Can you reverse infertility caused by endometriosis? Here’s what doctor says

Popularly known as ‘chocolate cyst‘, endometriosis diagnosis takes a long time – almost a decade, thereby affecting the quality of women’s life immensely as it is a health condition in which the lining of the uterus, known as the endometrium, grows outside of the uterus, the fallopian tubes, the vagina, the cervix or even on the bladder or rectum. Some of the common symptoms noticed in women going through this disorder includes immensely painful periods with pelvic and lower back pain, pain during or after intercourse, excessive bleeding, digestive problems, painful urination, fatigue, depression or anxiety and abdominal bloating and nausea but since women aren’t much aware of the condition, there is a delay in diagnosis of it and may have to suffer from poor quality of life.

One with endometriosis has to be careful and listen to the advice given by the doctor as there are many misconceptions regarding this condition. In an interview with HT Lifestyle, Dr Karishma Dafle, Fertility Consultant at Pune’s Nova IVF Fertility, shared, “Endometriosis is linked with difficulty becoming pregnant or infertility but women can get pregnant with the help of surgery or even fertility treatments. Certain procedures such as IVF or egg freezing will be a boon for women diagnosed with endometriosis.”

For those suffering from endometriosis and planning to fulfil their dream of having a baby, Dr Karishma Dafle advised, “You need to know that getting pregnant with this condition is possible, although it may not be that easy. There are a majority of women who will find it challenging to conceive naturally after having endometriosis. It is necessary for the egg to travel from one’s ovary via the fallopian tube and then to the uterus in order to get fertilized before implanting into one’s uterine lining. Having endometriosis will not allow the eggs to travel to the uterus.”

She added, “Endometriosis causes inflammation in the body. It leads to the scarring of ovaries and fallopian tubes and blocks them or even impacts the functioning of the tubes. It damages the egg and keeps you away from getting pregnant. Laparoscopy can be done in order to detect endometriosis. A blood test called an anti-mullerian hormone (AMH) test will allow the doctor to check the patient’s remaining egg supply or ovarian reserve. Surgery can improve one’s fertility. Or one can even consult a fertility specialist when it comes to ART treatments.”

Elaborating on egg freezing, Dr Karishma Dafle suggested, “Before opting for this procedure, in unmarried females with severe endometriosis, a woman will have to get blood tests done for fitness for egg retrieval procedure. Then woman will be injected to stimulate the growth of eggs in the ovaries. The eggs will be collected during a procedure requiring a general anaesthesia and then eggs are frozen. When a woman wants to become pregnant, the eggs are thawed and fertilized by injecting sperm into the egg (ICSI).”

Explaining about IVF or in vitro fertilization, she revealed that it “helps a woman to conceive with severe endometriosis. It works by using a combination of medicines and surgical procedures to help sperm fertilize an egg and then fertilized embryo is implanted in the uterus for conceiving.” For intrauterine insemination or IUI, Dr Karishma Dafle informed that the sperm is placed directly into a woman’s uterus. IUI helps females with mild to moderate endometriosis to conceive. So, just speak to your fertility expert regarding what will give you the best results.