My Endometriosis Story

As it relates to women's health, the topic I'm most passionate about is endometriosis. Even hearing the word gets me fired up. It's what prevented me from getting pregnant for close to a year. But it's not endometriosis itself that gets me going. It's the lack of information we have on the disease and the lack of doctors who specialize in diagnosis and treatment. Did you know that 82% of obgyns admit being unable to perform advanced endo surgery? That's nuts to think about being it affects 1 in 10 women. Not to mention, studies show 24 - 50% of women with infertility have endometriosis. (American Society for Reproductive Medicine)

Endometriosis affects many women in many different ways and I don't want to be insensitive to those of you who may be struggling with the painful side affects on a daily basis. I do however want to focus on endometriosis as it relates to fertility.

I full heartedly believe if I didn't get crazy lucky and have a friend recommend my current OB, I may still be trying to get pregnant. I'm also confident that if it wasn't for him, I wouldn't know the first thing about endometriosis or how it affects fertility. I feel like it's my duty to spread awareness because not all of our OB's are going to tell you about it. They are going to advise you based on their focus/specialty. Most of us get to the point where we'll do anything and believe anything our doctors tell us. We let them guide/steer the process. But get a second opinion ladies and don't settle for fertility meds until you've exhausted all options.

I've found throughout this chapter in my life that a lot of women are unaware of endometriosis and what it is. I've found that some doctors will diagnose or suggest you have endometriosis but won't refer you to a specialist, and I've found that those same doctors specialize in fertility methods, therefore aren't recommending endo treatment, but rather what will make them money. I'm sure in some cases IVF is necessary and I'm grateful for that option. However, because we know over 80% of OB's don't specialize in endo, I am confident they are not mentioning all of your options. I know my first OB didn't and instead suggested fertility methods such as IUI & IVF.

On January 24th 2022, I had my first appointment with Dr. Cavallo. Who I not so patiently waited 8 months to see. He reviewed the test results I had already done and didn't have the same feedback regarding fertility meds as my first OB did. He did not suggest I had fertility issues but instead that everything looked great and there must be something else preventing pregnancy. Unlike 82% of obgyns he suggested the possibility of having endometriosis and after a quick exam, he felt confident that was it.

Ok so what now...

March 17th 2022 I had Laparoscopy surgery. It's the only way to know for sure what's going on in there. It sounds a little scary but I would trade it for the nausea I experienced during the first trimester. It was a quick recovery and more importantly I got pregnant 8 weeks later. Sadly I miscarried a few days later, which as rough as that was, my body was still healing from the surgery. Only one cycle later I was pregnant with Sutton. No fertility meds, no crazy diet, just the best doctor ever.

I share this because if you're struggling to get pregnant and have endometriosis, IVF and other fertility methods can still fail. Ladies find a specialist through your insurance network, ask questions and follow your gut!