Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Pelvic Inflammatory Disease Creates Blocked Tubes and Infertility

By Sandra Wilson

While you may have never heard of it before, pelvic inflammatory disease causes blocked tubes which can cause infertility. That may be the sad diagnosis you receive when trying to figure out why you can't have a baby. If you haven't reached that point yet or want to alert other women, then learn what you can through this article and then seek out more information.

The sad thing about this pelvic inflammatory disease is that it can be a silent killer of dreams. Many women never even know they have it or have had it. They may not know till they try to find out why they aren't getting pregnant. However, about one million women each year do come down with severe enough cases that they end up seeking help. In fact, about 150 women die from the complications of the disease each year.

Infertility happens in about 12% - 20% of women due to scarring that causes blocked tubes. Women can get PID more than once with the rate of infertility going to 50% after three episodes according to obgyn.net. So we have at least 2 million women each year with this disease and of those at least 12% become infertile if they have only one occurrence of PID. That comes out to 240,000 women a year who become infertile. With no numbers on how many women have three or more cases each year, we can't add to that number. But you can guess as well as I that the actual number of women becoming infertile each year due to pelvic inflammatory disease is higher, maybe much higher.

How do you get pelvic inflammatory disease? It's caused by bacteria that enters through the cervix and possibly IUDs. The bacteria can come from STIs introduced by a sexual partner or even douching pushing certain bacteria where they don't belong up in your uterus and the rest of the sexual organs. Women under 25 are considered most at risk possibly due to an immature cervix. Sometimes, even ob/gyn procedures and surgeries can be the cause.

Pelvic inflammatory disease leads to other problems besides infertility due to the scarring it causes. You are at greater risk for ectopic pregnancy as well as abscesses, adhesions and chronic pain. PID may not be easy to diagnose but it is fairly easy to treat. Antibiotics are used but you need to be sure all the bacteria are eradicated. Having the disease once also makes it easier for you to get it again. Regular check ups by your doctor are a very good idea besides taking other precautions to be sure you don't partake in the activities that increase your likelihood of getting it.

Unfortunately for a woman who already had PID and has blocked tubes, this information won't help much. What recourse do you have now? While your doctor will probably suggest IVF, check out tubal surgery to repair your blocked tubes instead. It is less expensive and doesn't mess with your body like IVF does. You may discover tubal surgery for blocked tubes is the best action you can take.

During tubal surgery, the surgeon will remove the bad parts and then suture the tube back together. In some cases the fimbrial end, which is the part that catches the egg from the ovary, will have to be rebuilt. You will want a very experienced tubal surgeon for this kind of work. However, the success rates for tubal surgery are better than IVF and give you the chance to keep on making and trying to make babies as long as you can.

It really isn't too late to have your child the natural way even if blocked tubes due to pelvic inflammatory disease has made you temporarily infertile. Find the best tubal surgery specialist you can and fight back against the damage done by this ugly disease. - 15438

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