Endometriosis, I am sad to say, is one of the leading causes of infertility in women. Drs say that between 30-50% of women whom suffer from endo, have a hard time conceiving. And if you are diagnosed as a stage 4, that you will have an even harder time conceiving, if you can even conceive at all. All of this is due to the affects that this disease has on our reproductive organs. It can influence fertility in a number of different ways: distorted anatomy of the pelvis, adhesion's, scarred fallopian tubes, inflammation of the pelvic structures, altered immune system functioning, changes in the hormonal environment of the eggs, impaired implantation of a pregnancy, and altered egg quality.
The idea of not being able to have children, is a scary thought for most women. But what I find even scarier is not having a choice whether to have children or not. When I got out of my surgery from my second lap, my dr came to talk to me. he goes:
'Well that wasn't at all what I expected to find today(long pause). I removed as much as I could but wasn't able to get everything. And this is hard to hear but your tubes are now scared and the endo was all over your ovaries, tubes, and uterus.The next time you come in we need to talk about whether or not you want to have children.'
Now I was on a lot of drugs at the time(and loving life I might add) but that scared the crap out of me and I am so nervous to see my dr on the 17th of this month.I am only 22 and am now being asked whether or not I want to have children...and if I do, how soon. Even though I love my fiance, we have talked about this topic so many times..because we feel that neither of us are established in life yet, and that having a child isn't in our best interest. I am terrified though, that if I want children, its going to be now or never,
And who knows, maybe in five years I could end up getting pregnant, or maybe in two years my ovaries could be completely killed and my tubes to scarred that having children isn't even an option anymore. These options are terrifying...and I hate not being able to control this aspect of my life. I have always been a rational and realistic person, but this topic and the idea of possibly never having children, makes me just a little bit 'Mad as the Hatter'.
I'm so sorry you are going through this!! It such a difficult situation to be in. I'm in a similar spot and I still don't know what the right thing to do is. But it helps to know other women are going through the same thing and are feeling ambivalent too. Thank you!!
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