Scared endometriosis and adhesions will come back after surgery

[whisperenergy]

I had my 1st laparoscopy last Friday where they were able to remove a lot of endo and adhesions which was great. Still in quite a lot of pain from it but am slowly recovering and looking forward to feeling better. The follow up appointment with consultant is in 3 months time which seems quite a while away and from what I have read about other people is that the endo cld grow back within that time. I want to try and do all I can to stop that happening as I really don't want to ever have a repeat of past year which has been such a struggle, let alone go through another op :((

Has anyone had success at stoping it coming back through diet/nutritional supplements/reducing stress etc? I've been looking at the endo diet and have already started to avoid wheat, gluten, sugar, alcohol, dairy etc. I am willing to do anything not to go through this again!! I realise even doing all this it might still come back but if anyone has had any success with stopping it come back I would be very grateful to hear from you xx

[Impatient]

Speak to your GP about BC options that have stopping periods as a benefit.

mirena coil, depo provera, implanon, all are longer term solutions and take time to get to work.

norethisterone (probably the best for a short term fix as it should stop the next period right away provided you take it religiously and don't forget to take a tablet) Keep taking them till you are ready to have a period then stop and you should be bleeding a day or two afterwards. Very handy little pill the noethisterone for short term period stopping.

There is nothing you can do to stop adhesion growth, your surgeon will probably have added some form of barrier or buffer inside to delay the adhesions from sticking organs together - they will still grow, but the barriers buy you more time before the glue stuff sticks to something else near by.

Another option is Combi birth control pills which you take back to back for 3-4 months to reduce the number of periods you have in a year.

the Progestogen only pills (POP) do stop period but take a longer tie to do so as they tin the menstrual lining each period over several months .

The mirena coil is also POP.

Reducing your body oestrogen levels naturally by strictly watching what you eat, avoiding estradiols etc and also dieting to reduce tummy fat (which is an big scale oestrogen production factory and warehouse) will also help lower the oestrogen levels available to feed the endo. They won't stop your periods but every little helps.

To stop having periods between now and seeing the consultant norethisterone pills are your best bet. They are great for avoiding having a period if you have a holiday booked, or exams or training courses where having a period would be too much to cope with.

There are unknown ways how endo can spread - and you cannot stop what you don't know, however the most widely known route of new endo growth is through bckflow bleeding of period blood taking endo cells from the uterus along the fallopian tube and out the wrong way. by stopping your periods you reduce this risk considerably.

[Tina32 in reply to Impatient]

Hi Impatient, can you get norethisterone pills over the counter or do you need a prescription?

Thanks

[Impatient]

Only Prescripton - ask your GP. Just remember to take them exactly as prescribed other wise the drop in hormones from missing one or sicking one up can trigger a period a couple of days later, so it is a commitment to remember to take them same times each and every day. Some ladies do get side effects - so look up the patient advice leaflet to check you are suitable for it and ready for any side effects before you ask for it.

I didn't personally experience any side effects other than accidentally forgetting to take the pills and thereby triggering a period.

but I did use them several times to avoid periods for all sorts of big events in life and career.

[whisperenergy]

Hi Inpatient, thank you for your detailed reply. My gp had mentioned I cld go on the combination pill abt two weeks after the op so another week to go for that if I go for that. I'll def ask abt norethisterone tho thanks for that. I have belly fat to loose so already started on that one with the endo diet. I was hoping there might be more natural remedies I cld use rather than hormone altering medication but I'm beginning to see I might not have a choice if I don't want it all to start up again