Endometriosis

[MzBrown]

Does surgery really help?

[Hidden]

yes and no. It all depends on the person, how much endo there is and what the plans are for after the surgery.

If you have tiny spots that barely bother you, then you can probably get away with no surgery.

If you have lots of pain, you may want the surgery to get a "semi-clean slate" if you will. They clean up what they see, and it usually alleviates some of the pain (or for some lucky people, completely stops the pain for years). Plus they can get rid of any adhesions you may have, or unstick body parts that are stuck together that shouldn't have been stuck to each other in the first place.

If you want a baby soon, almost always surgery is the best option, as it cleans the insides up quickly before the endo has time to come back and ruins your chances.

If you decide to have the surgery, make sure you have a follow up plan as well. Most of the time it is best to go immediately on birth control of some kind to slow the growth of new/existing tiny endo. Also an idea may be to go in temporary menopause to dry up what's in there that couldn't be seen to be removed, and slow the advances of new endo.

[MzBrown in reply to Hidden]

Thank you, @ Aardvarklips, No it's major, and have gotten worse overtime, I'm done having children, and as you mentioned my biggest concern is the extent of the scar tissue which also can be stuck on my organs or intestinal as well, so there are risk involved, So the after plan prayerfully, is the pain is gone, and start living a healthier lifestyle....

[MzBrown in reply to MzBrown]

I forgot to mention, I've refused birth control since being diagnosed @ 18 in which I'm now well over.

[Hidden in reply to MzBrown]

And that is ok, birth control isn't for everyone, nor does it help everyone.

I am currently trying for herbal/certain foods help, i am already gluten free due to wheat allergies, I only take medications when pain is so bad i can't stand it, and finally I am trying birth control to see if it helps control the pain. I have had 2 surgeries, and only this second one found endo, adhesions, and suspected adenomyosis. I don't want children, but I want to keep my estrogen producing bits for as long as possible (which is rather humorous, as these are also the same bits that cause us so much trouble). I have already had one ovary removed thinking that was the cause of most of my pain........fail, I still hurt. I had my surgery in January, and now currently planning on another next year because my Gyno is not very skilled at the endo removal. She merely burned what she saw instead of taking chunks of the stuff out.

So if you decide to have your surgery, please do homework and learn from our mistakes. Make sure you discuss how they are going to remove the endo, what you want them to remove, what they will do if they see nothing (always ask for them to take samples of many areas to look at under the microscope).

I wish you luck, and many women on here are in the same boat. Which in a way is great, because you can ask anyone anything!!