Summer chatty thread!

[hnconnell]

Hello!

I am new here and looking for an Endometriosis Specialist that will excise the endo. Has anyone heard of or seen Dr. Adamson or Dr. Nezhat both in Palo Alto, CA? Has anyone had a lap where they excised the endo and did it help?

Thank you!!!

[kevspooh99]

Hi hnconnell !! I'm actually on the east coast, so no help on the docs you mentioned above. But, I've had laps done and had endo removed. The first lap was diagnostic - My RE was pretty sure based on my symptoms and hx that it was endo, plus I had a large endometrioma on my ovary. The second lap (a year later) was to excise an endometrioma on my other ovary. I'd say that the laps did seem to help in regard to my pain control - the only problem is they generally don't last long term - especially if you are just doing a lap and no other treatments to keep the endo under control (i.e. hormone therapy - BCPs, Lupron, etc). Are you TTC? I haven't heard of Endometriosis Specialists per se in our area, but I saw an RE (reproductive endocrinologist) who has managed my endo for me -and I've been quite pleased with him - so it may be another avenue for you to look at. Please feel free to stick around with our group here. We have a pretty diverse group of ladies who, unfortunately, have dealt with endo on many different levels. And besides being so supportive of each other, we also have fun

Carrie - thanks hun! And what's this "if" talk?? It's "WHEN" !! You are going to be a great mommy too - and like me - you'll just figure something out! My mom was d/cd yesterday from the hospital - I swear the docs that followed her there were QUACKS!!! I left a couple of notes on the chart for them to call me and they never did. Then when they sent her home yesterday - they didn't even write any scripts for her!! Ummmm hello?? A sugar pill isn't going to help keep her BP regulated!! They had her on 2 new meds while she was in the hospital and finally had it controlled - well then my dad had to ask before they left yesterday and the nurse had to call - and they only sent her home on the one. So this morning her BP was back up in the 190s again already and this was AFTER she took the one med they sent her home on. So they ended up going back over to her PCPs office and he was a little dumbfounded too on why they didn't send her home on both?? Anyway... hopefully they will get her straightened around. Oh... and they ended up sending her home on oxygen too. Ugg it's just crazy!! DH and I had a long talk the other day -- he keeps telling me not to worry so much - things will work out... and I know he's probably right - it's just hard to not dwell on it all some days. I wish I could be more carefree like him. I can't wait for us to figure out what we are going to do for vacation!! We are talking about going with MIL/FIL to the OBX. There is a nice little beach house that we've rented there before and it's pretty reasonable - MIL is suppose to be checking the availability.

Anyone else planning anything fun?

I wonder if Janay and her DH found a house?

[hnconnell]

Thanks Karen! I have stage IV endo and I have also had two laps done. The first one was with my gyn. and a year later I had one with an RE. After both surgeries I was in pain within a couple months. From what I've read it's because they haven't excised it but just burned the top layer. This is why I'm looking for a specialist. Yes we are TTC when we can lol! It's kind of hard when you can't have intercourse because it hurts so bad! Sorry if that's TMI. I have a unicornuate uterus (half uterus) and only one fallopian tube and with my last lap I had endo blocking the tube. So, I think I need to have another lap so we can hopefully conceive. Thanks again!!!

[kevspooh99]

hnconnell - oh trust me... there is no such thing as TMI here!! I'm sorry to read about all your pain and your other issues too. How long have you been TTCing? Are you considering/have you tried any type of fertility treatments? IUI/IVF? There are quite a few of us here who have done both so if you have any questions I'm sure someone could chime in. I've read about excision being better over cautery for endo. My RE does a combination of both. Supposedly, laser treatment is suppose to be better over plain cautery too. It's such a catch-22 though - since everytime they do a lap it can cause more adhesions and scar tissue to develop. I hope you can find some info on the docs you listed. Did you try googling them? In regard to the blocked tube... don't always believe what you hear! Supposedly... both of my tubes were blocked... but somehow I managed to conceive #2 au natuale. Our first girl was an IVF baby.

