Endometriosis? PID? Ovarian cysts? Something else I need answers!!!!

[Myriam314]

Im 19, married and been trying to have a baby nearly a year now and haven't been able to conceive. A few months ago I tried taking soy isoflavones to induce stronger ovulation and since then I've been experiencing weird changes in my cycle. I get weird pulling sensations (not very painful but uncomfortable) in my lower abdomen and pelvic area mainly on my right side and occasionally on my left this happens after my period, around ovulation time, and before my period. I've also been occasionally passing fleshy tissue in my period (not blood clots) which has never happened to me before. Some other symptoms are that my digestive systems seems to be really bad on and off, every couple of months I get really bad bloating no matter how healthy I eat, constipation, and terrible gas. Not to mention sometimes around my period time I'll get a sudden sharp pain while having a bowel movement, this has only happened a couple of times. My periods have remained regular, and last 6 to 8 days I don't experience extreme period cramps or anything just the regular cramping the first day or so. I've been told I may have endometriosis or PID, has anyone experienced anything like this before??? Please give me some insight

[Myriam314]

Oh and no pain during sex or spotting in between periods,

[SazRah]

Hi! Just read your post and I'm sorry you're experiencing trouble conceiving. I'm not a clinical dr but do have a PhD in medicine and had endo diagnosed at age 16 (I'm now 33) so have done plenty of studying in this area, but my opinion here is just a slightly educated one! I would say that your symptoms could all be down to the soy. The soy bean is the worst for causing flatulence out of all of the beans so is likely the cause of your intestinal probs. It also mimics oestrogen which is why it can be taken to increase ovulation. It is quite normal to form cysts on the ovaries during your cycle, these normally disperse on their own and a lot of the time people don't know they are there. They can however cause pain or discomfort when they occur. I get them regularly and can relate to the pulling feeling, but I also get months where they are very painful. Ovulation generally occurs on alternate ovaries each month (ie the left ovary one month then the right one the next month) which could explain why the pain is mostly on one side. The fleshy tissue you mentioned passing can also be normal with a heavier period, but could also be down to the higher oestrogen levels in your system from the soy, as your womb lining would grow thicker. I get this too sometimes, and my Drs didn't seem that bothered when I first told them!

Endometriosis could still be a reason for your problem conceiving, but it would be my guess that the symptoms you've mentioned fit more with the soy and increased oestrogen levels. I don't know how much you know about the condition, so feel free to skip over my explanation if you already know, but incase you don't know this is how I explain it when I'm asked... Endometriosis is a disease where patches of womb tissue (endometrial tissue) grow outside of the womb (these are called endometriomas). It can attach to the ovaries, the outside of the womb, the bladder, the space between the pelvis and intestines, on the intestines, and on the ligaments holding the pelvic organs in place. These are some of the most common places, but it can grow anywhere, there have been reports of it growing in the lungs, the nose, and the brain, but this is very rare. Because it is womb tissue it responds to the female hormones in the blood and so behaves like the womb itself and bleeds every month. As the tissue shouldn't be where it is, there is nowhere for the blood to go, so it stays where it is and grows and you get what is called a chocolate cyst. The surrounding tissue reacts to these areas and can go into spasm, trying to expel it which is when pain can be felt...you effectively get period pain throughout your body during your cycle. The endometriomas can also act like a glue and can stick parts of the body together for example it can stick an ovary to the bladder, these are called adhesions, and can occur anywhere there are endometriomas. You also get scar tissue formed which can weaken structures and prove difficult for surgeons to get to the endometriosis during an operation.

Although you might read this and think that it does or doesn't match your symptoms, there is one thing to keep in mind. There is no link between the severity of endometriosis and pain. Sometimes infertility is the only symptom, and endo is diagnosed by investigating this. I wouldn't get too worried by this, as in a lot of cases a simple operation can remove the endometriomas and fertility is restored. Sometimes it is the passage for the egg to pass through that is restricted, but it doesn't mean that you couldn't carry a baby to term if you had ivf. My advice would be to ask for a referral to a gynaecologist and discuss it with them. They might decide to give you a scan and see if anything shows up, and depending on the result of this they might decide to give you an investigation under an anaesthetic to determine a possible cause of your difficulty to conceive, or just put your mind at rest that there isn't a structural problem inside. They might be able to give you some advice on other things to help you get pregnant too!

I don't have much knowledge of PID, but there are possibly other people on here who can help you with that. I hope I've helped a bit and you get some answers soon, take care xxx

[Myriam314]

Update: I managed to get into my doctors busy schedule for a pelvic ultrasound and it came back clear. I'm so confused she told me I may have an appendix issue, but on the gynecology end everything looks good. It just doesn't sound right to me I had so many symptoms within my reproductive area, is there a possibility vaginal ultrasounds can't detect certain conditions??