I am only 16 and I have been told I am going to be put in a medically induced menopause. side affects?

[ladybird123]

I am only 16, and I originally had appendicitis in June 2012, after having laproscopic surgery I ended up bleeding into my abdomen unrecognised and have since had a hurrendous case of adhesions. I have since had 2 operations to try and clear the adhesions although have ended up with exactly the same after both operations. I have always had horrific periods and so it was not a surprise to me and my family when we were told I have endo. My hospital consultant has now recommended me having a medically induced menopause, but I don't know what to think.. I've scrolled the internet and i've seen 'amazing' but i've also seen 'worst decision of my life, now lost all fertility'. I don't know what to do help? Does anyone else have adhesions? and does it stop you from exercising etc.?? xxx

[Poppy26]

I am in shock reading your email, you are only 16yrs old and have your life ahead of you and not being able to have children can be complete heartache! I don't have the answers as suffering with a different condition but do know the pill can dramatically reduce periods as can having the coil fitted. I would urge you to explore every possible avenue and seek loads of advice as this decision with fundamentally change your life .

[ladybird123 in reply to Poppy26]

yeah, I'm on the pill, but I still find no help from this.. I'm sure something will happen soon x

[PPSN_JudyB Pelvic Pain Support Netwo]

You are very young to have been diagnosed with endometriosis. Many girls your age have this but it can take many years to be diagnosed. Do you know where the adhesions are ? it would be useful to know this. There should be a diagram with your hospital surgery notes. You can request this from the hospital ( your GP won't have this information, all the GP receives is a short letter ) and keep it in a folder with copies of all test results, referral letters etc. You can take this with you to appointments. Doctors you see may want to make a copy but always keep the original. The information should also say whether an adhesion barrier was used during these surgeries.

Adhesions don't stop you from exercising, in fact moderate exercise is one of the best things you can do even though it may be painful.

As Poppy said the coil ( Mirena ) sometimes combined with the pill can help although there is a lot of conflicting information about the pill and whether it helps or makes endometriosis worse as it contains estrogen which stimulates endometriosis. If you e-mail me there are a couple of things that may help with pain and preventing adhesions that you could ask your doctor about. [e-mail]

Have you read the information about endometriosis and adhesions on our website ? pelvicpain.org.uk

[ladybird123 in reply to PPSN_JudyB]

the adhesions are all over my abdomen, kidney, liver, bladder etc. I will have a look at your website, thankyou x

[Relentless]

Hi I really feel for you to be having such problems at 16 can't be easy. I too had appendicitis at 20 n also suffer from endometriosis but found having the pill helped enormously. I tried the implant too but that didn't work for me. I've just had division and removal of adhesions (3rd time) and they used a spray gaurd to minimalise them returning. I have had numerous laparoscopic operations so there was a lot to remove but I find excercise wilst uncomfortable to painful at times actually helps keep the episodes of tearing to a minimal. Please look at all your options be for undergoing induced menopause because it could be life changing and there's no going back!

[ladybird123 in reply to Relentless]

thankyou so much, we're still in the process of deciding what we should do and are looking into others opinions, but it's sort of comforting to know someone else has been through this! x

[Woodland16]

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