My fiance and I have been trying to have a baby now since july of last year. Nothing has happened and the thing is I have alot of scar tissue from my surgeries. Now I haven't seen an obgyn yet. My regular doctor told me to keep trying and that I am young. But that to me means absolutely nothing because of my medical history and my G.I. doctor has told me I would probably have to see a specialist. How long have any of you waited to see and obgyn..? I want a baby so much and it's hard watching other woman out there getting pregnant so fast. I been tracking my cycles and everything. Does anyone have any suggestions..?


~Jamie~

(((Never Ever Give Up Hope!)))

hi Jamie. I understand your frustration and I'm sorry things aren't working out on their own. If you have read through some of the posts here you know that you are not alone and this is a common problem for us pouchers. The best advice I got was to seek answers sooner rather than later. If you like your OB talk to them and push for some basic testing, or seek out a reproductive endocrinologist in your area. If you already know that you have a lot of scar tissue then that could very well be causing problems. The way I see it it doesn't hurt to start looking for answers early. If nothing is wrong then it will put your mind at ease and if they do find something then it will put you on the right path, and as many of us can tell you it can be a long path so better to start walking it now. Also, don't be afraid to be your own advocate and push for what you think is right, I love my regular Dr but he kept telling me to give it time, go away on a trip, relax and drink some good wine...my OB said try for six months then lets do some tests. I'm glad I listened to my OB. Good luck in whatever you decide, the good news is that pouchers can and do have babies, some with help and some with out but it happens all the time, the proof is right here on this site. Best of Luck. -Lisa

I'm sorry you're having trouble. But all I can say is run do not walk to the obgyn and start dealing with it. Scar tissue can block the tubes, get in the uterus, reduce blood circulation, and make it difficult, if not impossible to get pregnant. I don't know your age, but the earlier you go, the easier time you'll have. Like a lot of women on this board, I'm doing IVF and I just wish I had started a lot sooner. Like you, I kept trying and thinking it would work out. (I even got pregnant on my own and miscarried, which made me keep trying and trying.)
Sorry if this sounds alarming, but time just goes so fast, if you know this is what you want now, you should start the testing now to see if your tubes are blocked, etc.
Good luck!

Hi...
Like you I am also trying to coneive and for a matter of fact just had my first IUI today. I myself was never told I had scar tissue, but had tried for 1 1/2 with no luck. I decided to seek help from a fertility specialist after unsuccessful results on Clomid. My advice to you is to seek fertility help. IUI is basically inexpensive and if it can give you a little better shot with your scar tissue, then well why not? Good luck to you and rest assure you are not alone as one of us j-pouchers!

Hi Jamie I feel so bad for you.Here is something you might want to try.If you have a normal period every month,this is very important,try to concieve on the 15th day and the 16th day and the 17th day of your cycle.But like I said it has to be periods that occur every month and are normal.Also try taking your temp everyday and see if you go up anytime in the middle of the cycle.That is what got us pregnant.Mind you my wife didn`t have a jpouch.It`s worth trying though.Good luck and I hope God grants you your wish and sends you a little angel.

Many of us have struggled with infertility. I have been trying for over 2.5 years and basically it's probably never going to happen. I'm 39 now and scar tissue is likely the culprit. I do encourage you, as others did, to see an RE, at least you can find out certain things, such as whether or not there is scar tissue actually in your tubes or uterus (I am lucky in that there isn't for me, but I think it's on the outside of the ovaries and is preventing the egg from getting into the tube). My ovaries are not in their normal place and I think it's due to scar tissue, so there's basically nothing we can do since we cannot afford IVF. We continue to try and have done IUI 3 cycles with clomid and an ovulation trigger shot, but it's just not working.

It's really sad that some of us have to give up on motherhood because we had to have this surgery and because we live in a country that doesn't cover IVF as a medical procedure.

Some places in the US do cover IVF. In fact, it is covered 100% in MA and it is required to be covered by all MA insurers. I suspect that the coverage here results from the fact that the first IVF baby was born here adn we have so many research universities in the area.

I agree that cost is a terrible reason to have to give up on having children. Have you looked into if any of your local clinics offer shared risk programs? Or, if there are subsidies or grants at any of them? Also, if you can find a study, you may get reduced cost. For example, my clinic is running an over 40 study...

Additionally, adoption is a great option and can be financially feasible with grants and/or depending on the program you choose. We were initially pursuing adoption because I couldn't face doing IVF as it was another medical procedure. We changed our mind for a variety of reasons, but if IVF hadn't worked we would have adopted.

Thanks so much for the responses. I just scheduled an appointment with an obgyn yesterday I go on the 8th of next month. I am anxious to find out if my tubes have scar tissue. I do have alot of scar tissue and adhesions in fact it puts me in the hospital frequentally from it. But, I just don't know where the scar tissue is. I will actually be 24 this fall. I have always looked forward to having a baby ever since I was a little girl. I been taking my basal body temp regularly and tracking everything but nothing has happened. And, my surgeon told my parents when I went through all my surgeries that I may have difficulties getting pregnant when I get older its just really hard. I thank god I have a wonderfully and understanding fiance. He's exstremely supportive and has always stood by my side. He wants a baby really bad to. But, we gave it a try and nothing has happened so now it's time to go get some help. And, I'm here for the long run. I believe we will have a baby there may be some bumps in the road but in my heart I know we will. I will definently keep everyone posted. Thanks so much! And good luck to you all!


