Return of endometriosis during menopause?

[MandieG]

Hello,

I had a laparoscopy back in 2014 for endometriosis after suffering symptoms for most of my adult life. I am now 52 and going throught the menopause. I am on oestrogen patches and take Utrogestan tablets for half of the month as I still have my womb and ovaries. The symptoms of pelvic/abdominal pain, back pain and fatigue have been gradually getting worse, not better as you would assume - it is especially worse when I am taking the progesterone part of the HRT. The bleed is heavy, clotty and painful, the pelvic pain is worse, I have searing lower back pain which goes into my hips and legs, I feel nauseous and the fatigue wipes me out. I am also having headaches, dizziness, blurred vision, nausea and ongoing bladder issues.

I am struggling to know what is menopause symtoms or not - especially as I am on HRT - or wether it could be a return of the endometriosis? Whenever I have spoken to the GP or a gynaecologist over the last few years it has always been around menopausal symptoms, but I am not so sure now.

I just wondered if anyone has experienced similar issues? I do have a telephone call with the GP on Monday as this particular episode has been awful and I am off of work.

[Lindle]

I was only diagnosed with severe endo after a hysterectomy and both ovaries removed. My pelvis was visibly pristine and all reproductive organs free of disease at the time of operation. I was put on oestrogen HRT and within 7 years had severe advanced aggressive endo due to the HRT. You should be on continuous combined HRT and not just for half the month so effectively you are on unopposed oestrogen-only for half the time which is what drives endo and is associated with recurrence. For those with a history of endo it's not just about protecting the womb. The endo is effectively like womb lining so it addresses that also.

The symptoms of headaches, dizziness, blurred vision, nausea could be associated with the oestradiol. My life was completely dominated by these symptoms on oestrogen HRT, along with severe head pain, memory loss, confusion and utterly total fatigue. I was essentially non-functional. If you join a group called Endorevisited there are lots with ongoing endo with or after menopause who can share.

[Anastasia17]

Hi MandieG. My story is similar to you. I have kept repeating that I still have a cycle of pain following the lady laparoscopy 2 years ago, I am under a menopause specialist, but I never felt really supported, I always seem to be ahead of her. When I first started the HRT, I had bleeding every 2 weeks, I suggested that maybe I should go on continuous Utrogestan but I was told to wait to be seen by the menopause specialist, so I waited another 3 months with ongoing bleeding, only for her to tell me to take continuous Utrogestan!!! The last few times, she advised to go on Utrogestan only for 2 weeks before periods. I questionnes her about it asking if it was wise due to the endometriosis. She did not seem to treat the endometriosis very seriously, as if she thought I had very little endometriosis. So, I followed her advice. I have felt that the pain and endometriosis getting worse over the past year. I have explained, I have complained, I have emailed, I have written about it to different specialists. Only to be brushed aside. A colorectal surgeon told me that I have only a couple of spots of endometriosis. I insisted to have an MRI scan done, which they did. The MRI. Scan confirmed there was no endometriosis whatsoever in May last year. I thought I was going mad! I then flew to Romania in snowy December to have an MRI scan done at an endometriosis centre by an endometriosis sonographer specialist. Their scan confirmed DIE ( which has always been denied to me in the UK) and bigger spots that I had at my previous laparoscopy and widespread endometriosis. I am pretty sure to also have endometriosis under my last rib and in/ around the bowels based on the acute pains that I get. Although I feel that the HRT that I put in place before the menopause specialist has helped me, I also think that it develops endometriosis or the endometriosis was not all excised based on its current bigger size. I also would like to point out that although MRI scans are now the route to diagnosis endometriosis, the hospitals are not equipped with specialist endometriosis sonographers and consequently a lot of endometriosis sufferers are given a negative diagnosis of endometriosis and are rejected for any treatment. We/ they are not taken seriously/ fobbed off and it causes profound and dangerous/ life threatening mental health problems. All of these are not discussed and are pushed under the carpet ( like we are discarded too).