Newly diagnosed - still sinking in?

[KPoppins90]

Hi everyone,

I'm new here and just looking for a bit of advice. I had a laparoscopy on Monday and was diagnosed (and treated for) endometriosis on my ovaries and uterus. Now I've had a week for the initial trauma of surgery to wear off (I'm a total baby and cried the whole time!!), I'm struggling a bit with the diagnosis itself sinking in.

Prior to the operation I hadn't even really considered endometriosis as I thought I was being 'over the top' about the pain I've been in and was utterly convinced the procedure was going to be a waste of time and they wouldn't find anything.

I'm lucky enough that I've only been diagnosed at stage 2, but I'm still finding myself getting quite emotional about accepting this lifelong condition, and I'm particularly anxious about what it might mean for my chances of conceiving naturally. I'm 31 next month and currently not in a relationship, but having children is a huge priority for me in the future. I know that there are many different ways to conceive and different ways of having a family, but I've always wanted to carry my own child and I keep getting quite upset thinking about the difficulty that I might have when I do (hopefully!!) meet a partner in the future, especially considering I'm likely to be that little bit older too.

I wondered if anyone knows of any advice/ studies/ support groups for older moms with endo falling naturally?

I'm also quite keen to adopt a bit of a healthier lifestyle to help too - are endo-specific diets a myth or is it just a case of more fruits and veggies and exercise to improve overall health? I'd be really keen to know if anyone has had any success with diets to help with inflammation etc.

Still feeling a bit sensitive and weepy a week on from the surgery, but I think that might just be me, haha!

Massive thanks in advance for any support/advice offered - I'm incredibly grateful to have found this community.

[GoldenGirl2002]

Hi KPoppins90, firstly I’m sorry that you’re going through this and I hope that your recovery is going well. Being diagnosed with endometriosis is a big event to anyone and it can be difficult to get your head round the impacts and implications of being diagnosed. Whilst it’s not what anyone wants to hear, a diagnosis means that you know what you’re dealing with and can plan for your future with this in mind. Fertility wise there are options, firstly many women who have been told that they may struggle manage to conceive naturally with no additional help and you could be as lucky! If not, speak to your gp or gynecologist about the possibility of ivf/egg freezing etc. importantly, there will be ways to help you just need to explore them. Diet wise everyone is different but do some research on anti inflammatory diets such as the low fodmap diet, the best thing to do is to keep a diary of what you’ve eaten or done in a day and then the symptoms you’ve experienced to identify potential triggers or things that have agreed with you. Good luck but remember this community is here for you and feel free to send me a private message if you have any questions or need a bit of support xx

[KPoppins90 in reply to GoldenGirl2002]

Thank you! After reading your comment I spent a lot of time last night looking into anti inflammatory diets and organic eating so I'm definitely going to pursue that Cheers for the advice!

[dodgeviperdiva]

hi sweetie how's u doing today? I'm sorry to hear that ur suffering 🙁 please don't get upset. i was diagnosed with endometriosis in 05 but have been in pain for the last 24yrs 🥺 I understand that having a family is a big priority for you, I never wanted kid's tbh until I was told I would never be able to have children (suddenly my opinion changed) 😭 i didn't see the point of being on the pill anymore and came off it, a month later I fell pregnant. I've 3 beautiful naturally conceived children so there is hope for you 😊 endometriosis is a horrible condition and it's a long n hard journey if you want to chat plz pm me, it would be nice to talk to someone else in the same boat xxxxx

[KPoppins90 in reply to dodgeviperdiva]

Thank you so much for the lovely comment - and it gives me so much hope to hear about your beautiful family! I will definitely drop you a message if that's okay x

[EmB18]

Hi, It is a shock when you first get an endo diagnosis and such a mix of emotions. If it helps, I found diet made a big difference to my symptoms. I found an anti-inflammatory diet helped, so for me taking out gluten, sugar, processed foods and caffeine helped along with having more anti-inflammatory fruits and vegetables. Take care.

[635703]

Aww hug 🫂 I am so sorry you’re feeling very overwhelmed lovely. This is ok to be weepy after your lap and diagnosis, it is only natural.

This Endo life on Instagram is good as there are videos on her reels of positive stories of real life women getting their life back. 😃😃😃

She does recommend a whole bunch of resources like books, and cookbooks and supplements on her website and she is approved by Endometriosis UK. But decide if you can face this right now as you know yourself better than anyone.

A lot of being well in my mind (only my personal opinion) is taking out toxic chemicals from your life.

So beauty products, haircare, makeup, cleaning products, washing liquid and fabric softener, washing up liquid. Swapping foil for parchment paper in oven cooking. Using better pans and utensils (these last two I haven’t go to doing yet).

As they have hormone disrupters, or bad chemicals which is considered to potentially affect Endo growth - unsure if there are scientific papers to back this. But personally reducing my toxic load has made me feel so much better! So when we say lifestyle change we mean this too. But this is just an option and the nutrition and lifestyle will benefit your symptoms.

Please know everyone is different from their lap recovery and being weepy is normal. You can go on endometriosis uk and find the opening times of the helpline and give them a call for some information and support.

I am sending you so much love as you recover 💐🌸🌼🌻🌷and just binge watching shows, or crafting, or reading and not thinking about anything some days will help. When you recover from the lap, your strength will come back. It took me at least 3 weeks.

DM me if you want to ask questions. I’m not a professional medical person. But had my diagnosis in 2006 and about to have my second lap and have no children by choice. 2006-2018 were pain free, symptom free happy years 😃😃💐💐🌻🌷💐🌸✨

[KPoppins90 in reply to 635703]

Thank you so much for the lovely message and reassurance. I've been reading a bit about chemicals that are believed to interfere with hormones and this is definitely something I think I'm going to look into more. I'm trying to see where I can go organic in my diet and I'm definitely going to cut out alcohol and my worst sin of all, DIET COKE! I feel a bit under pressure with work to be back up to standard as it wasn't seen as a 'big' procedure but I'm still so knackered, so it's reassuring to know that this quite normal and I'm not just being lazy ...! Thanks again for the lovely message

[635703 in reply to KPoppins90]

Regarding work. If you mention chronic pain and mental health. I would expect maybe not your Manager but certainly HR to know that they are linked. Usually anxiety and depression.

Which I have had recently and am taking a new antidepressant called citalopram and it’s helped me loads. It just puts the Serratonin back (I think).

So, don’t let them pressure you to go back before you are ready. Your sickness absence policy is there for people who swing the lead. A longer absence is more understandable than several random days. So do consider having longer off if you need to. If you trigger the policy, it’s hard to stay calm and not get stressed.

I have been here and it’s no fun. But as I work in HR, they have discretion. Currently I don’t have a job as am too ill - arrrrgggh!!

Get £74.30 per week 😭scandalous!!!