First period after endo lap- help?

[alpacamadness]

I am awaiting my first period since my endo lap 2 weeks ago. I haven't even started but the menstrual cramp pain is staggering. I am alternating Motrin 800 mg (every 6 hrs) with Acetaminophen 1000mg (every 6 hrs) and supplementing with 20 mg CBd capsules. I feel like this will never end and cant handle the pain. Is this normal? What else can I do? I am going crazy here 😢 thank you

[Kirst625]

Poor lovely, its sounding very rough. In a similar boat, had excision 3 weeks ago today and ovulation few weeks ago was awful and I am tell my body is gearing up to give me a hard time for my period starting. I've read elsewhere that the first few periods after having endo treated can be pretty rough so wanted to assure you it seems normal unfortunately. But obviously if it gets unmanageable then do seek medical advice. Fingers crossed for the both of us we get through ok! 🤞x

[alpacamadness in reply to Kirst625]

Thank you! Good luck to you too. We will get through this. If you haven't done the CBD, it's worth a try!

[Kirst625 in reply to alpacamadness]

Been looking in to it and am up for giving it a go as many say how helpful it is. Cheers lovely, hang on in there x

[luthien]

Hey, ah sorry, don't have any good news

The first few periods after your lap will be a bit rough and probably feel worse than usual - this is your body healing so it'll get better each month. If you've had endo removed, our body can't tell the difference between removed endo pain and endo pain so we think it's all the same which makes us feel like nothings changed.

Changes to your cycle can happen too depending on where you were in your cycle when you had your lap; the extra stress on the uterus during the op and recovery makes it go a bit crazy. If you had your lap before your ovulation then your period could be early, if you had your lap around or after ovulation your period could be later or you could miss that month - you may get all the symptoms though which is a bit rubbish.

Keep a note of your pain, where it is and what your taking for it so each month you can compare to the last; then after about four to five months you'll start to get a "normal". If you've had endo removed that may be your normal from about five months onwards; most docs suggest you should be realistically looking for about a 50% improvement on your symptoms before, so as long as you can manage it better ie predict and take painkillers etc then it should be fine.

I took about 4 months to recover from both my laps, and now feel a lot better; my endo is just around my period so I take ibuprofen during that week (predosing of NSAIDs are a good idea), and paracetamol plus codeine to top up during my period. I'm looking into alternatives such as acupuncture and aromatherapy. I find exercise such as yoga helps but of course when recovered - about a month after op.

You should have a check up with your specialist at about 4 months to see how things are going and next steps - if you haven't see if you can book one in as it's really helpful.

xx

[alpacamadness in reply to luthien]

Thank you so much. My post op is 2 weeks from now but feels so far away. I had no idea the removal of endo could alter the timing of your cycle-- that really helps to know. When you say 4 mos, you mean pain during your period, not outside of that time frame, right? I only ever had pain during my period. I just cant imagine months more of this consistent pain. 😭

[luthien in reply to alpacamadness]

yeah my specialist mentioned it as a fyi, it's good to know and makes sense as the poor uterus is being pushed around; it doesn't like that sort of rough treatment so it kinda goes into shock for a bit, it's why you can get spotting after a lap when nothing inside your uterus was changed.

Four months is just an idea of the time it takes to heal; you shouldn't get any more pain / symptoms than what you had before the lap, it should start to improve. It's just what specialists use to say after that point whatever you feel may stay that way, that's why follow ups are often at 4 to 5 months (usually only private specialists do that).

Your 2 week check up is to find out how you're doing recovery wise, any issues, any changes to your normal medication needed, what to expect, if you need your sick note extended. They'll go through what you've had done and what they expect your pain to be like - sometimes they won't tell you but it's a good idea to ask "from your experience of women whom have been in my situation with similar symptoms how much have you seen their symptoms improve by?" It's not saying yours will be better or worse but it gives you an idea of how the treatment your surgeon has done has changed women symptoms. Usually they say about 50% improvement. So in your case you would be looking at improved symptoms during your period with no new ones for the rest of your cycle. Be realistic - you may still need pain meds but if it's more manageable and you feel more you then that's better! Note down any questions you may have too.

xx