Saturday, August 25, 2007

Drugs, Surgery, or ???

The question at hand is how to deal with (or not?) endometriosis. I was diagnosed (by laparoscopy) with endo in March. Unfortunately, my doctor couldn't remove most of the endo because it was too near a major artery (around my ureter). I went to acupuncture for 12 visits in an attempt to treat the endo. For a couple months my pain and bleeding were improved. I was hopeful. (TMI Warning) During my last period the blood flow was heavier (but fewer days) and with heavy clotting. With the return of the clotting came my fears of the endo returning (or just getting worse?).

I wanted to call my OBGYN and schedule an appointment to discuss if any action should be taken. Last we talked it was agreed that hubby and I would try things the old-fashioned way for a couple months at least. Hubby thinks that I am too quick to react and we don't give anything a chance to work. He may be right. I do feel a sense of urgency because my biological clock is screaming in my ear. We have decided to wait at least 1 more month so we could at least establish that both of my ovaries are working and I am ovulating.

Despite the current "wait and see" approach, we have been discussing possible approaches to treating my endo. I have to say that none of the options make me very happy. That's why I went to acupuncture... Unfortunately, acupuncture is expensive (even though I had a pretty good discount, it's still not covered by my insurance). I stopped going because I ran out of money. That hasn't changed...

What are the other options? Surgery? Lu.pron? Ignore and hope? Needless to say, all of these options have negative aspects. I know surgery has the best record for keeping endo down for a length of time. Unfortunately, because of where my endo is, I would need to find a specialist to do another surgery for me, and I'm not sure it can be done laproscopically. I've also been told the surgery would be a higher risk because of the placement of the endo. My hubby does NOT want me to have surgery. He is scared of the risks.

Lu.pron: I'm not very excited about this for several reasons. First, it would mean at least 6 months off from TTC. And, that is assuming that my cycles start right away after the lu.pron wears off... What happens if my cycles don't start right away after taking lu.pron? What if shutting down my hormones and woman parts makes things worse? What if my hormones are so out of wack when we're done that nothing works right? What if my ovaries like being shrivelled up? I'm almost 31. I'm scared.

I'm also scared of not doing anything. What if I wait too long to take action and then by the time I do take action it's too late? What if I wait and things get worse? It's so frustrating trying to make a decision because nothing is clear-cut. And, there are no guarantees, no matter what we decide... How do we decide what to do? At this point I am hoping I get the BFP this month and we don't have to make any decisions...

5 comments:

AwkwardMoments said...

I was faced with this fear a few yrs ago when they thought I had endo (but apparently I do not have endo - its PCOS)

Ok with saying all that,before i found out it was PCOS, this was the thought process that I used to help me make a decision: As scary as Lu.pron is, keep in mind women undergoing IVF usually inject lupron. yes for a shorter period of time - but if the first IVF didn't work, they move on to more IVF's which means they got their cycle, Which translates to technologies these days are so advanced that they can "shut off your estrogen supply" for a limited time, and they have the ability to "turn it back on" when needed.

As much as waiting sucks, Honstly, we IF'ers do nothing but wait repetatively anyway. Good luck making a decision that you feel is the best for you

Anonymous said...

Wouldn't it be nice if we had a magic ball that could tell us what would happen with each of the different choices that we have to make? I know it would sure make my life much easier!

littledifficult said...

Wow, I was pretty much in exactly the same place about a couple of weeks ago, only I also had IVF thrown in the mix as an option because in addition to Stage IV endo (or perhaps because of, no one seems quite sure), I don't ovulate. Although we ended up deciding to give IVF a shot, I did meet with an awesome surgeon in Atlanta who specializes in endometriosis (I know, a long way to go, but really an amazing doctor). Please feel free to email me if you would like his name/number. I know this is an incredibly frustrating time...no clear-cut decision, and no guarantee that any of the options will give you the result that you want.

Anonymous said...

I e-mailed you early this morning my FF stuff and e-mail address, did oyu get it? I hope I put yours in right.

Heather@To Sow a Seed said...

Thanks so much for sharing. I suffer from secondary infertility; I get the "just relax and it'll happen" comments as often as I get the "be hapy with what you have" comments. I guess what people can't seem to get is the heart behind what you feel when you want to have children.

Prayers and baby dust to you and, again, thanks for sharing!