Ok, have a few questions. I had lots of complications with my original surgery. My husband and I have been trying to conceive for about a year. Tried Clomid and IUI. Was recently told that IVF was probably our only choice. My left tube is completely blocked.
Well yesterday I went back to my fertility Dr and he had just reviewed all of my surgery records.
Here's my question: Has anyone ever been told that IVF would be risky because the needles would have to through the vagina to the uterus and could possible puncture my jpouch or small bowel? He said that it's a very good possibilty that something like that could happen, which could be treated with antibiotics, but could also mean going back to a colostomy. Has anyone heard the same thing?
Second Question: I was always told that I should have a C-section after all the surgeries. I know some of you on here have had natural births. This Dr said that C-sections would probably be too hard because of all the scar tissue they would have to get through, but it wouldn't be safe to have a baby over 7lbs. naturally. Anyone heard anything like that???
I swear it's one thing after another. Any advise would help.

Like you, my husband and I had trouble trying to get pregnant and it took us 2.5 years. We also did the Clomid, IUI and IVF route. Even though your left tube is completely blocked, there is still a chance to get pregnant naturally since women who have had ruptured tubes due to ectopic pregnancies are able to get pregnant without help. But it is a bit trickier.

When we did our IVF my doctor was also concerned about the possibility of my bowel being in between my ovary and vaginal wall so they did an ultrasound to make sure it was safe. Thankfully it wasn't an issue but unfortunately my IVF cycle did not work. We ended up switching to a different doctor in the practice who was willing to try lap surgery to see if adhesions were an issue. In my case, it took 2 hours to remove the majority of them and we were able to get pregnant on our own. Frustrating, considering all the time and money spent on infertility treatments but oh well.

I am having a scheduled c-section in 8 days and my OB did not bat an eye. I have extensive scarring due to needing three surgeries and getting bad infections after each one so my incisions had to be reopened so they could heal from the inside out. My OB is going to do a transverse incision because she doesn't want to deal with the vertical scars and any issues they might pose. This is fine by me because it means an easier recovery. But in doing my research into this, I have heard of women who did just fine with natural childbirths. I am concerned about the complications down the road with incontinence so I am choosing the c-section route. No where did I come across anything that said that the weight of the baby would be an issue for women like us. There is the concern about tearing badly and if it goes down to your anus that would be bad. My OB is also high risk but she doesn't specialize in women who have had our surgeries so this is new territory for her. Once you are pregnant, you might want to see if you can find an OB who is willing to listen to you and keep an open mind about c-sections. You could also do research online and present your findings to him/her to help your case.

Hope this helps and I wish you the best of luck in getting pregnant!

When we got the consent paperwork from the IVF clinic it had those concerns spelled out - that means they include that warning for everyone, not just us pouch/ostomy people. While it is a risk, when I discussed it with the clinic they told me it was a rare occurence. We decided it was worth the risk.

As for the c-section issue, I'm not sure where this concern about adhesions meaning no c-section comes from...I had four surgeries - two complete midline - and had an ileo at the time of my deliveries and my OB never mentioned any concern about adhesions. He did say that whether I got a bikini cut or midline would depend on the baby's position and how my belly felt just before delivery but I was able to have both my children by bikini cut.

My OB would have done a vaginal delivery if I had wanted it but he told me that if I needed an emergency c-section he would not be able to take precautions with my intestinal situation, he would be focusing on getting the baby out safely and keeping me safe. By going with a scheduled c-section, it gave him the time to be able to take extra care of my bowels. Two very uneventful c-sections...didn't even take any longer than a usual one so my adhesions didn't create any issues at all.

All that said, I did have a near total bowel obstruction during my first pregnancy when my uterus started to really grow. Lasted about 6 weeks, I was in the hospital 3 weeks, couldn't eat much, if at all and was day to day on ahving surgery at 23 weeks pregnant. Luckily they were able to catheterize my stoma and hold the obstruction open till my belly got big enough to break the adhesion. THen all was fine. My son was full term and perfectly healthy (now 4 1/2). Had absolutely no issues with my second pregnancy and my daughter was full term and is now 2.

Feel free to ask questions - I know this can be overwhelming!

MsInformation: I've gone back and forth with the possibilty of getting some scar tissue removed. The doctors aren't jumping at it. My old surgeon said that there is risk with the initial stick of the lapro scope because they're going in there blind and do not know what is bound up by scar tissue. Because to me, it seems simple, just remove the scar tissue and go from there. Did you're doctors say it was risky?

The thing is more surgery can causeore scar tissue. Sp the fix for the problem might end up giving the same problem.

I had an IVF procedure done in June, and no one told me about those risks. I am 12 weeks preg now and very happy, although not feeling so hot the last couple of days. I was planning on having a c-section, because I don't want to risk anything happening to my pouch. I'm hoping things will go smoothly, I guess we'll see.

Just to let you know of my experience of ivf: My fertility doctor was absolutely happy to do ivf on me even with my pouch. The pouch does make it difficult to see and measure the follicles on the ultrasound as it causes shaddows and obscures the view.

He also stuggled with the aspiration of the follicles. This is when they put a long needle in through the vagina and draw the eggs out of the follicles through a catheter. This is done with ultrasound guidance so is quite safe. I have had 5 ivf cycles and only on 2 ocassions has the doctor been able to aspirate the follicles on both ovaries. This depends on the position of the pouch on that specific day when the aspiration is done. Normally my pouch is in front of one of my ovaries.

