Hi group,

I found this site a few months ago, and finally decided to join. I had my final surgery April 2008, and was told by my surgeon that I may have trouble getting pregnant because the scar tissue can block the fallopian tubes. I've noticed that others have had trouble getting pregnant since post-takedown. My husband and I have been trying for 7 months without any luck so far.

Last month, I went to my gynecologist for a yearly visit. When I voiced my concerns about getting pregnant, he told me that my colon had nothing to do with my uterus. He also said to stop stressing and stop reading the internet! Should I even bother trying to convince him that there is a valid concern, or should I just find a new doctor? His recommendations to lay in bed three hours after intercourse are kind of impossible to do,since that bathroom calls sooner rather than later!

If I do find a new doctor, is there information available that I can take in to them on my first visit? I would love any advice the members of this group have to offer!

Thank you,
Lauri

i was told, and have heard from many others, to try for 6 months. if nothing happens, see a specialist. dont go to a OBGYN, go to a fertility clinic. it IS a valid point, and your doctor is ignorant. dont waste your time with him. also, you will need a "high risk" OB doctor once you do concieve. good luck!!

HI Lauri, I agree with Sarah that your doctor doesn't sound great, and he probably knows nothing or little about jpouches if he is a general gyno. There is a study that suggest that up to 40% of women who have had jpouch surgery have difficulty becoming pregnant (up from about 15% pre surgery).

THe reference is Johnson et al (2004) Female infertility after ileal-pouch-anal anastomosis for ulcerative colitis. in the journal 'Diseases of the Colon and Rectum 2004, 47 (7).

That said, don't fret, as panicking will not help your chances of getting pregnant. Just use this information to take appropriate steps for testing your fallopian tubes, etc if after 6 months you have no luck. It is becasue of the abodominal surgery that adhesions can form and can damage the fallopian tubes. I have had no luck with pregnancy, but many other ladies with jpouches have had success. I wish you the best with your attempts!

Thank you ladies, I appreciate the advice. I do see a regular gyno, I will start looking into fertility specialists in my area!

I would definitely find another doctor and make an appointment with someone else, perhaps at a fertility clinic like suggested above, though my Gyn ordered the HSG test for me, to check to see if my tubes were blocked. While waiting for your next appointment, get a copy of "Taking Charge of Your Fertility," as many women I know have had success using this, and it is highly recommended for people trying to get pregnant. And I know it sounds like impossible advice, but try to relax and have fun instead of stressing about it. Stress can be a big deterrent to getting pregnant.

Good luck.

Definitely get a new dr. This one is not respecting your concerns and if he isn't doing that now, he won't while you are pregnant either. Take heart, I tried 18 months to get pregnant, went on to IVF and got pregnant first try. In fact, I got pregnant three times with IVF, but miscarried the middle time. Now I have a 4 year old boy and an 18 month old girl.

Good luck!

Dear Laurie, It is really strange that your doctor would say that the uterus and colon wont effect each other, my doctor said the exact opposite. I was trying to get pregnant for 7 years, and finally found a gynie in South Africa(where my hubby was working at the time)who had a real interest in infertility, as he had been trying for a baby for 10 years, and when he scoped my uterus and tubes, he said a "curtain" of adhesions were holding the tubes rigid instead of them being flexible to "grab"the egg, and the chances therefore of conceiving were only about 5%. I had them removed and within a couple of months was preggie, another pregnancy followed 5 months after my daughter was born. They are now both in their 20's. People doing the round of gynies told me to find one that will LISTEN to you and an in- fertility expert too(in my case). He also told me and so did my bowel surgeon, that the more ops you have down there the more chance there is of problems later, womb wise(I later got cysts). I've always been told pregnancy can take 12- 18 months before you look for a reason, and it is true, stress can stop you getting preggie, so relax, I'm sure you'll be fine, and if not, at least you know where to start, with possible adhesions, good luck, Heather

That doctor is an idiot. Run, don't walk, away to someone with a clue. I would go see a fertilty specialist.

We tried for almost 3 years with no success and finally got pregnant through IVF.

Your doctor should respect that concern... scar tissue among other things is pretty valid.
While I don't feel I always dealt with OBs who were knowledgable about jpouches I do feel like they made efforts and made me feel comfortable. I also found it helpful that my surgeon was in contact with the practice.
Perhaps ask your surgeon for a referral.
Good luck!

I think what your OB/GYN is focusing on is the fact that IBD does not seem to have any effect on fertility. However, having pelvic surgery of any kind does, and in particular, the rectal dissection, can be a source of scarring that affects the ovaries and tubes. You have already been trying long enough and it is time for intervention with a fertility specialist.

And, if you want to show him published documentation of this, print out this abstract for him (that is, if you return to him): http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pu...ews&logdbfrom=pubmed

Jan

Thank you so much ladies. I made an appointment with a well-respected gynecology office that does specialize in fertility issues. I have to wait 3 weeks, but at least I am taking a new step forward. I plan on printing out the articles given to me, so that I have more information going into my appointment. Again, thank you!

Hi there. For us, it took a year of trying to before I got pregnant with our first daughter. We were just starting to look into fertility issues. However, I chalked it up to 'the pill' since I was on it 'forever' before that. The reason I think that is, after our first daughter, I never went back on birth control, and daughter #2 came about after ONE TIME.
Best of luck to you.

Hi Lauri, like everyone has said so far, pelvic surgeries of any kind can cause adhesions and scar tissue. Depending on how careful your surgeon was during surgery and hopefully you had no complications with abscesses or other abdominal infections there can still be scarring and damage to the reproductive areas. I had tons of complications post colectomy/rectum removal and anastamosis and tried for 7 months per recommendation of my surgeon, Gi doctor and my OB and finally had an HSG which only told us that my tubes had scarring and one of them looked completely blocked. I went to a fertility specialist which took 3 months to get into and we did a sonohystogram which showed my right tube was wrapped completely behind my uterus and actually touches the left ovary. I have so many adhesions that is will be next to impossible to get pregnant on our own. My left tube is surrounded by a cavity formed by adhesions and I have peritineal fluid in the cavity and my open ovary opens into this cavity so the quality of that egg might not be good. We are seeking the fertility route but the cost is rediculous and nothing is covered in Nebraska so it is all out of pocket for us. I would recommend going to see an OB specialist because the cost of some of the tests will be covered if it's through an OB rather than a fertility specialist which is what we found out. Good luck to you!

Hi Lauri,

I have a great OB she actually listens and has made suggestions on how to change things so I don't have so many pain issues. We have also talked about when/if I decide to have babies and the potential issues that may arise. She has offices in Commerce Twp & Livonia.

Carrie

Time for a new doctor. Rectums may have nothing to do with the reproductive tracts, but what happens, the surgeries and such, certainly do.