Question on pain post surgery

[ShibaInu7]

Hi everyone,

I won’t go into too much detail into my history as I’ve posted about it on here before, however from that post I got some great advice and it’s been incredibly eye opening.

Cut a long story short I have been suffering with irregular periods and pain for years plus a bunch of other symptoms, doctors suspect endo but refuse to send me to get tested properly as they have me on BC (birth control) which they say only treats it anyway. However I’ve changed BC a few times now and keep having issues which is really frustrating. Currently on POP pill but pretty much bleeding constantly (not proper periods though, more so light brown spotting) however I’m not in much pain. Previously on mirena coil and had no periods with this but the pain was horrendous. Prior to that was on combined pill and periods/pain was unmanageable, which is when docs first mentioned endo and moving onto the coil to treat it.

Through this forum and Nancys Nook FB page, I have found an accredited endo specialist through the NHS and I’m gearing up to contact my GP to pretty much demand a referral to this centre. But I’m just trying to weigh up all my options and the pros/cons of everything. I’d mainly just love to find out if I have definitely got endo and that I’m not going crazy, but to also manage possible infertility/long term issues it might cause me and help with periods/pain without the need to rely on BC - or at least alleviate symptoms I have even with BC. However, even though I’m constantly bleeding on this current pill - I’m in nowhere near as much pain as I was on the coil or combined pill.

So my question is - has anyone on here been in a similar situation to this where your pain has been manageable due to BC, but you’ve then gone on to have surgery and been in more pain post surgery due to scarring from excision etc? ie was the surgery worth it?

I would hope that it would be, even if it were to alleviate other symptoms like bowel problems etc. But as I’m not in as much pain atm not sure whether it would be best to stick to the pill even though I’m bleeding most days, though this is really impacting my relationship and I’m not sure this is a long term solution..

Any advice welcome, TIA xx

[courtneyhatts]

Hi ShibaInu7,

I was on the implant before I got diagnosed with stage 3 endometriosis and I was having 2 periods a month, I would have a break for a few days then would come back on really heavy. I had my first laparoscopic surgery last year and all they could do was laser some of the scar tissue from the Pouch of Douglas, I still have my bowel stuck to my womb and my left ovary and fallopian tube is also stuck together, the surgeon did not touch any of this during the surgery and now waiting for my next appointment to see if I need another surgery which i think I will.

After my surgery I had a follow up appointment to which they advised me to go on the Mirena coil which I did as they said this will stop the bleeding and help with the pain. The coil did help with my bleeding, I haven't had a period since this was fitted- I do have the odd spotting but nothing bad. However, since my surgery because they only lasered off scar tissue in the Pouch of Douglas, I still am experiencing exactly the same pain.

I think you should push to see someone; they can only diagnose you through laparoscopic surgery. I don't believe that contraception treats endo as if you already have things stuck together like in my case my womb is stuck to my bowel, I don't understand how BC can fix this, but this is just my opinion others might have a different opinion on this.

Please push and push to see someone, took me 3 years of constant pestering and had numerous appointments and loads of different tests done and finally got my appointment for my surgery and I'm so glad I didn't give up, I think everyone is different, but please try and get somewhere with this as can be worse in future and cause more complications.

not sure if I have answered your question but do what you think is best for yourself and body, I'm glad I had the surgery and my recovery wasn't too bad, just the first few days were bad but after day 3/4 it got easier. Also, in terms of the scarring, I had 3 incisions, and you wouldn't even be able to notice any scars at all, they all healed quickly.

If you have any questions, please ask me x