Non-medicinal pain management for endometriosis in pouch of Douglas

[jodiefoster1977]

Hi Everyone,

I had a diagnostic laparoscopy last week and they diagnosed endo in the pouch of douglas and rectum. The general gynaecologist consultant didn’t remove the endo because it was too close to the bowel and said I need to be referred to the endometriosis specialist in the department. Apparently his waiting list is so long it could be months before I speak to him to even hear what options I have. Then god knows how long it will be before anything gets done 🙈 I’m taking tablets for the pain at the moment but I don’t want to depend on them entirely, so I was wondering if anyone had any non-medicinal pain management techniques other than hot water bottles?

Thank you in advance ☺️

[Jane884]

Hi there, I'm in a similar situation myself, but my endo is in different places. I've been looking into this as well as I'm currently taking strong codeine most days and then just paracetamol as I can't take any anti-inflammatory tablets I've tried.

I've heard many have good results with tens machines, but then that's not helpful when you need to be up and about. I'm looking into serrapeptase, I'm reading mixed opinions, but it's an enzyme, so it's "natural" and you can get it at Holland and Barrett, it's an anti-inflammatory and has analgesic properties. I've also read that physiotherapy or pelvic pain exercises help. I have tried some at home a few times and it always flared me up for the rest of the day, but I could have been doing it wrong 🤦🏼‍♀️ I also hear acupuncture can be effective for pain management x

[jodiefoster1977 in reply to Jane884]

Sorry to hear you’re going through something similar! Thank you for sharing these options! Definitely worth a read up! X

[Minnie153]

Hiya,

Sorry to hear you’re suffering with this, this is one of the areas that I had endo and it’s certainly painful and problematic. If I was you I’d ask for a course of Prostap injections with add back HRT. This management will put you in a temporary menopause the HRT will alleviate the symptoms from this, this will help to prevent it getting wires and help with pain. Waiting lists are long I waited 20 months for my hysterectomy, and it was only rushed due to my low iron levels. My hysterectomy was done for bleeding reasons and adenomyosis rather than just Endo.

Hope this helps - good luck x

[cmcfarlane]

I found that watching what I eat helps. Reducing my gluten intake helped massively with my symptoms. I'm now also on the progesterone only pill which is amazing ( no periods and almost no pain ).

[Dee_EndoUK Moderator Endometriosis UK]

Hi jodiefoster1977

If you're looking for non-medicinal pain relief then it's worth taking a look on our website as there are loads of suggestions you may not have considered. Visit endometriosis-uk.org/pain-r....

Hope you find it useful! x

[EmB18]

I have endo in the pouch of douglas too and didn't get on with hormone treatments. I found making changes to my diet made a big difference to my pain. Taking out wheat, sugar, alcohol and caffeine really helped, along with adding in lots of anti-inflammatory foods.