Bloating, pain, dietary changes?

[belle555]

I’m 24 and had a preliminary diagnosis with endo last summer. I was isolating with my parents and sister and suffering the usual severe pain, and my mum suggested that the pain I was experiencing wasn’t normal. I went to my GP, who asked about my family history. Turns out that while my mum has never had any issues, aunts on both sides of my family and one of my grandmothers have been diagnosed. My great-aunt was unable to have children as a result.

I’ve been seeing a gynae, and I’m currently on the Cerelle pill (not allowed to take the combined pill) and she’s said my periods will stop but that hasn’t happened (it’s been 3+ months). I’m booked to see her again, but I’m still getting pain and spend two weeks each month really bloated and feeling awful. Is this something anyone else finds? Has anything helped you?

My mum wants me to go gluten and dairy free (etc) but my gynae suggested that this wouldn’t help anything?

I think the next step my gynae will suggest is the laparoscopic surgery. I had an ultrasound before and the technician suggested that everything looked fine. I don’t know whether to go ahead with the surgery, has anyone had experience of that?

[Hidden]

Hi,I have endometriosis too.

Laparoscopy...

I had a diagnostic laparoscopy, and it was useful to diagnose the stage. I'll have a follow up MRI scan and plan with possible surgery to treat the endometriosis. The reason I decided to have the lap was that I had/have a lot of pain from the endo. So, for me it was useful to put me on a path to hopefully treat the endo surgically.

Bloating....

I too have had bloating, particularly at the same time as my period. When I had a "wash-out" with the lap, the bloating went down. I suspect it was prompted by the endo. I have my suspicion that endo may cause inflammation that may bring about bloating and aching intestines.

I asked my GP about bloating & sore digestive system. He suggested probiotics, and peppermint capsules with an enteric coating.

Also, I got a referral to a dietician. I watched the video from the NHS diet site, and a clue was to avoid resistant starches. Resistant starches are in things like reheated pasta & potatoes, part-baked bread, part-baked frozen pizzas. Apparently, they are tough to digest and can prompt sensations of soreness in the digestive system.

I had been avoiding gluten, which did help reduce the bloating (that included the resistant starches), but after I learned about the resistant starches, I decided to avoid them and not exclude all gluten. So far, so good! No more part-baked bread for me, and I think the bloating is gone / much, much less. However, I'll have to wait & see if it comes back next period due to endo.

About the pill...

On the Endometriosis UK site, it says some GPs suggest a double dose of the pill (i.e. 2 a day) to try to suppress periods. It takes 3 to 4 months for the body to get used to the hormones and settle into a pattern with them.

Hope that helps a bit. It's just from my experience, so do what works best for you. 🌿🌼🌿

[belle555 in reply to Hidden]

Thank you so much, that’s really helpful. I’ll give cutting out the resistant starches a go and see how I get on! It feels a little overwhelming to try cutting it all out but that would be a great place to start! I’ll speak to my gynae about the laparoscopy and wash out. Sounds like it could help to work out how best to tackle it moving forward, as at the moment it does feel a bit like going in blind!