Our journey through infertility, failed adoptions and now parenthood through the miracle of embryo adoption/donation.

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Ovary? Or no ovary?

In 2005 I had my 2nd laparoscopy to look for endo (first one in 1999 showed none, but that doc may have been an idiot). During this surgery my doc found endo. Lots and lots of endo. So much so that he did what he could and told me that to clean it up better I would need a laparotomy (like a c-scetion but without the joys of a baby). I tried to avoid doing such an invasive surgery but 3 months later I went ahead and had it done. At that time the doc was able to clean most of it up but my left ovary was covered in it and the ovary was adhered to my colon. There was no way to "unstick" it without losing the ovary. My gyn knew how badly we wanted children so he left it. Soon after my symptoms lessened considerably and we went on our merry way, trying 4 IUIs with donor sperm. Well, those were a complete bust!! My left ovary (the "good" one) was the dominant one. Sounds good, right? Well, it would have been except my left tube is blocked. With the magic of clomid we were able to get both ovaries to work at the same time. Still useless as I did not conceive anyway.

Now that I have had Maddie my endo symptoms have returned. With a vengeance! I am going next week for my annual exam and will discuss this with my doc. I am considering another surgery, this time to not only clean up any endo but to remove the left ovary as well. There are two main reasons I want this sucker gone: 1) I have terrible, horrible, no good IBS which is worse when my endo is bad. I am thinking that since the ovary is stuck to my colon that it may be the cause of my increased IBS issues. And 2) I was unable to have a colonoscopy done a few years ago. They were unable to get the scope around the bend. I am wondering if the ovary is the cause of that as well.

My only reason to want to keep this ovary is that it is a super ovary, pooping out eggs like a fertile chicken. Nice, big, healthy looking eggs. If I give it up we may never be able to do IVF. At this time IVF is not a consideration. If we have to spend the money we will do EA again. However, if the law changes and insurance is required to cover infertility in my state will I then consider IVF? Would it be fair to Maddie to now have a biological child? Do I even want to go through a full IVF cycle if it is covered? Or will insurance (if mandated) cover embryo donation? Not so much the legal costs if there are any, but the FET?

I am really unsure of what I should do here! My endo is really taking a toll on me and I need some relief. I am horrible at taking daily meds so taking BCPs is a chore. And I was on them for 4 months and as soon as I stopped the pain was back and worse. So while BCPs keep the pain away, is it really slowing down the endo? What to do? What to do?? Any advice is greatly appreciated!

5 comments:

  1. http://singleinfertilefemale.blogspot.com/
    check out this blog

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  2. I had a laparoscopy a couple of years ago where endo was confirmed and I also had an ovary that was adhered to something (don't remember what he said). He supposedly was able to "un-stick" it. I chose not to be on bcp's but I've noticed recently that I've been having more pain, specifically mid-cycle. I assume that it's my endo growing back and I'm afraid I'll need more surgery down the road. Darn endo!

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  3. That sounds like a very tough decision. I would focus on your health because being healthy and feeling well makes you a better mom to Maddie.

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  4. Hello,
    I just found your blog researching embryo adoption/donation. I'm sorry you are having trouble with endo, it's painful. I have had 3 surgeries. My first one there was tons of endo and they removed it. My last two surgeries they haven't seen more. All 3 surgery's were to remove a huge ovarian cyst on my right ovary. My last one was in August, and I am pretty sure it is back again! They grow really fast! I am also facing the decision to remove the ovary or not. We just found out my husband is infertile, so I am not as concerned about keeping it now. The doctor wants to remove it. We are on a waiting list at our local fertility clinic for embryo donation. They said it is a year wait. We are also thinking about using the website miracles waiting. So happy I found your blog, I am excited to read your story! ~Jessi

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  5. I was also very happy to see you have the plan of salvation on your blog!

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