Is another surgery worth it???

Since we're going on month 7 of TTC with knowledge of my Endo, and that other treatments didn't work to get rid of it, etc. and we're obviously not PG yet, do you think it's time to consider another Lap in the near future to try to remove the rest of the Endo that the Lupron didn't get rid of and then try to get PG? I'm going to TTC this cycle and the next without any meds, but possibly Clomid or Femara after the next 2 cycles. I was thinking that if that didn't work then I'm pretty much out of ideas to try to get PG? My doc hasn't wanted to do another Lap because of the scar tissue it can cause. But, I probably have a lot of scar tissue right now that may be keeping me from getting PG, or just the presence of the Endo can be keeping it from happening. I don't know? I just thought that my Endo was pretty bad before I got PG with my 2nd son. I got PG 2 weeks after the procedure. They got most of the Endo out, but not all of it. I just thought maybe if we try the same thing it would work. Not that I want to do surgery, but if it's my only choice?

Re: Is another surgery worth it???

I think that really only you can determine that. However, I would suggest that before you put yourself thru any invasive procedures that you have your husband do a SA. I know you already got pregnant twice, but we have a son who was conceived very easily and later found out that my husband had some morphology issues when trying to conceive our second. Nothing THAT bad but it definitely took a little luck that we got pregnant so quickly the first time. A SA is so easy to do and it does sound like your endo is mostly cleared up, so you really never know - he might be the one with the issue now.....

Re: Is another surgery worth it???

Re: Is another surgery worth it???

I didn't know you were in NC...I am too! Are you in the Raleigh area?

The SA can be done at home and then he will have to bring the sample in within a certain amount of time...an hour I think?
My regular OB prescribed the test for DH and he brought it to a lab at a local fertility clinic (the one I ended up going to).

I really would encourage you to look into your insurance (though, I am sure you have!). My insurance doesn't cover any IUI or IVF procedures (including the sonos for the procedures)....since there is no law here that they have to. But, the sonos for the Femara monitoring were all covered. I just paid my specialist co-pay to the RE.

Anyway, I do agree with the pp that DH should do the SA before you go through anything drastic. I would also encaourage you to at least consult with an RE before you go ahead with another surgery. If you are in the Raleigh area....or anywhere close by...I would recommend my RE. If you are in Charlotte, I know there is a good practice down there. I had my surgery done (to remove polyps from my fallopian tubes) by my RE and it was pretty much covered.

Re: Is another surgery worth it???

Re: Is another surgery worth it???

Posted by CaidensMommy

Posted by shelby34

I didn't know you were in NC...I am too! Are you in the Raleigh area?

The SA can be done at home and then he will have to bring the sample in within a certain amount of time...an hour I think?
My regular OB prescribed the test for DH and he brought it to a lab at a local fertility clinic (the one I ended up going to).

I really would encourage you to look into your insurance (though, I am sure you have!). My insurance doesn't cover any IUI or IVF procedures (including the sonos for the procedures)....since there is no law here that they have to. But, the sonos for the Femara monitoring were all covered. I just paid my specialist co-pay to the RE.

Anyway, I do agree with the pp that DH should do the SA before you go through anything drastic. I would also encaourage you to at least consult with an RE before you go ahead with another surgery. If you are in the Raleigh area....or anywhere close by...I would recommend my RE. If you are in Charlotte, I know there is a good practice down there. I had my surgery done (to remove polyps from my fallopian tubes) by my RE and it was pretty much covered.

Yes, I'm in the Raleigh area. I live in Morrisville, about 8 minutes from Brier Creek. Where in Raleigh are you?

I work at Duke so I can't use their Infertility coverage until I'm here for 2 years which won't be until August. I worked at Duke for years, years ago, but it has to be continuous service. I also have to use Duke Fertility Specialists too.

This is what it says it covers...

In vitro fertilization (IVF)
Patient pays $3,500. *

IVF with ICSI
Patient pays $4,000. *

Controlled Ovarian Hyperstimulation (COH)
Patient pays $650. *

Frozen Embryo Transfer
Patient pays $600.

The stars mean that I have to pay 50% of the cost of the drugs in addition to the above costs. Not that I can afford these costs anyway.

When I had my first Lap it was covered except for the co-pay because it was for my Endo, not TTC at the time. My doctor is pretty good for coding them not for infertility. I just didn't know if she'd be able to do it for Femara/Clomid, ultrasounds, etc. I haven't called them or anything because I didn't want to throw up a red flag. I'm just trying to do what I can at this point without needing an RE. The last time I saw an RE was with the Lap.

Re: Is another surgery worth it???

My regular OB prescribed the SA for my husband and then we brought it to the lab at the fertility clinic. Most places will let you do the sample at home, and you can even drop it off at the clinic. Your husband probably will not even have to show his face.

It doesn't really sound as if your husband is fully on board with any fertility treatments at this point. For us, we had only been trying for 6 months before we sought help, and I was glad we did since we did have an issue. However, 7 months really isn't that long in the whole scheme of TTC (even though I KNOW it seems like an eternity).

Perhaps you should give it a few more months so that your husband has time to realize that something is probably causing the IF and the more information you have the better. If you plan to go thru infertility treatments your husband is going to have to produce a lot of samples, so he is going to really have to be on board with it.

Good luck on your journey.

Re: Is another surgery worth it???

Wow, crazy! I used to live in Brier Creek, but we live in Holly Springs now. My husband's company is actually in Morrisville...nice place. Duke has some great specialists, so that will be good. My RE was through Carolina Conceptions in Raleigh, but they are affiliated with UNC so I guess you can't go there!

That is pretty expensive insurance, but it is still better than mine. I work for a school system, so I have the state employees insurance...it is terrible! I don't know what you do, but SAS (in Cary) has really good insurance that covers all IVF. I was thinking about getting a job answering phones or something just to get the insurance! haha!

Your doctor may be able to work out the Femara more easily than clomid, since Femara is not technically a fertility drug.

Well, good luck with all of this..just make sure you are careful about being monitored through everything. That was my biggest mistake.




The RE that did my Lap is Dr. Couchman who is now at Carolina Conceptions. My last experience with her was that she was nice, but had me in hysterics on the phone because she said after my Lap, that my Endo was so bad that I will never get PG again. I was devastated to say the least. Let's just say that we started TTC after the surgery and was PG the same cycle of the Lap! Boy, did I prove her wrong! She just shouldn't have said that to me or any patient for that matter. It broke my heart.

I've been trying to get a job at SAS for years. They NEVER have openings for Administrative type positions. I believe they hire all the interns for those positions. I've always wanted to work there. LOL! It is a great place to work.

I'm just praying that I won't need Infertility treatments. My second son was obviously a miracle and I'm more than grateful to have him, it's just that not complete feeling that won't go away. I just want one more chance of having another baby before it's too late.

Re: Is another surgery worth it???

Message edited 2/9/2010 5:01:34 PM.

Re: Is another surgery worth it???

Re: Is another surgery worth it???

I just had my second endo surgery to remove the endo and preserver my fertility for when we're ready to start trying. For me, the key was finding a doctor that was skilled with laparoscopic (sp?) excision of the endo (where they cut the endo out as opposed to cauterizing it). I had to travel from NY to GA to have my surgery with Dr. Sinervo at the Center for Endometriosis Care, but I could not be more happy with my decision.

If you think you might be willing to travel to GA, the doctors at the CEC will review your medical records for free.