[Mommy Wannabe]

hnconnell-- Thanks for reposting in this thread!
I had a lap where I think they used a laser to burn off the endo. Excision definitely goes deeper, so I guess it would have longer lasting effects. I actually didn't have a lot of pain most of the time with my endo (that changed when I took Clomid, however), but when they did the lap they found everything all knotted up with scar tissue. And now I have an endometrioma that appeared after I had the lap and had all of that scar tissue removed. We keep going through IVF cycles anyway, though. Mine has grown back, and now I think it is on my other side too. My RE (I don't think there are endometriosis doctors per se... maybe there might be some gyns that specialize in it???) says when I really want to get rid of a lot of it, I am going to have to go all out and have a laparotomy, not just a laparoscopy. Yuck. I am not to that point. And definitely not until after a baby (or several more IVF runs).
Ignore me if this is too personal... how does having a unicornuate uterus affect fertility? Just curious.
Anyway... I wish I could be of more help...
Oh, and, as Karen said, not really any such thing as TMI around here. lol

Karen-- Thank you. You're so sweet. I hope you are right. I fluctuate from day to day with my optimism and pessimism. I still have that feeling that I will be a mommy someday, like I always thought I would, but as I keep getting older, I feel like I have to face reality that it might not happen. That scares me, so I try not to dip my toe in that cold, deep ocean too much...
I am so glad that they sent her home, but OMG that is insane about the medication. That's just ridiculous!!!!! I hope that now that her PCP has her on both, things will be back to normal. DH and I are a lot like you and your DH, but in reverse. He is always worried, and I am more relaxed. Sometimes, though, I am not as relaxed as I try to appear. DH gets overly worried sometimes, and he suffers depression on and off, so I try to be the soother, so to speak. But, I get much more emotional about things than he does. As he says, he compartmentalizes things in his head, so that they don't drive him crazy. I think a lot of guys are like that. I saw this comedic sketch one time talking about just that. It was great and really explained a lot of things! I'll have to see if I can find it and post a link.
So, when are you going on vacation? Where is the beahc house? I am so jealous!

[hnconnell]

Karen and Carrie - Thanks! My DH and I actually have a 17 month old baby girl! She is our little MIRACLE baby! We tried for 3 years, had 3 IUIs and a miscarriage before getting pregnant with her. We were seeing an RE and he said after the 3 IUIs that we would not be able to get pregnant without IVF. So, while we were saving up for that we got pregnant all on our own 6 months later and we weren't even "trying". A unicornuate uterus is a half of a uterus. Since it is smaller than normal my pregnancy was considered high-risk. I also had a 50% less chance of conceiving each month since I only have a tube on the one side. I had to have a vaginal ultrasound every 2 weeks once I was 18 weeks to make sure my cervix wasn't getting too short. I was then put on bedrest at 26 weeks because I was having pre-term labor. I had her at 33 weeks and she was in the nicu for 13 days, which isn't long for being 7 weeks early. We are very grateful, we didn't think we were even going to be able to have a baby. It is a catch-22 Karen. It sucks that after getting the endo out you're in pain because of the adhesions! Carrie don't give up. You'll be a mommy one day. Just when I thought I would never get pregnant on my own it happened and my chances were VERY low. I did try googling the doctors. I'm not finding anything from any patients for Dr. Adamson. I did find some good things about Dr. Lyons though. He's in Georgia though and we're wanting to go to California since my MIL lives there we could stay with her. I guess we will see. Thanks again ladies!

[Mommy Wannabe]

Congrats on your little miracle! That is so wonderful! Everything you went through, too... wow.
Thanks so much for the encouragement; it means a lot. I try not to give up, but it is hard sometimes. We tried for a year, got prg, but m/c. Tried months of clomid with no luck. Went to an RE, had lots of testing, and tried clomid with IUI several times. Had a lap, and tried two IUI with injectibles twice, and moved on to IVF. Got prg the first IVF, but m/c. More testing, and two failed FETs, then two more failed IVF attempts. My left side is pretty much useless. We might get an egg or two during an IVF cycle, but no chance on a natural cycle since my ovary is buried in scar tissue and attached to my pelvis. At least my uterus has no polyps and seems otherwise okay based on SHG. I have Hashimoto's thyroid disease, and I am have to take anticoagulant shots when I get prg because I have clotting issues. At least I usually respond well to the IVf drugs. And here we are, over five years after starting to TTC. It is so hard seeing everyone get prg, sometimes several times, sometimes by accident... I try to keep hope, but it can be so very hard sometimes. I just keep plugging, praying for my miracle to come along. One day, right?

