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Ovarian Drilling

I have a fellow blogger who is considering ovarian drilling to try to have a 2nd child after having an adorable son through IVF. She has lots of questions and uncertainty about this, which I can totally relate to. The day my RE suggested doing the surgery, I freaked out! It was not anything I had ever heard of and he wanted to cut me open and laser through my ovaries... and then, I decided you can't really hurt what's already broken. Let's do it.

So, in April of 2009, we went in for an outpatient surgery at St. Anthony's. (Sorry if you already know all of this, I just want to update those who weren't around for this phase.) It took about 90 minutes for him to make three small incisions (two very low and one in the belly button) and "drill" about 10 holes in each ovary to destroy the testosterone making part of my non-functional ovaries. I had a little discomfort following surgery, but totally manageable.

Now, this is where my story went haywire. I am the 1% complication rate that they warn you about. My lovely uterus decided to get a VERY painful infection which sent me into the hospital for 3 days. My RE said he had NEVER had this happen. I was treated with some great IV antibiotics, infection cleared, and I went home feeling much better.

So, my recovery time was about a week. Normal should be 3 days. The chance we were given of it working was 70-80%. (Especially in normal weight girls). I ovulated 2 weeks after surgery and had regular periods afterwards which is incredible considering I wasn't having ANY without the help of progesterone. My 1st pregnancy occured in August (3 months post-op) but that ended sadly in a miscarriage that had nothing to do with surgery. I was fortunate enough to get pregnant again 2 months later with this baby.

Would I do it again? ANYDAY. Even with the complications? Even if they were 10 times worse. I am so thankful that we did this surgery and that it has blessed us with this little one. The success rates are great, the complications are minimal, and the potential for reduced risk of miscarriage are significant. I'm more than happy to answer questions about this anytime, so always feel free to send me a message or a comment. Hope this helped anyone considering it!

Comments

  1. I never heard of this and didn't know your story, so thanks for sharing!! I'm constantly amazed by medicine and what can be done. They need to come up with another name for it though...haha! I'd be scared too if they told me they were going to drill through me!

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  2. Amber, I can't tell you how much it means to me that you are being so helpful and telling me all about your experience with the procedure. I haven't met anyone that I know of besides you who had this done. Although I did follow you at the time of your procedure, I wasn't really sure of the details. I try to read about it online and sometimes that just scares me into just wanting to say no. My doctor seemed to think this would be the ideal surgery for me. Just the thought that I might actually be able to have a regular cycle and possibly even get pregnant on my own is like music to my ears. But I've just been so afraid of what I was actually considering and if I would regret it in later years. My main concern was that the procedure wouldn't cause any further damage in my future that would hinder us from being able to try for more kids. I would adopt in a second if I am unable to have another but as most women, I would really love to have a few more myself. I loved being pregnant (uncomfortable and all). I love being a mom.

    Again, I just want to thank you over and over for being so nice and helpful to us. The fact that you put a post to explain and help me and anyone else interested in understanding this was just so nice and thoughtful of you. I really appreciate it.

    Can I ask you one last question? Did your RE mention to you that the procedure shouldn't cause future problems with trying to pregnant if for some reason the surgery didn't work? I think that question and the fear of having complications are what scares me the most. But as you answered above the percentages of having complications are low.

    I couldn't be more happy for you and your hubby and family that you are pregnant right now and will soon meet your amazing baby. :) Its truly a success story. Thanks for sharing with us.

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  3. You're almost there! The nursery is beautiful and you look absolutely adorable!

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  4. hi i'm stopping by and new follower from cooper's mom!!! glad your story ended great! can't wait to follow you when the birth arrive! congrats!

    ReplyDelete

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