female only Endometriosis

[Carrie_C 9]

I have been having a lot of irregular bleeding lately and a lot of pelvic pain. My doctor suspects that I may have endometriosis. I have to have an ultrasound on Monday to rule out any other problem. She said endometriosis won't show on an ultrasound, so if it doesn't show anything, then I will need to have surgery. I was just wondering if anyone else has this problem and what is done for it. Has anyone had to have a hysterectomy?

[luluc 6]

i have endometriosis, and it was severe enough to have medical attention last summer. rather than a hysterectomy - i had novasure (endometrial ablation). i would say that it has cured all problems associated (bleeding/cramping/etc) by 85%.

good luck.

[Carrie_C 9]

Thanks, I was wondering if the novasure would help. What were your symptoms of endometriosis? I have a lot of pain everywhere in my lower abdomen and back. I also feel like I run a low grade fever sometimes.

[luluc 6]

my symptoms were:

bleeding - never a set period schedule & bleed longer when i did have one.

bad lower back pain

cramping - extreme cramps during my periods, you know the kind that put you down for a day - heating pad??

pms - was just a mess emotionally, and i'm not a "crying" type but i would at an at&t commercial:wink:

w/the ablation - i really no longer get a period; maybe one day every 45 days or so. i still get an episode of cramping or back pain - but NOTHING like before.

pms was also cut significantly......

i wasn't opposed to a hysterectomy - but didn't want to pull that trigger till i tried the ablation., which seems to have worked decently enough for me to suggest...,

[Carrie_C 9]

I think my options may be limited because I don't have any kids. I don't want any, but it's hard to get a doctor to listen to that sometimes. I guess they are afraid I will change my mind later. But I don't think so. My husband and I were actually talking about him having a vasectomy a few weeks ago. But even still, I don't know what the treatment options are for someone who's not had kids.

[luluc 6]

same boat carrie - no kids & NO plans to have them.

my OB was fine w/going ahead & doing a partial hysterctomy only (not a full one) - but she suggested i try ablation first.

not sure about other treatment options - but i do understand about what you say, when a dr thinks you may later change your mind.

[Carrie_C 9]

I am thinking that she will probably try the surgery first to see if that helps before she does anything else. But I don't know for sure. A girl I work with had an ablation over a year ago and she's not had a period since.

[Bunz1969 4]

Bless your heart. I was diagnosed with endometriosis when i was in my early 20's. After 3 endoscopy's to remove lesions, they tried shots of Lupron for 6 months. That helped for a little bit. FINALLY at 35 the doctor talked about doing a hysterectomy. Because I hadn't had children, they didn't want to go that route. Doctor even wanted to meet with husband before he'd do it. Uh hello? My body? I had a complete hysterectomy and don't regret it for a minute. I never knew a month without being off work a few days because of cramps. I finally felt free.

Whatever you decide to do, stay on your doctors. You don't have to live with that pain!

[sydney1976 0]

I have had endo since being a teenager. I have had 4 laparoscopies. No one has ever mentioned a hysterectomy to me. My endo is on the wall behind my uterus so removing organs might not solve the problem My advice would be to have a lap confirm it is endo, remove what is there and go from there.

[Carrie_C 9]

I have also missed a lot of work due to pain. I feel pain all over, though. I even run a fever. Thankfully I have understanding bosses. I have been to several doctors and none of them would listen to me. I finally found a PA who is listening and is going to help me figure out what is going on. I went to a gyno a few months after my lap band surgery because I was having bleeding and pain. She actually told me that it is my lap band causing it and that my birth control pill wasn't being absorbed because of the band!! Needless to say I ran out of there and didn't go back!

[Kristine73 1]

I have endo. I was dx'd (diagnosed) around age 21-ish. Hubs and I tried for two years to have kids. He didn't want any, I did. We figured we'd leave it to the powers that be and didn't use birth control.

When I was dx'd, I was at a stage 5. I started my period 2 weeks before my 10th birthday. Always had irregular period, heavy and painful to boot. By the time I was dx'd, I was told there was too much damage and I'd never have kids. Doc wanted to do a hyst then. I said NO! I wanted a kid.

I went through the lupron, two laps to remove endo/cysts and two scopes to get the endo in between the laps (bikini cuts).

By the time I was 25, I was fed up. I wanted a life.

Hubs was active duty at the time. So, I had to have the surgery at a military facility. The OB/GYN didn't want to do a hyst because of my age and no kids. Apparently, we women are only uterian lif support as far as the military is concerned. I couldn't work. It took me a year of fighting and I had to go all the way up the chain of command to the base Comander to get the surgery approved. I had the hyst at age 26. Now I have a job and go to college.

I still have the endo, it is on my colon and diaphragm. areas too risky to try and remove it. Turns out both my maternal paternal grandmothers had endo. Maybe if one of them had spoken up when I was a kid, things may have turned out differently. But, I belive I am where I am supposed to be. I work w/kids who have disabilities and that's very rewarding.

There are many thing between diagnosis and hysterectomy that women have a choice of.

And no, endo won't show on an ultrasound. Sucks!

I'm babbeling and need to get to bed. But, don't hesistate to ask questions. I used to run a support site for endo.

Sending hugs

[sydney1976 0]

Do some research and find a Endo specialist in your area. It will save time, stress and pain. Let me know if you want some resources.

[Carrie_C 9]

Kristine, it's not just the military doctors that think that. It's most other doctors too. I have never wanted kids and I would have had my tubes tied a long time ago, but they told me I would have to wait until I was at least 35. Yet if a young man wants a vasectomy, he can just walk right into the office and have one. It's not fair!

Anyway, thanks for all the support. I will have to wait and see what the ultrasound shows, or doesn't show, before I know anything else.

[Carrie_C 9]

I had lap surgery on Monday and the doctor said I had endometriosis very bad. He lasered it off and he wants me to be on birth control pills continuously, not skip a week of hormones with the placebo pills. He put me on ortho tricyclen lo. Has anyone else tried continuous birth control pills for treatment?

[seckert08 0]

I had severe endometriosis. I had 2 laperotomies, each time the dr. took down massive amounts of adhesions and tried to repair my damaged fallopian tubes. Before my first surgery I had major bowel difficulty because the endometriosis had tangled around my bowels and caused a blockage. I had a hysterectomy when I was 29 and felt better in the recovery room than I had in years! Good luck to you!