[hnconnell]

Thanks Carrie! I'm so sorry for all you are going through! Are you going to try another lap to remove the scar tissue from your ovary? That is good news about your uterus! How often will you have to have the anticoagulant shots? I know it is very hard seeing others get pregnant, definitely the ones that aren't even trying. My sister and sister-in-law both got pregnant twice while my husband and I were trying and neither of them were even trying. My sister was actually on birth control when she got pregnant with all 3 of her children. I understand it is hard to keep hope sometimes. Your miracle WILL come along one day! : )

[Mommy Wannabe]

My girlfriend was the same way... on BCPs and got prg. Boy, I wish it were that easy! lol
My RE has said that I most likely should do a full laparotomy, and I am not ready for that. And, most likely, she can't completely free my ovary. She couldn't during the laparoscopy, although she cleaned it up quite a bit. It didn't seem to make a lot of difference in egg production, though, so it's not worth the post-surgical pain and the month or two off work right now since it most likely won't affect IVF outcome. In fact, after the lap, I actually had more pain (maybe since things were free now and not just bound up in scar tissue???) and I developed endometriomas. I guess I didn't have those before since there hadn't been room what with all that scar tissue. Who knows. At any rate, a lap isn't in the cards at the moment.
So, are you going to TTC again right away after a lap? Will you be pursuing ART or trying again "naturally?"

[hnconnell]

I wish it were that easy too! I wouldn't bother with the lap then either. Yes we are going to TTC right away. We'll probably try naturally for a while and if that doesn't work we will pursue ART.

[hopeful gal]

ladies

I'm back from Chicago!!! We had a great trip and I will give you ladies the trip details later tonight. Thanks to everyone for keeping an eye on the board.

Welcome Hnconnel I am Janay the host here. I have stage IV endo and have had two laparotomies in the last 3-4 years. my second was not for endo though. I had to have my ovary and tubes removed after I developed a large cyst that got infected following my IVF cycle in 06. I hope you stay and post with us and if you have any questions please let us know. Congrats on your little miracle and I hope it happens again very soon for you

I'll catch up later I have a HUGE pile of laundry..fun fun

Janay

[Mommy Wannabe]

hnconnell-- Forgot to answer your question... the anticoagulant shots (Lovenox) are once a day from +HPT through about 36w, and then it is switched to Heparin, I think twice a day, since it is not as long-acting. It could also be discontinued, I think, but I am not sure what my hemotologist might do. We'll cross that bridge if we ever manage to get to it.
I hope you don't have to even consider ART! Good luck!!!

Janay-- So glad your trip went well! Any good prospects? Have fun with that laundry! We just got our new w/d this weekend. They are so great! Waaaaaaaaaaaaay better than the ones we had in our apartment. The dryer takes so much less time. The washer is a front-loading HE, and it does a great job. I had so much laundry to do this weekend, trying to catch up, but I didn't mind for once.

[hopeful gal]

Hi ladies

Okay here is the rundown on our trip. We did find a new community that we really liked, but it is far from the city so we think we are going to have to go back and might try to look for something closer. If we don't then we will buy one in this community. It's a beautiful house with a really nice floor plan. We met up with my SK friend that lives there and they were so nice and informative. It was a really nice trip. Great food and we stayed at the Trump the first three nights which is right across from Dh's office. It was so nice!!! It's a really nice city and we really liked it!! So that's about it for now.

Brie-I've been wondering where you have been. Miss ya girl
How's Wendy?

Jen-what's up with you?

Hey to e/o else!! I hope everyone is doing great!!

Janay

[whitewinterose]

Janay - So glad that you had a great trip! Sounds like lots of fun! Sorry the community you liked wasn't as close. Maybe there just is something that much better out there for you!!

Ok ladies - I apologize for not getting to all the posts!! I feel like such a bad SK buddy right now! I will catch up!! I feel out of the loop..and I like to know how everyone is doing! I hope everyone is doing great!!

For me, sorry I was MIA. Things got scary then hectic! My m/s has seemed to calm down a bit, but I have my moments and my days! I'm just glad that the worst, 20+ trips to the bathroom, are over. Makes the 5 seem normal. LOL! I had another u/s last Tuesday. We saw a wonderfuly on track little teddy bear! HB was 175, and everyone seemed happy. They did find a bleed, but said that it wasn't near the baby and wasn't worried. However, I woke up Wed in blood and freaked out!! Called the doc's office and layed on the couch all day. The nurse said since I had such a great u/s the day before they were not worried, but would get me on Friday for another u/s to ease my mind. (Only do u/s on Tues and Fri there!) The bleeding stopped for the day, so I tried to relax. Woke up the same way Thursday, and again it stopped by afternoon. We went in on Friday, and the little one looked just as safe and sound as before. The original blood clot was still there, so the doc is not sure what caused the bleeding, but said the baby is fine. It might be something from my endo and pcos kicking in for an odd "period" type thing that won't effect the baby. Leave it to me, I don't normally get af. Usually about 4 times a year, I get pg and I'll get it every month! So..needless to say, I was freaked and spent the weekend with my feet up and dh babying me like crazy!