~Jamie~

(((Never Ever Give Up Hope!?)))

Hey Jamie!

I want to wish you luck on your appointment on the 6th. Your OB may want to start you on clomid for a few cycles. Clomid won't really help you if the reason you aren't conceiving is due to scar tissue but it's the least expensive way to get pg.
It was never confirmed but my Reproductive Endocrinologist suspects that scar tissue on the outside of my tubes is what gave me a hard time getting pg. She was too afraid to do laparoscopic surgery to explore as she was afraid to do damage to my j-pouch or perforate a bowel...etc.. She was basically afraid it would be a big mess in there!
I tried clomid and it did not work. It made me ovulate but we aren't sure if the eggs actually ever went to the right place or that the sperm was reaching it.
We had our first and only IUI in August and it was a success! We did injections with the IUI. I also learned that I do not respond as well as they'd like to the injections so I had to take a little bit of a higher dose.
My RE told me that the reason we had such success on the first try was because we were both very young. I am 25 and was 24 when we conceived.
I now have a baby boy that can be born any time now!
Good luck with you appointment and keep us updated!

Dear Jamie,

Good luck with the IVF - please take a look at the huge long post I just made regarding Fertility - Steroids/UC & Scar Tissue.

I don't know if it could be of any help - but it just might!

Good Luck!
Zenaxxx

Hi everyone,
I am new here and thought I would stop in. I have been having trouble ttc #1 for awhile now, I have had hsg test done and my tubes are all clear. My fertility dr said that due to all of my scar tissue my only chance of getting pg is IVF. I had my 1st IVF last feb, was not successful. Now sometime in the near future I will be doing round 2 hoping it works. I know how frustrating ttc can be.

Hi Jamie,

After j-pouch surgury, my husband and I tried to conceive for 1 1/2 years with nothing! I went to see a fertility specialist and they couldn't find anything "wrong". They even looked at my tubes and saw that at least one of them is not blocked - one of the tubes was hidden on the e-ray.(and you only need 1 to get pregnant anyway) Ultimately, they decided that because of my surgeries things had moved around in there and scar tissue was blocking things so somehow, my egg probably wasn't even making it in to my tubes.

We did IVF and got pregant with our son who was born in 2006. After his birth, my husband and I decided to try "naturally" again to see if it might work this time. It didn't and we just finished our 2nd IFV cycle and are now 5 weeks pregnant with our second child.

Just an FYI, that even if the fertility doctor doesn't "See" anything wrong, that doesn't mean that things aren't working the way they should be and you should still pursue fertility treatments if that is something that you are interested in.

I went to my appointment earlier in the week in fact it was the 8th. I got the dates mixed up. She is going to do a bunch of blood tests on me next tuesday. Then once I get my period which should be soon I am supposed to call her right away and come in for that test were they run dye through the fallopian tubes to see if they are clear or blocked. Her goal is to try to get me pregnant in the next three months. My mom keeps telling me to quite beating myself up about the whole thing I guess sometimes I blame myself for having a hard time getting pregnant. Even though I know its not fare to do that because everything went out of my hands when I was diagnosed with UC back in 1997. But, I am keeping positive and am more than willing to to do what I have to do get pregnant. My grandmother is very negative she told me I don't belong having kids because of the surgeries and everything I have gone through. Hearing that hurt and to me it was a low blow. Because I want a baby more than anything. And I feel people who have gone through all this shouldn't be punished by not having children to. And, thats one thing that I won't let happen. And my fiance is sticking by my side for the long run. The lady I seen said it was a very good thing I made an appointment to see her because right now there is like a ten percent chance of us concieveing. Because we been trying for so long. So I am glad I listened to all of you and went. Thanks and I will keep you all posted. Good Luck to you all!



~Jamie~

(((Never Ever give Up Hope!)))

When I was a junior in college, I worked as a communications intern at Serono, the company that manufactures Pergonal and now GOnal-F, two of the most widely used fertility drugs. Never thought I'd need to use them

One of the things I learned during that time is how many people have trouble conceiving. Your surgeries and UC MIGHT be the cause, but it could be you would have had issues in spite of those factors. So, you REALLY shouldn't beat yourself up over having difficulty. It will only cause more stress and that is never a good thing.

It must have been hard to hear such negativity from your grandmother. My Mom was not happy that I got pregnant once (partially because of my health, partially because she didn't want any of us kids to have kids - long story, years of therapy ), was really unhappy that I did it a second time (which I miscarried) so I didn't tell her that I was trying a third time. It really caused a big strain on our relationship when I told her I was pregnant, but we're working through it and in the end it was best for ME to not have her involved. So, if anyone in your life is being unsupportive, just don't include them in the process. It is hard enough to make these decisions without feeling like you are doing something wrong.

BTW, if you ever saw my Mom with my son, you'd never know how she felt and Alex certainly adores his Nana. So, your grandma might come around after you have a baby.