J-Pouch and Fertility

My surgeon did tell me that it is true that the surgery does increase infertility due to the scar tissue. He said a colectomy in itself can do it, and the j-pouch is an even higher risk. I think how he said it was "yes, you will be at a higher risk for infertility. Do women get pregnant after the surgery? yes, but you have to prepared that it may never be an option for you." With all the surgeries I've had, I wouldn't be surprised if I couldn't get pregnant again :(. I am so grateful I had my son before I ended up having the surgery. I do believe that you can still do in-vitro successfully, though, because the issue is the scar tissue blocking the fallopian tubes. So it doesn't mean you can't have a child, I think.
It is also true that more women end up with c-sections because a lot of doctors will tell you that pushing isn't a good idea, but from what I have read, you do not HAVE to have a c-section. I had a c-section with my son, so if I were to get pregnant again, I would do it again just because of all the surgeries. The c-section was not at all bad anyway. It's nothing compared to the other surgeries.

The whole issue of fertility and proctectomy (whether restorative or not) is a complicated one and depending on how people spin it it can sound much worse than it is. There have been a number of studies into this and they are fairly consistent in their results.
Only about 50% of pouch patients who try will conceive in the first year after surgery this compares with about 83% of the 'normal' population, this means that if you have had pouch surgery you are 3 times more likely to be in the part of the population that fail to conceive in that year. The situation improves with time, for those who try and have a pouch about 80% will conceive over their fertile lifetime which compares with about 93% of the normal population (again note the 3x factor). What does this mean in real terms? Well 1 out 5 who have a pouch and who want children will fail to conceive which means that 4 out of 5 do so while not as good as the general populace it maybe is not as bad as it has been painted.

Peter.

invisible reflections said...
thanks guys. i'll continue to research and look into the issue. :D it seems like fertility does go down but that more than likely a person with the surgery can still conceive. THANKS!

Yes, that's a good way to say it. When you see things like "50% higher chance of infertility" it seems huge but when you think about it, how many people experience infertility to begin with? so even though it's 50% higher risk, it's still a relatively low risk overall.

Hi Teresa - Just wanted to say good luck!

We were unsuccessful in getting pregnant after a year - all the tests said that we were fine - but due to my spinal cord injury we did not want to push it and pursue treatment.

I am 34. We adopted 2 older children over 5 years ago (3 and 5 at the time). They both have special needs due to exposure to drugs, alcohol and also abuse and trauma. Its not the same kind of parenting - its very hard work - but so very rewarding! Sometimes life happens in ways that take you on different paths - and things end up great but in ways that you never thought of.

When the surgeon told me that the surgery could make me infertile - I just giggled! I don't think I could handle any more kids!

When I mentioned surgery to my doctor she was pretty quick to say I should work with the other options because of fertility issues. She didn't say it would make it impossible but she said it can effect fertility. I haven't done much research on the issue but right now, I don't think I will ever have children so fertility is not a huge concern. MY doctor feels that I may change my mind in 5 years, she's probably right that it is best to keep my options open if at all possible. Of course if I were terribly ill and surgery was the best option, I would do it.

clicky, that is a wonderful story. You and your husband must be very special, warm-hearted people. I love stories like yours.

Agreed, Clicky, you have a great attitude and stories like what your kids have had to deal with do allow me to keep things in perspective. We are actually thinking about fostering as soon as we can get "our" (daughter's) UC a little more stable. If my daughter ever has to have surgery and it does affect her fertility, I hope I've instilled the fact that families come in many forms and I hope to be able to model that too. I know that possible infertility as a result of surgery would be low on my list of concerns for me personally (for her) but she may feel differently one day.

Theresa1978,
Your story is almost identical to my very own. I was diagnosed at 17 and that too was my senior year in high school. Tired of the pain, which was excruciating by the way, and all of the other awful issues, I opted to have the surgery. My parents and my grandmother were all present when I told the GI team the choice I had made all on my own. They all were upset and were crying, more than I. My dad who is a nurse, and my mom who was a CNA, knew what I was up against if I go through with this. Little did I know what the surgery had in store for me. The one thing that really stand out to me to this day is my grandmother asking them, "Will this affect me having kids?" Their answer was, "NO." I wondered why she had asked that, but than I shrugged it off. I was 17 and having kids were not a priority to me, besides, I was a kid myself.
I was not educated by anyone of the GI team on what was going to happen to me after I had the initial surgery. I didn't know that I would wake up and have a bag sticking to my abdomen with a chunk of intestine peeking through. This is my new way of making a BM. I was depressed. Very depressed. Not knowing how long I would have this thing on me.
After having all 3 surgeries, 3 months apart, I was happy to have the "take down".
Years went by and my social life came back. I was dating and had 2 serious relationships. One of them, I was asked to marry him. We dated for 6 years and throughout those years, not one pregnancy. I did not understand that. I though it was him that was the problem and not me, but he had one child from a previous relationship. I was in denial about myself because, I kept saying, I have my cycle every month, I am not on BC, and we do not use protection. All along, it was me. I did not know that the J-Pouch would cause me my fertility. I was not educated or told the risks. Even if I would have, I still would have went through with it because it was the only option I had that would save my life since all else had failed.
I just recently found out that having this J-Pouch led to my fertility's demise even though I always knew that I had severe pelvic adhesions and that maybe was the contributor.
I must say that I am relieved to know what the culprit really is.
I should have when I was younger, went through IVF, to start a family, but I wasn't in a good place in life.
To this day, I still do not regret my decision.
I wish you all the best in starting your family. You deserve it.

I am 40 years old and I am married going on 3 years now, and we have no children together. Good thing he had 2 kids from prior relationships. Much as I wanted children, I have accepted the fact that I will never be a mother.

Best of luck.