Hello :)

[JodieKempson]

Hi Guys.

I am new to this forum. Wish i had access to something like this when i was going through diagnosis. Heres a little about my journey so far.....

I am 24 years old and have suffered from my first period at the age of 13. I was constantly told i had IBS and to stop being over dramatic. My mum had had enough and finally paid for me to go see a private gyno at the age of 17 and i was diagnosed by the time i was 18. Over this time i became addicted to pain relief and was taking codiene like they were sweets, alarms set every 4 hours day and night just to get through a day at school or college.

Last year i decided to try the depo injection and this really helped me with the pain side of things but has resulted in me putting on weight which has effected my confidence and self esteem. Me and my partner have been talking about trying for chidren and therefore went to the doctors to discuss this, he said due to me being on the depo for a long time i would need to come of it to allow my body to start ovulating again and hopeully become fertile. I know this is a long shot due to the severity of my endo but i will give it a shot.

However i am now struggling once again to just get through the night without have to dope up on pain relief! I have a full time job and am having to keep topped up just to get through the day, to be honest i think i forgot how bad the pain was with having a break from it. Any one got any advice or tips n wasy to manage the pain other than pills?

Cant wait to hear from some of you and hope i can provide support or advice in return.

Jodie

[tmc182]

Sorry you're struggling. It may be worth asking for a referral to gynae, they may be able to do a lap and excise some/all of the endo to help with pain and also to give you the best chance of conceiving.

Have you tried hot water bottles or heat pads or a tens machine, these may help you a little and avoid the need for so many pain killers.

I have heard of some people trying the endo diet, and others using complimentary therapies such as acupuncture I have never done either so can't comment on how successful they are but maybe something to investigate.

Good luck.

[JodieKempson in reply to tmc182]

Oh thankyou. I have over the years had three lapo procedures and they help for a month or so buto then back to pain again so I have given up on them as it's not worth the week off work and balloon tummy ha!

I have never heard of the endo diet so I might research this and give it a go!

Thankyou for your reply.

Jodie

[Hidden]

Try seeing if you can have something non opiate based instead of codine and tramadol, my doctor switched me and put me on naproxen and nefopam. Naproxen is a brilliant anti inflammatory and worked well for me. I too came off the depo and had a laparoscopy to remove a chocolate cyst before both my pregnancies and conceived quickly after and we had tried for years so I'm adamant that the clean out from the laparoscopys are what helped me but I know this isn't the case for everyone. Swimming helped me with pain in my beginning stages of endo and I learned to find things that aggravated it like caffeine and alcohol my symptoms were always much worse after having them. Simple things like this can make a huge difference. x