experience2


Second Surgery

We met with the new doctor on May 11, 1998. He did a laparoscopy and hysterosalpingogram on June 2, 1998. He found a 3-cm right endometrioma, 1-cm right endometrioma, and a 4-mm left endometrioma superficially. These were all excised and the beds cauterized. He also shaved off by cautery a 3-mm left endometrioma. I had numerous 1-mm implats on both ovaries and scattered implants of 1-2 mm throughout th posterior col-de-sac which were all cauterized. My tubes were open. I was later told that this was moderate to severe endometriosis. I missed two weeks of work after this surgery and worked part time for about two more weeks.

Lupron

I was still having a lot of pain after the surgery. My doctor decided to start me on LUpron injections. I was given 3.75-mg of Lupron in August, September, and October. In November, they gave me a 7.5-mg shot of Lupron, which was supposed to last for three months. I spotted the week after each shot was given and was in a lot of pain still. I had the usual symptoms of hot flashes, gaining weight (which in my case was not bad), vaginal dryness, and loss of sleep and sex drive. But since that time,I cannot sleep on my side or be in one position for very long without hurting a lot in my bones. I December 1998 my doctor referred me to a pain management center. I went there until the end of April or May 1999 and my pain was under control since about January 1999. My periods had not started again by April and I had been cramping for several weeks. I was given a 150-mg shot of progesterone to start my cycles again and did after six or seven days. My pain came back in June 1999 and gradually kept getting worse. That is the same time that we moved to Vernal.

The Doctor Search

I went to the ob/gyn that was covered by my insurance in Vernal on November 8, 1999. He really wanted to put me back on Lupron again. I had been doing a lot of reasearch and found that the FDA has only approved LUpron to be used for six months total in a lifetime. I don't feel that LUpron helped me at all the first time I was on it. He said that if I went back to my doctors in Salt Lake, he would work with them and do what he could from his office, such as giving me medication. I then went back to my last doctor in SLC on November 15, 1999. He suggested doing Lupron with add back of estrogen, which is supposed to make it so that the side effects are not as bad. I felt that surgery would be better. He agreed and mentioned that I also might want to have a uterosacral neurectomy done so that I don't have as much pain. He then referred me to the University of Utah to be treated because they could do more for me. We saw our first doctor at the University of Utah on December 6, 1999. He told us that we were at a fork in the road and needed to decide between pregnancy and pain control. At first we chose pregnancy and he told us our best chance of becoming pregnant is through IVF which costs about $10,000 per cycle with a 40% chance of success each cycle. We didn't have insruance coverage for that or the money to do that, so we decided to go for pain management. He also suggested going on the Lupron at the higher 3.75-mg dose which he feels worked for me. He did a pelvic exam, which was the most painful one I have ever had. He doesn't feel that I have any signs which warrant doing a laparatomy. He ordered an ultrasound which was done on December 7, 1999, which was the most painful one I can remember having. The ultrasound showed normal monthly ovulatory cysts on the right ovary and a normal left ovary. He then referred me to one of his partners who specializes in pelvic pain management. We met with the new doctor on December 28, 1999. He suggested that my pain was from irritable bowel syndrome, and not my endometriosis. He suggested that I try taking fiber and see if that helps. I started taking fiber and the pain did go away for a couple of months.
Cysts Again

A couple of months later I started having pain again around my ovaries. I had an ultrasound done and we found that I had ovarian cysts again. We watched the cysts for a couple of months and then decided that I needed another surgery.

Third Surgery

My third surgery was done in April 2000. The doctor found that I had endometriosis again and that one of my fallopian tubes was adherred to my ovary on that side in the shape of a V. It was totally blocked off so that nothing was going through it. He cut the tube away from the ovary and did a hysterosalpingogram to make sure that it was open like it should be. He said that he feels that the tube had been that way for a while. I recovered very quickly from this surgery. I only missed one full week of work and one day the next week. By the weekend after the surgery, which was Easter weekend, I was able to go fishing with my husband and uncle that came to visit us. I have felt wonderful since that last surgery. I have only recently (December 2001) started to have some pain again, and it isn't bad enough that I need to see a doctor yet.
Still Not Pregnant
We still have not become pregnant, even with the endometriosis being taken care of. My doctor suggested going to the fertility clinic at the University of Utah and having more tests done and prepare for in-vitro fertilization. With not having the money for the IVF, we have been playing the "let's see what happens on our own" game. With still not getting pregnant, I decided to go and see a doctor in Roosevelt who says that he specializes in fertility.

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