I believe IVF is quite safe if done with an experienced fetility doctor. I have a daughter who was born before my surgery but since my surgery I have had 5 ivf cycles and 1 FET. After 2 pregnancies and 2 early miscarriages I still don't have a baby.

I have also been told that C-section is the safest option.

Good luck!

We went through IVF as well and the egg retrieval was very tough. They were about 50% sure they wouldn't be able to actually get them the usual way of going through the vag, because my ovaries were mis-positioned due to scar tissue from the pouch surgery. They really did not want to go through the top/abdominal wall as it's much riskier to bowels, possibly hitting something, etc. In the end, it took 2 doctors to retrieve, with one standing over me on the table and pushing down on the ovary with both arms and holding steady while the other doctor retrieved them vaginally. Thankfully, I was asleep.

I did not even want to try for a vag delivery bc of possible GI complications during and afterwards. My original OB wanted to do a vertical cut but then I started seeing a high risk OB and he agreed to do a bikini cut as long as baby was well positioned for it, which is what we did. It was a very unremarkable and quick C and I'm glad we went that way.

Thanks everyone for your replys. The doctor never mentioned not being able to get the eggs, just that it was risky because there was a chance of hitting the bowels with the needle they put in to retrieve the eggs. He said that would lead to a bag again or possible leak of bowel that could be toxic. AHHHH so many risks and decisions. I hate it. My husband and mom don't want me to do any of it because they had to deal with all the complications of my surgery. You'd think we'd get a break after all the crap (literally) we've been through.

Regarding the C-section issue (I was very lucky to be able to get pregnant naturally - although the test that checks if one's tubes are clear may have helped - can't remember the name of that test): I asked my surgeon his opinion and he recommended a c-section in order to preserve my "continence". Because he was familiar with the work he did down there, I trusted his opinion. My perinatologist, on the other hand, was fine with a natural birth, and would have supported me either way. The most experienced member of her practice actually recommended a natural birth, but I was very nervous about that and decided to follow my surgeon's advice. According to this perinatologist, natural births are very safe for women with J-pouches. I think it's really up to the patient to determine what she's most comfortable with. They used my original bikini incision, and only lengthened it a bit on either side. The problem is now I have more scarring down there that may make it hard to get pregnant a second time. I was very nervous about the c-section and requested that an abdominal surgeon help with the surgery. My perinatologist actually wanted this too. So I had an abdominal surgeon open me up and then the perinatologist took over and opened the uterus. C-sections aren't fun because you're awake for the surgery, and it isn't fun to recover from them either, but the recovery is much, much shorter than from my previous abdominal surgeries. Good luck with your choices, and with getting pregnant!!

There is inherent risk in any medical procedure. It's up to you whether or not you're up to taking that chance.I underwent IVF treatments in 2003 (successfully), and was lucky enough not to have any problems. I've had 2 c-sections, my second child weighed in at 9lbs 1oz. (and was conceived naturally).I didn't have any complications with either pregnancy. Good luck with your decision.

My ER is in NOV and my Dr said he wouldnt bother trying vaginally because he cant even see my right ovary on ultrasound because of the pouch. He said he would have to go through the abdominal wall. I was fine with it but now a little nervous with what i have just read on here! Seems like we have to make such hard decisions and risks when we want a baby when others just do it naturally. Its hard and stressful. Hang in there we are in it together!

I have had the abdominal adhesion removal done in early 1998 as everything was massed into one large ball. My IVF dr and a plastic surgeon and an abdominal surgeon were all in there per IVF dr request. Fortunatly I had a VERY experienced IVF dr in regards to microscopic surgery. The surgery took forever and they put some stuff in there to help with adhesions not forming. I was in the hospital 5 days per Dr request and recoverd at home no complications. I got pregnant on my own soon after however i had a miscariage so we tried again but the scar tissue had come back quickly and tubes were completely blocked. We had one egg retrieval done (13 eggs) (10 were keepers after they grew out) no complications. I ended up with triplets and had a c-section due to the nature of the pregnancy. I had a perinatologist who was awesome and they mad a bikini cut hip to hip and slowly dissected down the layers for extra precaution Since u r awake and only numb i could feel them placing organs on my belly before cutting into the uterus All went well with my pouch Hope this helps

Ok, so I'm very confused at this point. I've now seen two infertility doctors, a high risk OBGYN, and a new surgeon at Sedars Cinai in Los Angeles. Every single dr said after reviewing my medical records that they do not recommend me carrying a child period. They also said that it would be too dangerous to to extract my eggs in order to use a surrogate. I guess because of the major infection I had in my pevic area during my first surgery things tend to move around and they are affraid of further infection when sticking the needle up as they do in IVF. And also possibly puncturing something when they stick the needle up. I'm really confused because practically all of you ladies on here have had IVF. Did they warn you about infections. Many of you have said you had several complications with your surgeries, why are my dr's so concerned? My surgeon explained it in that I had major infection in my lower pelvic area and the small intestine will gravitate to block infection so he's assuming my small intestine is not where it should be and the chances of it being hit during IVF is just too risky. They also said to ask some of you what dr's or specialists you've seen. Maybe there are dr's that specialize in fertility for those with our surguries and complication. Any advise would help. Thanks

Can they do an ultrasound or something to see where your pouch is? I did not realize you also had previous infection problems so i cannot help u there. Praying someone here has a magic bullet and awesome dr referral for you