Never had surgery

[LISaprag]

Has anyone never had a laparoscopy and managed the pain by just the pill or any other way

[Princesspeach84]

Hi I haven't had surgery either but I think I will be needing it soon I take depo injections and I'm going to be taking prostap soon and I'm very nervous.

[LISaprag in reply to Princesspeach84]

How long u had endo for why u got to have surgery

[Princesspeach84 in reply to LISaprag]

I was first diagnosed a few years ago because my endo came out on my episiotomy scar, this is extremely rare as I've never heard of anyone else having it here. A blue/black lump came out after every period. I had this biopsied (awake for this) it was endo. I took depo provera to keep at bay but now it's back with a vengeance!!

[LISaprag in reply to Princesspeach84]

What symptoms do u get

[Princesspeach84 in reply to LISaprag]

Uterus pain, pain in ovaries, lower back pain, pain emptying bowels, IBS type symptoms, pain running down legs. How about you, what are your symptoms?

[LISaprag in reply to Princesspeach84]

Pain on just right side and uterus pain and bloating it’s worst at night my doc thinks it could be ovulation pain that’s realised follicle cyst and they can burst and cause blood fluid that causes lower pain as when I had a scan 5 months ago it showed a folliacle cyst as I thought it was my appendix as pain was so bad as I don’t get this every month this pain they don’t think it’s endo but I’m not too sure just comfused

[LISaprag in reply to LISaprag]

My pain also feels little better after empty my bowls

[Princesspeach84 in reply to LISaprag]

I haven't had a period in years because of depo but when I did it was only for few days and was brown in colour! I used to have weekly period pains and pains when ovulating! I don't know much about the cyst your experiencing but endo is a bitch, I hope it's not endo you have but good luck in getting sorted xx

[luthien]

I've had a laparoscopy so cannot comment.

However endometriosis does keep growing, it doesn't shrink or go away. Hormones can keep it dormant or grow slower, but inevitably symptoms will increase. Hormones will not stop the pain, they may reduce the symptoms by controlling your cycles for a time. But you may still experience the same periods pains during your breakthrough bleed days (pill free days).

There's mixed views on surgery / not. Coming from someone whom left it 15 years before even looking at what was wrong, being on the pill and then having the pill not have any effect, coming off it, being faced with all the symptoms in one go, it was awful. Then realising post lap that I had severe endometriosis, all over my bladder, uterus, and bowel sticking it all together, requiring two laps to remove it all and unstick it all. Also being told that if left it can perforate organs resulting in more severe symptoms, have drastic effects on the digestive system, reproductive system and urinary system which could become severe in their own right. I'm glad I had it all operated on when I did.

My advice is if you haven't had it already, at least have the diagnostic laparoscopy to see how much endo you have / where it is and what it's doing, then decide what's best for you. Yes an operation is a huge thing, and if you're not ready for it / don't want it that's fine but endometriosis is progressive so it will just keep growing; you may need to consider you'll need the endo removed at some point.

Endo requires oestrogen to grow, which we all have even males. If patches of endo are large enough they create their own oestrogen then there isn't much that will stop it growing as pills won't have much of an effect.

The main thing is if something hurts / doesn't feel right, something isn't right and it may be a good idea to know what it is first. It could not be endo, you can have cysts, or fibroids too, and the course of treatment is different depending on what / where these things are.

Some women have shown that changing diet can have an effect; reducing anti-inflammatory products such as wheat, dairy, soya, red meat - some women remove them from their diet altogether. I have found reducing these these help me a lot during my endo flareup days. I know acupuncture, aromatherapy and reflexology plus wellness are supposed to help so I'm looking into these for those days too.

Sorry I know it's long and honest!

[LISaprag in reply to luthien]

Did u have all endo removed

[LISaprag in reply to LISaprag]

Some months I’m fine is that how endo works I thought it was that bad it be eveymonth I get pain 2 weeks before period due then settles down when I’m on period I don’t know if that sounds like endo or not Docs done ultrasound and was clear unless it was wrong

[luthien in reply to LISaprag]

Yes I did, took two laps.

Thing is with endo is it will always regrow, but it may not regrow at the same rate, or in the same places or have the same symptoms.

if it helps you can read my experience:

"All this effort does pay off - my story - hope it helps !"

You can search for it via my profile or on here. Just helps to have a little insight.

Endo - if it is that like fibroids, or cysts are always there, always growing, however endo needs oestrogen and that's at it's highest - low progesterone, during our periods so symptoms can be around periods. All women have slightly different symptoms, but usually something that's cyclical is endo.

Ultrasounds do not show endo unless it's old / scar tissue. The formal diagnosis for endo is a laparoscopy as the extent of it actually needs to be seen and identified visually, they'll take biopsies to confirm, and often biopsies of anything else they think looks odd. The laparoscopy should be done with an endo specialist gynae as a general one won't always check everything / know what to look for.

[Doggiedogmom1973]

hi LISaprag,

leaving the endo for a few years down the track can leave a big monster for you to sort!

a good read is: 'the doctor will see you now', Author: Tamer Seckin, MD. he's one of the best endo doctors in the world. He explains how not removing the endo can leave it to grow. check out his website too: tamerseckin. All the best princess....xoxooox