endo! the agony

[devlt]

Hi I'm 38 years old. have been suffering with right lower pelvic pain for 4 years now, I went to see a consultant two years ago, anyway cut a long story short. 6 months ago, I had a laparoscopy and they found endo in my pouch of douglas and a fibroid on my womb. My pelvic parts were all swollen when they looked so they couldn't do anything. I was given zoladex injection straight away, I had this for four months and my life and me turned back to normal! Then I went back to my hosp back end of sept to be told no more injections and we'll try you on cerazette. Well started taking this pill, and a day later my period started and has continued for two weeks now, I'm bleeding heavily bright red clots. I'm in agony again. I've read mixed reviews about cerazette? Ive tried microgynon and bled all the way through.! what next! I want hysterectomy, as I have two children and don't want anymore, but they say I'm too young! Please help!!!

[Froggy34]

Hi. Sorry that you are suffering with the bleeding. I've always had the same problem with any mini pill (progesterone only). I just bleed continuously and it gets worse over time. I had a hysterectomy in January this year (at age 35) and honestly it hasn't made any difference with my pain but I kept my ovaries so that's probably why. There are many long term health risks with having your ovaries removed so you really need to weigh up the pros and cons for you.

[Hidden]

I have been on cerazette for nearly 3 months now (after 5 months on decapeptyl which is similar to zoladex) and I had 3 very heavy periods in the first 6 weeks. I started bleeding within a couple of days of starting to take it. Apparently this is normal - it thins out the lining of the uterus which in theory then reduces your bleeding later on. I am sadly experiencing increasing pain on the cerazette but have been told that this is also to be expected as my oestrogen levels are now coming back up as I have been off the decapeptyl for a while, which means that the endo is starting to flare again. It is still less pain than I had before I went on the decapeptyl however.

I am currently having to make a decision about whether or not to have a hyst + removal of ovaries. I am 39. My endo is very severe (I have multiple large lesions on the bowel, the ureter, the uterosacral ligament, I also have rectovaginal endo and adenomyosis). My understanding is that just having your uterus removed on its own will only help if you have adenomyosis. Having the ovaries removed to put you into menopause gives you a better chance of pain relief if all the endo tissue is excised at the same time but this is not something to be taken lightly - early menopause increases the chance of heart disease and osteoporosis and it's been shown that women who have this surgery die younger. The hyst is being recommended now because I have such extensive bowel disease, the concern being that if I just have an excision surgery, the scarring will stick my uterus back to my bowel and I then will not be able to have a hysterectomy if I need one in a couple of years without risking massive damage to the bowel. It really is a last resort surgery, especially if you've not had any attempts at more conservative management of the disease.

Can I ask if you're being seen at a bsge centre or just by general gynae?