u/Content-Afternoon156

I had my excision surgery this past September that revealed stage 3 endo with significant scarring and lesions on my ovaries as well as my uterus and bladder. I am 26 now, but 25 when I had my surgery and I wasn't planning on considering kids for another 10 years at least. I am concerned for my future and how my fertility has been affected and if there's something I need to do now so I am not blindsided in 10 years if I decide I want kids. My surgeon never mentioned anything about it since I am not currently looking to get pregnant any time soon. I am concerned about my egg reserve and health and possible recurrence of endo. My surgeon and their office staff mentioned repeatedly that I was quite a bit younger than most women that get diagnosed so they don't have enough research to know if I could have recurrence of the endo and another excision surgery eventually. Am I overthinking or is there testing I should ask for at this point as I would be open to freezing my eggs if needed?

I currently have an undergrad degree in engineering and a masters in chemistry with work experience in R&D. Ideally my dream would be to continue on to a PhD specifically working in bioanalytical chemistry but with federal funding cuts a alot of the labs and schools I am interested in are unable to take any students.

I have a friend in technical instrument sales who has recommended me for a job similar to theirs and I am planning on taking it if offered. I wanted to see if the transition back into research is possible.

I am hoping to make good connections at university labs with this job to hopefully strengthen my PhD application in the future. I would consider holding out for a R&D position but they are few and far between and hard to get unless you know somebody. I could also really benefit from having a job right now (currently unemployed) and the higher pay would also be beneficial.