I have endometriosis. what are the chances I won't be able to have children?

Question

I am 22 years old and have confirmed endometriosis. I had surgery for it about 4-5 months ago but I don't feel like its gone cause I still have all the same symptoms. I won't have medical insurance until the end of September and I'm getting married in October. My whole life all I've wanted to be "when I grew up" was a mom and now that i'm getting married I'm afraid I won't be able to have children. I've read all about how I may get cancer or need a hysterectomy or all these other awful things and I was just curious what are the real chances that I won't be able to have kids or that I'll get cancer or something? How hard it is it to get pregnant with endometriosis? My dr said I won't have any problems but after reading everything I'm not sure if i'm convinced.

Answer 1

If you have recurrent symptoms, it was not properly treated.

While Endometriosis can turn malignant, that is the exception, not the norm.

Hysterectomy is not a cure for Endo and is not a valid first-line treatment option.

While Endo is the leading cause of primary and secondary female infertility, there is no reason to assume that with proper treatment, you cannot conceive. Studies show that surgical removal (such as through excision - www.centerforendo.com – patients travel there from around the world) can and does increase fertility, even in stage III and IV patients. Careful and meticulous excision surgery can not only help resolve symptoms for the long-term, but can also drastically improve infertility. The aforementioned Center has a better than 50% success rate in their stage 4 Endo-related infertility patients, and 75% in their stage III patients, after Endo has been treated and removed (phenomenal, considering that rates for ablation, vaporization, etc. are far lower).

Careful excision and removal of Endo can treat the infertility instead of just going through all the expensive protocols without even trying to remove the disease. As far as vaporization, ablation, and other superficial surgical removals, the rates are far from 50-75% success and the disease will still be present to go on and cause symptoms.

Drug therapy like Lupron has never been shown to reduce infertility, and while alternative/homeopathic therapies can be helpful for some women in alleviating some of the painful symptoms associated with the disease, there have not been any evidence-based studies detailing any positive impact of herbal therapies, etc. on fertility rates either.

Your best bet is to seek the assistance of a true specialist who can meticulously remove the disease, thereby conferring the best possible benefits for pregnancy. A specialist will also be better suited to help you should IVF protocols become necessary down the road as well. Good luck and best wishes.

Answer 2

Endometriosis can cause problems with fertility, but it sounds like your doctor caught it early, which makes it very unlikely that it will affect you. My sister (she's 25) and I (27) both have really bad enometriosis - I'm about to have my 2nd laparoscopy done to remove it, and my sister's was so bad that her doctor was seriously considering Lupron shots, which simulate menopause. But turns out she's pregnant and due in February! Usually the doctor can get an idea based on where the implants are whether or not he thinks it will cause a problem, and actually in a majority of cases pregnancy can eliminate it for the rest of your life (before my 1st surgery when I was 22, my doctor joked that I had 2 options - have surgery or get pregnant. That wasn't a choice!!). Of course, there are tons of other things that can cause difficulty getting pregnant - one of the reasons that women with endometriosis sometimes have trouble is that it can affect the regularity of your ovulation and periods, which obviously makes it harder to plan and work around - and sometimes there's no explanation at all. But I really think that trusting your doctor is the best thing. It's great that you've read about it and can ask intelligent, informed questions, but your doctor knows your case better than anyone, and certainly better than all of the generalities that are posted on the internet. Congratulations on the wedding, by the way!

Answer 3

Endometriosis should not prevent you from becoming pregnant.

Answer 4

My cousin has two kids after endometriosis. she had it corrected and is fine. don't stress.

Answer 5

my neice has that too - guess what her baby is due next month!!! don't panic - she didn't even try - maybe you will - maybe not - you know who that is really up too right..... pray on it - he knows what you want out of life - good luck -