endo surgery laparoscopically, which most surgeons are not good enough to do) and the insurance may cover more than they otherwise would. We'll see.

[thoseareradishes]

I hope you can work something out with your insurance. Once they remove it all, does it come back eventually? I don't know how endo works. How does having it mess with your fertility?

[berbles]

Sept 25, 2012 18:23:33 GMT -5 thoseareradishes said:

I hope you can work something out with your insurance. Once they remove it all, does it come back eventually? I don't know how endo works. How does having it mess with your fertility?

Yes, it can come back. I asked my surgeon after they removed the cyst (which was an endometrioma; made up of endometrial tissue) if cysts would reoccur. She said almost definitely. But now that we know I'm prone to them, I can be monitored and steps can be taken to shrink them before surgery becomes necessary.

Hormonal birth control can keep endo suppressed, but obviously this isn't an option if we're TTC. There are other treatment options, but I've only just started looking into them.

It messes with your fertility because it adheres to all the spaces in your abdominal cavity and can (in my case, most likely is) engulf your ovary/fallopian tubes. Since your ovaries aren't actually connected to your fallopian tubes, the endo can grow in that space and prevent the egg from reaching the tube. That is where they will focus on removing the endo, but it's tricky to do without damaging the ovary. Endo also causes general inflammation of the uterus and other organs and scar tissue, which is not good for pregnancy.

I'm also guessing, in my totally non-medical opinion, that my endo is smushing my uterus. The surgeon was concerned that I had a bicornuate or septate uterus, based on the hysteroscopy pictures (camera up into the uterine cavity). I had an MRI and it showed only an arcuate shape, which is much more mild than the surgeon had feared.

In good news, the doctor today did another ultrasound and said that my ovaries themselves actually look great & healthy.

[thoseareradishes]

Thanks so much for explaining Berbles. Like I said, I have no experience with endo so I was clueless until you explained everything.

I do have a somewhat large fibroid, but my doctor doesn't think it should affect anything. I hope she is right!

[HoneySpider]

Good luck! It is crazy how expensive some of this stuff is and how insurance won't cover it

[sunflower22]

Hugs to you, sorry you didn't have better news My Dr is recommending iui to us, but I've got crooked tubes from endo so I wont be surprised if we have to move on to ivf. Good you're lining up a good doctor for your lap! It will help bunches w any pain.

[winecheery]

Oh Berbles. I'm sorry that this is such a process.

[purpleme]

Sending you lots of hugs and lots of positive vibes...
That is awesome news that your ovaries are look great! Wonderful!
Hang in there, girl....