I had my j-pouch done in April of 07
Complete colectomy in Sept of 06
and my periods have been very irregular..
usually I dont have them, or they are very light. I was told that after I underwent my surgeries it took 75% of my fertility. I am wondering how? Lately I have been period more than not... I have had it every other day for the last few weeks. I am sexually active. Have been on the pill to regulate it but nothing seems to be working, and now am concerned about pregnancy since no one can seem to tell me exactly why or if you are infertile since I obviously still have my period?

Hi!

I just wanted to reply - though I'm sure there'll be other more informed responces soon!

My periods have also been odd since my surgeries... they are either very irregular - or really heavy - and usually really painful on the first day of bleeding (and I mean really painful!) I've been told I have PCOS symptoms, and this may have influenced my periods in this way... but I do think the surgery has been a big factor in it! I also found that hormonal contraceptives did nothing to help!

With your fertility... You can have a period without ovulating so you may not be able to get pregnant even though you have a period... BUT the only way to know for sure is the either get tested or to get pregnant. I think it's important to not assume that you are or aren't fertile - either way you may get a nasty shock, either with a surprise pregnancy or by not being able to get pregnant at all!

The main reasons surgeries can reduce your fertility are: Scar tissue can damage your ovaries (making it harder to release eggs), your fallopian tubes can be blocked (and stop the egg and sperm meeting) or (I think) your womb can be moved slighlty (which can affect implantation). Although sometimes we never actually find out the cause - I know my drs won't do a laperoscopy so I'm unlikely to find out if scar tissue is affecting my fertility!

I'd go to your dr and talk about your problems - even if you think it's something to do with your surgery it's important to make sure there's nothing else that's affecting it...

I hope you get sorted soon!
Caroline x