Birth control to treat the pain

[csimmons]

Stage 2 endo and the pain bus out if this world! Went for a second opinion and they want me on birth control. Anyone have expierence with this pain regime?

[Jan1976]

Hi, I took cerazette from February 2013 - 31st December 2013, in a bid to control some of the pain. I have stage 4 endo and have tried every type of treatment on the market. I am ttc, so the pill wasn't something that I wanted to take, but I have to admit that my life changed during the time on it. Pain was significantly reduced (I tend to have a spike of pain during ovulation which causes me to collapse - so no ovulation no major pain). I am now off it, so that my partner and I can ttc; had my 1st period on 27th January (thought it would take longer to get out of my system), and the pain was intense. I'm hoping that this month will be easier. The quality of life I have experienced in the last year has been amazing. If you decide to take the pill, I hope it works as well for you, as it did for me. Good luck.

[monkeymagic72]

Visited my consultant yesterday. After reviewing my period/pain history it was concluded that the birth control had shielded me from the symptoms of endo. I had terrible pain through my teenage years and early twenties then no periods or discernible pain for 15 yrs due to using depro vera injections then the implanon implant as birth control, which was removed after i was sterilised and within months i was back to the pain and within 3 years having biopsies and a large cyst removed (referred to as a benign tumour by my consultant). Now on Zoladex and Tibolene. Good luck x

[city]

I have had the same experience as Jan above - been on Yasmin since last March /April it's been fantastic for me. No pain at all during periods (was taking a ridiculous amount of Naproxen every month) and just twinges at other times which paracetamol deals with easily. Good luck

[sanchia46]

Yes as it stops your periods which can help to reduce the pain.

[Hidden]

Hello there! I am 17 years old and have been on birth control treatment for 4 years with Endometriosis, I tried a variety of treatment and by far the best for me was Depo provera, a progesterone only contraceptive. It stopped my ovulation/period entirely and I am pain free where in the past before treatment I would experience the pain for 2-3 weeks each month, sometimes for the whole month. I do have a lot of side effects such as spotting non-stop that eventually lessened over the course of 6-9 months and was next to nothing. Very tired and moody so I was out on anti-depressants and that helped a bunch. I had vaginal inflammation (sorry for being crude), it hurt with intercourse and I couldn't wear tampons but this effect too went away quite quickly. Note: I would go through all those icky symptoms all through my course of treatment because the fact that it stopped my pain is just incredible, a miracle if you will. And I wouldn't change a thing!

[Clem01]

The pill def help as you try-cycle it and only have 4 periods a year which means less time for the endo to grow back. I've done this for 13 years now & only had 5 ops during this time.

[AlexR]

Im on it to help treat my endo as well. 3 mnths then off for the usual 7 day break. Im in pain all the time but when i come off it im floored usually sick and worse shotting pains up as well. Hope you get more help xx

[Impatient]

Do not look at this as birth control - really it is menstrual mangement. Period bleeds are painful in themselves, but there is the risk of back flow of cells along the fallopian tubes and out the wrong way - spreading endo. So taking steps to stop your periods or reduce the number of periods in a year is only way you can take steps personally to battle the endo itself.

backflow bleeds can also irritate the tissues that the blood gets trapped on - just the same as that bleeding from the endo sites has no where to go and irritates whatever it lands on - causing pain and inflamation and adhesions.

Stopping your periods by menstrual management is key to preventing the situation getting worse in the future. It isn't a cure but it sure will make life easier.

You could have any amount of endo removed by a really decent surgeon - and still have new lesions take hold because of backflow.

It isn't the only method of endo cells relocating but is the most likely way.

The bonus is, that in stopping or reducing your periods - also means that painful episodes are reduced too, irritated tissues from one period have a better time to recover and heal before the next onslaught.

If you currently have periods every month, lasting 7 days or more of pain + add that the endo pain and at LEAST one quarter of every year is wasted in agony - for many ladies it can be more than half of each year wasted in agony -

I know my periods were running close to 2 weeks of pain and bleeding each month by the time i got my op, and i had been on transexamic acid for several years before that in a monthly struggle to stem the tide.

