Any other ladies with endo out there?

[justbeth]

I've got a few questions of so...

Have you had the surgery and was it successful? What was recovery time?

I'm been on birth control continuously for about 2.5 months to treat symptoms. Up until about a week ago it has been fabulous! The endo pain completely stopped after a few days on the bc. Now it seems to be slowly coming back. Does this mean I need a different birth control? Or birth control might not work for me?

Any natural/holistic stuff that might help?

Any insight from anyone more experienced with this has is greatly appreciated! I've only known about it for around 6 months, even though I've had issues from it since Emma was born, it just took that long to get diagnosed. I'm planning to call my OB, but it always takes weeks to get in an appt with her.

[aylafsu1881]

No personal insight but a friend has it and has had a laproscopy a couple of times. The procedure was simple, they went in through her belly button. It took about a hour maybe 2 to remove the tissue. It took her a few days to recover and she was uncomfortable for about a week after. She had it twice since supposedly it does come back.

[nursedesi]

We found mine when we started doing IF treatments with Henry. I had the laprascope on friday and went back to work on tuesday. It did seem to help a little. I had all the symptoms but I guess didnt put two and two together. I only had one cycle between having Henry and getting pregnant with Logan. I also have PCOS so I guess in my situation its good with having endo. Before having Henry I went 5 months with out af after coming off BC. I had been on some sort of bc since I was 15 but still had horrible cramps.

[justbeth]

Thanks for the info ladies! I should probably go ahead and have the lap, but I'm such a wimp. The original plan was for my Ob to clean up the endo during my second c section, but now we don't think we want to go forward with any more IF, so there probably won't be a second C section. I'm just such a wimp about surgery that it's hard for me to just sign myself up for something like that!

[nursedesi]

Apr 13, 2015 21:17:40 GMT -5 justbeth said:

Thanks for the info ladies! I should probably go ahead and have the lap, but I'm such a wimp. The original plan was for my Ob to clean up the endo during my second c section, but now we don't think we want to go forward with any more IF, so there probably won't be a second C section. I'm just such a wimp about surgery that it's hard for me to just sign myself up for something like that!

It really wasn't that bad. My RE did them on Friday so you could go back to work Monday. I took an extra day just because I was still a little sore. I do think it helped some. He didnt say how bad it was, just that I had it and he cleaned it up. I just sat around all weekend with ice on my belly watching netflix
Good luck with whatever you decide.

[justbeth]

nursedesi TMI question, but did the surgery cause any digestive issues? I've got endo on/in my colon (found via colonoscopy) and suspected that it's on my small intestine and stomach and it has caused major digestive issues. Major. The main thing scaring me away from the surgery is that it and any pain meds needed post surgery will make the constant digestive issues worse during the recovery period. I've read in a few forums that when the bowels are involved it can be pretty intense recovery, but who knows how legit that is.

Thanks for sharing your experience!

[nursedesi]

Apr 14, 2015 22:10:30 GMT -5 justbeth said:

nursedesi TMI question, but did the surgery cause any digestive issues? I've got endo on/in my colon (found via colonoscopy) and suspected that it's on my small intestine and stomach and it has caused major digestive issues. Major. The main thing scaring me away from the surgery is that it and any pain meds needed post surgery will make the constant digestive issues worse during the recovery period. I've read in a few forums that when the bowels are involved it can be pretty intense recovery, but who knows how legit that is.

Thanks for sharing your experience!

I've always had constipation, but the pain meds did make it a little worse. Just took a stool softener to help counteract them.

I remember the dr saying that there was endo on my bladder and ute but I dont remember if/where else he removed it. I was pretty groggy and MH was a nervous wreck and wasnt paying attention when he went and talked to him.

I remember when I was younger having severe cramping from my period, like ball up for a whole day. BC for sure made that better. I would still have some mild cramps and pretty bad lower back pain even while on BC. What helped me the most was ibuprofen and milk weirdly enough when I was having bad cramps.

Anyways. Maybe just plan on having stool softeners or mirlax at home just incase? (I'm assuming by digestive issues you mean constipation)

[USCgirl]

I had Lupron therapy (prostate cancer drug) to treat my endo. It put my body in menopause and seemed to help, but I continued on the BCP after to really help lessen the chances of symptoms. The only real way to find out if you have it is to have surgery so they can take a look inside, which rarely ever happens.

My thought is that if you are really uncomfortable and the risk is low, then I say go for the surgery. I am sorry to hear it is spreading around and causing extra issues for you. I hope whatever decision you make, it gets you the relief you need. Take care of yourself.

[justbeth]

Thanks ladies!

USCgirl My RE mentioned Lupton, but wanted to try birth control first, but if I remember correctly that was the next step. I'm glad to hear you had an ok experience with it because most people tell horror stories.
I haven't had a lap to diagnose, but endo was found inside my colon during an colonoscopy, which confirmed my RE's suspicions. I'm hopeful that a stronger birth control can help, since this one helped a lot early on.

nursedesi Yep, severe constipation has been an issue since Emma was born. I also have a rectal tear from pregnancy that hasn't healed in 2.5 years because of the constipation. I'm on over the max dose of Colace and RX miralax and that just barely helps. My digestive system is a mess! I've given up all the 'bad' foods with no results. I've seen specialists, but no one has been able to figure it out until the endo was found.

I probably just need to suck it up and do the surgery. It can't really be any worse than living with this pain for 2.5 years! Thanks for talks input! It's nice to have someone i 'know' tell me their story. A lot of the stories online are horror stories and not helpful!

[nursedesi]

I'm sorry justbeth that you've had so many issues after Emma was born! Sounds like you have it pretty bad

[justbeth]

It's been a mess! This kid tried to do me in! I'm glad to finally have a diagnosis though.