Return of endo with menopause?

[Lou_R]

My endo symptoms reduced significantly after my hysterectomy, 9 years ago and I have gradually been able to manage pain and infections caused by endo/op scarring and lesions. However menopause kicked in about 8 months ago and I’m seeing a marked increase in abdo pain. Can menopause kick-start endo or should I be looking for another cause?

[Boodie]

Hi there, I havnt been through menopause but I was wondering about the infections you got from op scarring/ adhesions. I have pelvic inflammatory disease and have had numerous infections of which thete is no logical cause and I do have adhesions. Was hoping u could explain a bit more for my own info? Was the infection linked to scar tussue and how so? Thanx

[Lou_R in reply to Boodie]

Yes, I’ve had years of recurring water infections because of scarring inside my bladder. The scarring happened when my bladder was repaired during surgery; it changes the environment inside the bladder and makes it easy for infections to take hold. I have tried various solutions including long term low level antibiotics and a regular insertion of a bladder coating to stop infections taking hold, both great short to medium term but not long term. I now take antiseptic tablets, the same you take when catheterised, and that’s made a huge difference. Does that help?

[Boodie in reply to Lou_R]

Hi there thanx for your reply. My scarring is in my tubes . I don't know why I get the infections but I more often get them after stopping orothisterone and start bleeding. It's all a bit mysterious and my gyne and gp have never correlated the two together. x

[Lou_R]

Sorry I can’t be of more help. There are so many different outcomes, it’s often hard to find someone who’s going through something similar to you. Good luck and hope you find a solution.

[Starry]

This pub med article may be of interest it says "Endometriosis once established can persist in the presence of low circulating levels of estrogen as seen in the postmenopausal period. Local estradiol production by the endometriotic lesions drives the disease through autocrine and paracrine effects. If endometriosis does occur in the postmenopausal period, it is less common, is present in smaller volumes and is less active. Yet it has the same immunochemical profile as the disease occurring in premenopausal women and has the potential to reactivate when given the appropriate stimulation"

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

Are you taking any medicine or herbal remedies for menopausal symptoms relief?

[Lou_R in reply to Starry]

Thank you, the article is really interesting. Haven’t looked at taking anything for menopause symptoms (but know HRT is off the table) as these symptoms are mild and relatively new. Is there anything you’d recommend?

[girli1111 in reply to Lou_R]

Why do you say HRT is off the table? I had bilateral salpingo oophrectomy, and bgse surgeon referred me to menopause clinic for menopause advice. Long story short, I am on hrt, despite having a history of DVT, which can be a contraindication. I feel confident tga5 I’ve received good advice

[Lou_R in reply to girli1111]

To be honest, I had just presumed it was. Thanks for the info, I’ll raise with my GP.

[Fabbird]

Hi, I’m in a similar position to you. My endo was well controlled by the Mirena until I started to menopause. I had a very nasty flare up last year and now it’s just very unpredictable.

From what I’ve read this is fairly normal. During menopause our progesterone decreases before our oestrogen, so there’s a tricky patch when symptoms worsen. I asked my gynae about how to manage this and he said there’s been no research. I suggested topping up my progesterone but he was reluctant because there’s no evidence on this. I think it’s a big gap in knowledge.

I comfort myself with the idea its time limited, although of course there’s no guarantee.

[Lou_R in reply to Fabbird]

Thank you for your help. Fingers crossed this is short-lived for both of us.