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Hi everyone,

 

Would love to find out more about what I’ve seen re scarring/tubal blockages causing issues for embryos and/or implantation in IVF.

 

It’s likely scarring on tubes/bowel/ovary is what I have (following ileo-anal pouch for total colectomy from bowel cancer, 2011) but no-one will do a laparoscopy on me for fear of causing more bowel problems and scarring.  Besides,  it would probably only confirm what they suspect - scar tissue around ovaries and bowel, blocking or partially blocking tubes, and probably endo and adenomyosis - and wouldn’t necessarily change their advice to have IVF, so why tamper any further?   

 

However, if what I read is true and tubal blockages causing problems for IVF then this seems really important. Something about it being toxic?

 

I've already had 3 rounds of IVF (2 fresh, 1 frozen) where we had a pregnancy, but lost it at 11 weeks.

 

Any advice gratefully received,

 

Thanks x

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Hey Olivia,

Did they do an HSG? I thought that was something they often did super early in infertility treatment. I just skipped it because I know that my tubes are blocked. We got pregnant on the first try with IVF, but miscarried super early. My doctor said the fluid in the tubes is most likely to impact implantation and if you got pregnant that its probably not too much of a problem, but you have done the IVF thing for a while, soooooo doesn't your fertility MD have thoughts on this for you in particular? I do know that it is something that reasonable fertility doctors disagree about. Did they suggest essure or removal of the tubes? Obviously the latter is more surgery which I hate so I avoid it if I can, but if they are blocked and causing pregnancy problems then that's a bummer. Anyhow, best of luck! I hope the next one hatches

I'm so sorry your road to building a family has been so hard.

It is not tubal blockages themselves that can cause implantation failure and miscarriage. It is if the tube is blocked AND a hydrosalpinx is found, which means that the tube is collecting fluid and the fluid is possibly toxic and infected. Here is a page that explains it well: http://www.advancedfertility.com/hydrosalpinx.htm

Not all blocked tubes become hydrosalpinges though, so blocked tubes doesn't automatically mean you have it.  I hope this helps.

Hey Ellipouch and Kate1026 thanks so much for your replies.

 

I have had an HSG and it was clear, fluid travelled up tubes ok, but they've always said it doesn't show them right at the top of the tube, but does that rule out hydrosalpinx if any fluid went up there at all? They seem to think scarring might be impacting my ovaries for sure due to ovulation pain and lack of frequent ovulation.

 

Re implantation we did had that, but the fetus wasn't ok so that's why I thought it might impact embryo quality and development also.

 

I am under specialists but i'm in the UK and am finding US a lot more progressive in their discoveries and fertility post-pouch surgery.

 

Many thanks

 

XX

 

 

I am so sorry that you lost your baby at 11 weeks.  That is hard under any circumstances, but when you work so hard just to get pregnant it can feel especially cruel.

 

I had four surgeries prior to my IVF experiences - i had my pouch removed and had a perm ileo at the time of conception.  I had 2 fresh cycles and 1 frozen - got pregnant all three times but miscarried the frozen cycle early (we knew early on it was unlikely to be a successful pregnancy).  

One thing that I think was really helpful for me was really understanding the embryo quality and what was being transferred.  Our first fresh cycle we did a day 3 transfer and the embryos were 8 cell.  We transferred two and think we were pregnant with twins, but by 8 weeks only one showed - he is now my I-Can't-Believe-He-Is-Almost-10-Year-Old son.

 

But, when I miscarried, and the couldn't determine a reason why, my IVF dr decide to take the embryos on the next fresh cycle to blast.  Then I had a mild case of OHSS so we delayed one more day.  That embryo was a hatching embryo that is my now almost 7 1/2 year old daughter whose personality matches the picture of that embryo - strong and determined with a touch of expolsiveness to her :-)

 

So, did the drs suggest going to blast?  After your miscarriage, I assume they did testing to see what happened?  Have you know the quality of your embryos going in?  I would get as many details as you can and be as informed at each step as you can.  

 

I hope that you find your path to parenthood soon.

 

Jill 

I ended up getting Essure placement for my hydro tubes after my first failed IVF treatment. The Essure has caused very painful periods, but after it was confirmed they successfully blocked my tubes, I had FET in July and I am currently 24 weeks pregnant. Not sure if implantation happened successfully because of the Essure or not, but I am definitely happy that this round of treatments worked. If you have any questions, feel free to ask, I am happy to share my experience.

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