Then Sunday I found some adorable kittens outside my apartment building. We have a large community of feral cats. These 4 kittens were just some new additions. They were about 4 weeks, and old enough to leave mom. So DH and I scooped them up. The problem with the feral community is if you leave the kittens alone, by 5-6 weeks you will never be able to socialize them with people. We already have about 25+ cats living around our building, and we're feeding them, but it's time to try and keep the numbers where they are! So, I've been playing kitten mom for the last few days. They are so adorable! Two torti/calico kittens, one long hair black, and one long hair orange. They have a small tick infestation problem that dh is trying to treat for them, and me. If we can't get it totally cleared within a couple more days, I'll take them to a vet and have them do it. Then once they are ready, I'll find them good homes. DH decided we're keeping one, so that our baby will have a cat to grow up with.

Ok..that turned into a novel!! Sorry guys!! Again, I hope everyone is doing great...and now that I'm starting to feel better, I'll be around a lot more!!

[kayleemom2005]

sorry everyone...my computer died...so had to use dh's laptop...and I coudn't remember my password..anyway, I just decided to have them reset it....

Janay: glad you liked your trip. sorry about not being welcoming...I just couldn't log on.

Karen: sorry about your mom.

Welcome to the group: Connel..I will have to get on later..but I need to finish my laundry and pick up K.

I'm 8 dpo...not temping...I'm loving sleeping in..but not knowing my temps is a little nerve wracking.

dh is leaving end of Sept/beg of Oct...my leg was feeling better but I hurt it again yesterday on my friends stairs....but I'm okay...I have some crazy sx...I'm sure it's just the clomid.

[hopeful gal]

Jen-I'm sorry about your leg, and the computer. I hear ya on the not temping thing..It's nice, but not knowing is hard too. I hope to see a from you

Victoria-I'm so sorry you had a scare. I totally see why you were scared, but I'm glad everything is good, and I hope to see you around more. Any feeling on the gender yet? Our trip was good and I know you are right about something better being out there. I wish we would have not run out of time.

Karen-I'm sorry about your Mom and the docs not doing there jobs...ugh!! I know you are stressed out about a lot of things but please try and take it easy. I know that things will work out and we are here for you to lean on, vent anytime

Brie-I think I read on FB that you are an auntie again? Details


Well I think if we have a house built that we won't move until winter now, so I may do IVF in the fall. Just waiting to see if we are going back to look next month. Well off to watch So you think you can dance

I'll check in tomorrow

Janay

[kayleemom2005]

Victoria: that does sound scary. sounds like you are having a girl...well that is my guess.

Janay: really fall???...so exciting!!! we found out we were pg when we were looking at buying this house..did I tell you that already?

Hconnell: I hear Dr Cook in the Bay area is supposed to be an endo expert. I called and talked to them..but getting them to take my insurance would take a few strings being pulled and I was just excited about dh coming home from Iraq..but I also wanted pain free days...my doc is really good about giving me t3's w/codeine w/my af...this is my 2nd cycle on clomid and doing great..the sx during the 2ww mimic pg sx..so that kind of bites.

but like I said...Loving not temping..I did last cycle..and I really thought I was pg from my temps..so I'm over that...one time that I did that I got pg w/K..have no idea when I O'd...its a really confusing chart...I will have to include my chart in my siggie so you all can check it out.

[hopeful gal]

Hi everyone!

Jen-I'm glad you are enjoying not temping I hope I have the same luck for getting pg while looking for our house Are you watching so you think you can dance?

Karen-So is Kari walking yet? Hope you are taking care of yourself and Little baby "K"

Krissy-How are things going? I hope we get an update when things settle down Miss you girl!!!


It's hot here, so I went swimming today and cooled off I getting ready to make dinner and I'll check back later!!

Brie-I really want to hear an update on you and Wendy pleeeeeeaaaasssseeeeee.....