Does the menopause end endo ?

[Allison45]

Hi

I'm now nearly 46 and wondered if anyone has gone through the menopause which resulted in the end of their endo pain ?

I'm hoping this has been the case ?

[AkiBoo]

Hi, I am interested in this, too. I presumed once I am in menopause, endometriosis will not be active.

I am 43, so I am counting on this!

[SallyBowles]

I'm afraid it's not as simple as that. Sorry! In most cases, because you are not having periods and your oestrogen drops active endo dies off in theory. However I am post menopause and still having problems, mostly due to adhesions, but I know from my surgeon that all endo was not removed at my last surgery because of danger of damaging my bowel and I can still feel the horrible familiar pain coming back. They do say that some endo cells can be 'self feeding' even when there is no oestrogen present. I'm seeing the consultant in a few weeks and this is going to be my main question so I'll get back to you if you like?

Certainly though for most people menopause will bring a lot of relief of symptoms or make them easier to manage which is great but it's not a guarantee.

[CubaTrekker in reply to SallyBowles]

Snap Sally

Having just had another lap this week it was not possible to remove the cyst on my right ovary due to it all being stuck to my bowel. I have been advised I may need to consider a hysterectomy. Everything is stuck!

Well I feel stuck too. Not sure that hysterectomy may be worth the hassle if it doesn't help and can will add more adhesions to my body.

My mum is currently recovering from an emergency bowel op that was required due to adhesions from when she had a hysterectomy.

We are both recuperating together!

But I can not relax as I keep wondering "what next? "

I will post more if I get any sound advice. Penny xx

[SallyBowles in reply to CubaTrekker]

I'm so sorry to hear that. Your situation sounds very similar to mine. I have had two rounds of surgery. The first in 2008 to remove a chocolate cyst and my right ovary which ended up being an open surgery as the cyst was 10cm in diameter. The second in 2012 was a planned keyhole hysterectomy which wasn't completed due to complications. All the front of my pelvic organs were stuck to the front of my stomach wall due to adhesions (probably endo plus the first surgery) and my uterus was fused to my bowel among other things. He did the best he could, removed my left ovary and tube and divided all the adhesions but couldn't remove my uterus/cervix etc because of this due to the risks to my bowel. He also had to leave endo lesions around my POD and bowel for the same reason.

Even so, I had very good results for quite a while, they renewed my Mirena to give me some protection to my uterus and stave off any endo growth and I was completely off painkillers but six months ago it all started again. I have a fibroid also which was picked up on an untrasound last year but which they were hoping would shrink. Really I'm hoping my Mirena just needs changing or the fibroid can be easily removed but as you say, there's an element of 'what next' with this condition.

I would say, that in the hands of an Endo specialist (which mine was) and a multi-disciplinary surgical team who are prepared for whatever they might find (mine wasn't prepared for the extent of damage at the time, as none of this showed up on the pre-op MRI) you can get a good result from a hysterectomy PROVIDED all endo lesions are also removed and anti adhesion barrier materials are used. At the end of the day, you have to weight up the fact of your current situation and think if this is what life is like for the next few years are you prepared to put up with it. I'm not so I'm looking for more answers.

I hope you and your Mum recover soon and you get some good advice.

[Jos70 in reply to SallyBowles]

I had a total hysterectomy 2yrs ago so menopausal at 47 and now I have extensive bleeding from my bowel and clots, I am currently waiting to see a specialist...

[Hidden]

This is a very interesting question. I am 56 in April. Had endo since a teenager but sadly only got properly diagnosed last year. I Started HRT (age 53) and suffered pelvic pain and bleeding and this prompted the laparoscopy. I got my endo diagnosis & stopped HRT immediately. Pain & bleeding was relieved within 3 months. But the disabling pain in my buttock & thigh remains. The consultant said in THEORY my menopause will make endo inactive . BUT given the fact of undiagosed endo for 30 years it is possible that some is active (he did not give reasons) or there is some hidden endo he could not see or has got into a nerve branch and permanently compromised it. He thinks the latter. I see consultant again on 20th january to continue investigation into this disabling problem.

[AuntieSue]

Hi Allison. I went through surgical menopause after hysterectomy almost three years ago. Unfortunately I'm having what is suspected as an endo flare up. Currently awaiting gynae referral to work out how to deal with it. What's your situation?

[Allison45]

I'm hoping I can hang on in there until menopause rather than have a hysterectomy . As by the sounds of it a hysterectomy doesn't always stop the pain. I had a lap this time last year , and they said one of my tubes was blocked which they sorted out. On my form they wrote I have severe endo but what that entails I was never told !

Everyone on here seems to have such great detail about theirs. I had prolonged periods that were heavy and that has improved since the lap , but I now have 24 hours pain and sickness during period, and now sometimes at ovulation . I've started to be sick with it too