Now i have the mirena coil installed. It took 4-5 months to settle in to place and start working - it does that by building up layer of goop that holds the uterus lining in place and stops the mirena shifting about. It has been liberating, life transforming.

I don't have periods, period pains, PMT, no tablets or pills to take, no tampons /towels to buy, not a single day wasted worring am I coming on, will I be on, make sure i have spare this and that in my handbag, no issues booking holidays or social engagements, no messed up soiled clothes, flooding blood accidents, bleaching bed sheets white again.

None of that at all - and all because of a tiny little T shaped mirena about the size of a 2p piece.

It has been awsome. Can't rate it highly enough if my own experience is anything to judge by.

Now I know not every lady can cope with the niggles of the mirena while it settles down and gets to work and some ladies don't seem to realise that you must avoid super activites or anything that tugs on the strings for a few weeks after it is installed, while it has not yet built up the goop layer to hold it in place and consequently the mirena can shift and can fall out and can cause unusual pains - but they do pass and it does settle and then it does a wonderful job.

So getting through those early stages does end up well worth the effort for extending the life of each year - by giving you a bonus of at least 4 months extra, pain and blood free time each year, to do what you want to do, instead of being a dominated by the wretched curse, or worried about when it will next arrive and what pain and mess that will bring with it.

If you take the pill daily then continue and take the next 2 months back to back - if you stop yourself having 8 periods a year by doing that - that gives you back at least 2 months of your life.

Some ladies go for longer stretches before taking a break to have a period.

There's no ideal menstrual managent process- every pill, every gadget , every surgery has its risks of side effects or unpleasant aspects - but hey so what - having periods is hardly a barrel of laughs either.

So in the mirena case - the installation of the mirena can be very painfully uncomfy if you do not cope well with a sepculum being opened up in the vagina - entonox, pain killers or better still have the procedure done during an op where you have a general aneasthetic is best.

The tablet pills need to be taken regular as clockwork - so you need to have a great routine or memory to put up with that each day.

the Arm implants are not always a success at totally stopping periods, but certainly for some ladies they are effective.

As with all these methods - a change in hormones comes with their use - and that can have unwanted side effects - like extra hair growth, spots oralternatively clears up spots, headaches, or stops them, and so on.

As there are so many different kinds to try out - it is certainly worth switching to something else if at 1st you don't have a good enough experience with one.

Ultimately you are aiming to stop the un-necessary spread of endo and to do that you stop the periods (somehow). It will not stop endo that is already nested and growing else where, but it curtails the risk of fresh spread fro the uterus. Hope that makes sense of why BC methods of some sort are essential in the battle with endo. The bonus is that it should afford you pain relief and improve the quality of you life in other ways.

[greenginger]

Hi

I always had painful periods and so went on the pill at 16 and stayed on it off and on until my early 30s when I had my kids. After my final child at 40 my periods became unbearable and so I spent four years going back and forth to my GP's. Two scans and several doses of various things such as transexamic acid ( sorry spelling) I was at the end of my tether. Painkillers did not work and my GP was reluctant to give the pill due being over 40 and suffering high blood pressure in pregnancy. Finally after severe pain for 3 weeks out of every four and flooding and clots and 2 hospital emergency visits which hurt more than 2 miscarriages! I was asked to try Cerelle. This is the modern version of cerazette and is a mini pill and progestogen only.

It has been fab. Since October I have had 2 break through spotting lasting a day and no pain at all. No proper periods and no flooding. The spotting occurred at the beginning of taking the pill and after a bout of norovirus.

the only down side is acne to my back and neck and an itchy scalp. Wonderful thing. I actually sent a thankyou not to the lady GP who guided me to it. Its changed my life. Hopefully I can stay on it until menopause in m 50's.

[Berniek]

I am going through the same, just had my first 3 months, pain was less however I was pretty much on my period non stop for the last two months. Getting more blood tests to see what to do next.