# I'm confused - IUI/stimulation and endometriosis



## AMC1 (Jun 25, 2008)

Hi there,

Please feel free to move this posting to the correct area. Wasn't sure where to put it, sorry.

I had a Lap & Dye last week which found stage 2 endo. My ovaries are unaffected and both tubes are clear. My consultant has said that IUI with stimulation (HCG?) is the first option and asap. I understand how the tx works but am confused how exactly it increases my chances of conceiving. All we are doing is removing the cervix from the equation, that's all. Could someone please explain the benefits.

Thanks AM x


----------



## professor waffle (Apr 23, 2005)

Well for a start it gets the sperm nearer to an egg to fertilise it & hopefully with more than one egg to aim for it increases the chance of getting an embie to implant. I also felt that one of my issues was possibly hostile CM so for me it bypassed the cervix/cm.

Unfortunately it doesn't address any problems with egg quality or show you IF fertilisation is taking place but it's a good place to start & gentler than IVF. It can & does work for some so hopefully you will be one of the lucky ones


----------



## AMC1 (Jun 25, 2008)

Thanks for that. I thought that endo just meant that it made it harder for implantation to occur so that's why I was confused. With tx's implantation still got to be successful. If the endo was treated and fully removed, as I was told it had been, in my case then does that mean I have full fertility again?
AM x


----------



## professor waffle (Apr 23, 2005)

I guess it depends where your endo is but I thought endo was due to uterine cells being found outside the womb rather than preventing implantation but I'm no expert on endo. Maybe someone else can give you more first hand advice on the endo side but if your Cons seems to think it's worth a go he must think it might work?


----------



## NuttyJo (Jun 29, 2007)

I did read an article about endo preventing implantation - this is the link

http://www.liv.ac.uk/news/press_releases/2008/08/endometriosis.htm

also read this one which is basically the same

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1041942/Breakthrough-endometriosis-sufferers-discovery-offers-hope-treatment-cure.html

This post contains an unconfirmed link/information and readers are reminded that FertilityFriends.co.UK or its owners are not responsible for the content of external internet sites


----------



## AMC1 (Jun 25, 2008)

Thanks girls.

So sorry to hear about your bio-chemical pregnancy. I experienced that same last December. I wonder if it's the endo preventing implantation. That's why I'm confused how treatments such as IUI help. then again, women go on to have IVF with endo. Really confusing. AM x


----------



## NuttyJo (Jun 29, 2007)

It did make me wonder if my endo prevented my embryo from implanting, especially after reading that artilcle, but my gp said there are many women who go on to have successful pregnancies and if you take a look on this site there are many women here who have severe endo and have had babies or arepregnant.  it can work and does work, so try to stay positive! 

if your cons said they have removed most of the endo then thats a good start


----------



## AMC1 (Jun 25, 2008)

Yes, there seems to be no hard/fast rule for endo. But did cross my mind that the toxins produced by uterus reject the implanting embryo. I know a friend who has mild endo and has 3 children. Never stopped her. Are your ovaries/tubes ok? AM x


----------



## NuttyJo (Jun 29, 2007)

Hmmm, not sure how to answer that question!   Sometimes they are, sometimes they're not....   

When I had my dye test, my tubes were ok but a bit 'flat' (cons words...) but the dye came out so they're not blocked. My ovaries are ok except I keep getting choccie cysts every now and then. They normally go on their own but have had to have a few removed and some drained before as they got too big at one point. 

Can I ask, how do you know what grade endo you have? My cons has never said, just confirmed I had it.

I really think its the vitamins I have been taking that has helped me get pregnant - although it didnt implant properly im still taking it as a positive sign that it could happen eventually


----------



## AMC1 (Jun 25, 2008)

Yes, I, like you, keep telling myself that it's a glimmer of hope that I got as far as a bio-chemical pregnancy. Some people don't even get that far.

I'm afraid i'm one of those people that wants to know everything!!!! When the consultant came to see me after the operation I asked him to GRADE my endometriosis, I'd already done my research - a bit of a geek really! He said it was MILD and wrote that on the discharge sheet. He also drew me a diagram showing me where the endo was! Not near ovaries or tubes but at the bottom, both sides. Think it's graded like this:

Grade 1 - minimal
Grade 2 - mild
Grade 3 - moderate
Grade 4 - severe

AM x


----------



## AMC1 (Jun 25, 2008)

PS Think the vitamins are def a good idea. i take a pre-pregnancy care multi-vitamin. I'm looking into starting acupuncture too, supposed to enhance fertility when you've endo.


----------



## NuttyJo (Jun 29, 2007)

thanks for the info (actually just wrote endo instead of info then by mistake   ) i will ask my doctor next time i see him as to what grade i got - sounds like school lol 

i did try one lot of acupuncture but i didnt like the lady who did it - she made the mistake of telling me i was so young and should have more bms  if i wanted a baby  like i did know that already!!!   so i didnt go back. if you do try it then make sure the person specialises in fertility

xxx


----------



## AMC1 (Jun 25, 2008)

Thanks for that. Good luck. AM x


----------

