I'm sure that this has been asked many times but I have severe endo which was cleared as much as poss with a lap last November. To prevent it coming back my surgeon suggested either going on the mini pill or the combined pill and not having a break. Anyone have any advice on which is best, if any?
Thank you!
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Gem840116
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Hey lovely I’ve tried many pills over the years and for me the mini pill was awful I bled constantly and my pain was worse. A few combined pills affected my moods and gave me migraines but the combined pill Yasmin really helped reduce my symptoms, after I came off it I really noticed my symptoms worsened massively. This is the only pill which has helped me manage my pain (FYI I’m still waiting for an official diagnosis I have suspected endo) xx
I will look into this thank you. My friend had the same with the mini pill with bleeding a lot which is why I was also unsure about it! I don't have any symptoms at the moment as I had my operation and then got pregnant, going I can get it before they come back again 🤞🤞 thanks for your response x
So the pill doesn't stop the endo coming back. As endo can produce its own hormones. Hormonal contraceptives can help with minimising the symptoms. As to which will work better for you honestly is a guessing game, there isn't a formula to know which pill you will get on the best with. It's mostly trial and error to find one that you get on with and helps your symptoms and doesn't give you suffer effects/ or the side effects are minimal.
Hi yes sorry I worded this wrong haha. I'd like to minimize the symptoms as much as possible. Thanks for your response I shall see which one to start with, hopefully don't have to go through too many! X
Hi, I’m on femodette a combined pill but it’s a low dosage one as I didn’t want to be on one in the first place, but I had to go on it to reduce my symptoms because 6 months after my lap it came back. I’m happy with it I do think because it’s such a low dose!! x
Not at all, I used to spot a lot before taking the pill but now it’s stopped! The only negative thing I found being on this pill is my sex drive is lower than before but that’s all x
I'm on Eloine, which is the same as Yasmin (but a slightly lower dose of estrogen I believe). Studies have shown it to shrink the size of endometriomas (which is why I requested it), and it's done that for me (2.4 down to 1.7 cm over 6 months) so it has a good supressive effect on the inflammation associated with endo. I don't get any side effects, but then I've always been ok with any combined pill I take. I take it back to back, and only have a (4 day) break if the spotting gets too bad. I've been on it a year now; at first I was needing to take breaks every 2-3 months, but it's now been 4 months since my last break and no spotting yet!
It doesn’t definitely stop it coming back but it lowers the risk of recurrence, especially if you don’t have any breaks (as every time you have a period/withdrawal bleed, it can start the build up again). Although I think this is most effective if you’ve had everything removed during surgery first. I was dubious of this being true but I had excision surgery with a specialist last year and he confirmed this. Either way, going on the pill is the best way to minimise your symptoms, whilst being aware that it may still be getting worse without you knowing because your symptoms are being masked. I had deep endometriosis which had been growing for years and I didn’t have a clue until I came off the pill (I was on Dianette but now on Yasmin). xxx
Just wanted to pipe in & say whatever you try, if you go for a combined pill double check with your GP if there's any medical reason why you would actually need to take a break between pills - look into the original, historical reason sugar pills (breaks) were put into pill packs; you might be surprised.
Hi Gem, I was the same and had my surgery last March. I was put on the mini pill for just over 6 months but I found it caused me to bleed alot. Most months I would have two full week periods and I ended up anaemic and run down. Although I didn't have any other side effects. I also found that the pain I normally had around the time of period was a lot better. I got the Mirena coil inserted back in November and so far its fine although I do get an odd pain with it and my periods are now back to once a month.
I was on femodette (combined) and trying to take it back to back, but had a lot of breakthrough bleeding and pain even after 6 months. My consultant then said desogestrel (mini) is better for endo because it has no oestrogen and it "switches off" the ovaries. I've been on that for another 6 months, at first I was getting two periods per month so then it was upped to 2 pills per day. Now I get no bleeding and very little pain which is fab. However it has given me more spots and maybe lower moods?
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