Endo worsening and mood swings

[Devils_Advocate]

I was wondering if anyone had found this is the case? My endo is getting a lot worse so I now spend about 2/3 weeks with dreadful pelvic pain. And my mood is horrendous. I think it is made worse as I have pain in my leg due to nerve damage in my back and I have PCOS (so can be 'hormonal').

I am not having a good time either. My dad recently died from cancer and two close relatives have terminal cancer- one who has just found out she is no longer in remission.

I am a Head of department and have a fairly stressful job and a very lazy CEO, meaning I essentially do a lot of his job. I am also balancing this with homeschooling which hasn't been ideal.

That being said I am usually fine with everything. But I find my mood unbearable, I am angry and virtually hate my life (I have a lot to be grateful for). I find myself wanting to take my painkillers as it makes me a nicer person (I don't do this).

[Moon_maiden]

So sorry to hear about your loss, must make it all harder.

Have you spoken to your GP about the pill? I took it briefly before lap and it helped emotions, didn’t do anything for my pain. Zoladex seems to help emotions as well looking back, it’s about the only thing though.

If you can control the pain it will help, worth looking at options with GP as well.

Try to get some you time as well, not easy though 🙂

Have you had a lap or waiting?

[Devils_Advocate in reply to Moon_maiden]

Thanks. I used to take the pill but is has been a few years. I have been thinking about trying it again to stabilise my mood. It didnt help with the pain for me either.

I had back surgery about a year ago. Before that I've had a few laps including a bowel resection. One almost cost me my life due to internal bleeding, so I am keen to avoid surgery.

[Moon_maiden in reply to Devils_Advocate]

You’ve certainly been through it, back op can’t be easy either. I’m pretty new to the endo diagnosis, unexpected though, technically should have got past that.

If you’re up to writing about it would you let me know how the bowel resection went? It’s possible that may happen.

[Devils_Advocate in reply to Moon_maiden]

My back op was a breeze in comparison to my endo surgeries to be honest. Yes I will message you

[Bespp]

Hi,

So sorry to hear about your loss. I was in a very similar situation a couple of years ago and with a very demanding job.

1st of all sending a virtual hug because you need it more than anything else.

If I may reccomend sth along with any tablets that you may decide taking to go and speak to a therapist because it will help a lot in the long term with your mood..for me it was a lot of grief which I had to deal with and was impacting my health as well.

My therapist at a time reccomended to take st jones wort tablets which helped relaxed a bit

Hope this helps

[Devils_Advocate in reply to Bespp]

Thanks for you reply

I will look in to that. I can speak to someone through work (as given what I do, I have cover for this).

Yes I have lymphocytic colitis and IBS too so stress really affects me. It also reduces my pain tolerance I find.

[Afrohair]

Sorry about your troubles I wouldn’t advise the pill to treat this you would have to look at therapy to suit your mood and see if you can get medication that way though there not always great they never helped me but are helpful for others my mum always told me to take Saint johns wort for this kind of thing which is a vitamin which is supposed to help with stress.did you not have the option of furlough.?ive been furloughed for weeks now and if you come out of it you have a choice to go back in as it’s paid 80% by the government it sounds like if you have the option it may benefit you. I’ve now found out I’m pregnant so I will remain in furlough not to stress me.also I’m doing the homeschooling and I’m finding it difficult my son only has one year left and i find I can’t really help him they should just make them do the year again after all this time off I’m fed up with it now so you know your not alone.have you tried any diet changes to manage your endo?diet changes changed my life before pregnancy I became pain free .hope you feel better soon xx

[Devils_Advocate in reply to Afrohair]

Hi, yes I will look into it thanks.

No I am still really busy as part of my role is managing an advice service.

Yes I eat really well - vegan, no fried food, no processed food etc. I have IBS, lymphocytic colitis and have had a resection so literally need to otherwise I get really ill.

God I know, it is hard at the moment with them. My eldest is back at school today. So me and the little on are getting peace haha

Thanks again

[Harriet_health]

I’m sorry for you loss and what you’re going through right now.

I have experienced very low moods since I was diagnosed with endo, they usually last for a couple of months a year. My husband encourages me to have a “therapy top up” which I hate hearing but it’s always turns out to be the best thing for me. No one else can understand what it’s like for us warriors, the daily pain, the psychological aspects of pain and all the symptoms of endo. Plus the expectations to keep going and be strong. The irony of course is that all the stress makes the pain worse (I’m sure there’s been a study on this) so it’s a horrible cycle.

Recently I’ve tried to calm my mood and pain by changing my working hours, by spending time outdoors more, by trying to meditate (headspace app have a good course on pain management and meditation), by reading books.

I really hope you find what works for you, wishing you all the best xx

[Devils_Advocate in reply to Harriet_health]

Thanks for your reply.

Yes I think I always thought I would be pain free at some point given my surgeries. Slowly accepting it won't happen.

Yes I have a dog, so hoping to take him out etc. Also, started trying to ride with my little one.

[Anastasia17]

Sorry to hear about your loss. Death affects us much more and possibly at levels that we don't understand, than we want to acknowledge it. I have found that breathing /meditation online to relax helped me a lot (free). I was advised about an app called 'Breathwork' that helps with trauma, etc. At home, online gentle yoga/pilates for endo /IBS also helps. Gentle lady physio for the pelvic area. Walking in nature. Stopping, sitting down in the garden with a coffee /tea helps. Also, very important, snack every 2 hours to keep your blood sugar level, it helps. All these will reduce stress and IBS. Magnesium glycenate to reduce stress and is gentler on the tummy. Warm bath with magnesium salts 🛀😊. I feel for you, it's not fun. Sending you lots of warm hugs. Take good care of yourself 😘

[Devils_Advocate in reply to Anastasia17]

Thanks for your reply, I appreciate it

[Anastasia17]

I meant to say :decaff coffee /tea ☕🍵🙄

[Thecraftyadder]

I'm sorry to hear all the things you are coping with. To add to the suggestion of st. Johns wort, a friend of mine with adeno who has really bad anxiety issues found 5htp helpful which is a natural remedy and might be worth investigating. Personally I've often suffered black depression prior to my periods. I've found the pill and the coil had a bad effect on my mood so we're abandoned. My saviour is taking high dose vitamin b6 50mg . It would be a straight forward thing to try. That and Pilates (which helps my leg/back issues and IBS) help me cope. I hope some of those suggestions will help you a bit with balancing all the things you are dealing with

[Devils_Advocate]

I will give it go, thanks. I think I need to do some more gentle exercise. I am currently circuit training which is causing massive problems with my leg/back. I do take vitamins but need to remember to do it regularly A few ppeople have suggested St John's Wort x