endo advice

[Sibbie]

Hello all...
I am wanting some advice on what i should be doing about my suspected endo...
Mmmmk. heres the story -
I am 19, I have always had really painful periods, its started getting worse when i was about 14/15, went from very long, painful, heavy periods to getting them every two weeks, so i went to the doc, had some ultrasounds, they couldn't find anything specific, assumed it was endo and put me on the pill (levlen ed). Period was okay for a while on that, sorta had 6 months bad, 6 months good still had a some pain and all that jazz but i was just happy to only be getting them once a month!!! I have always had bad pains (stabbing, pulling, aches etc..) on my left side, and it seems to be getting quite bad of late. I have a family history of stuff like that - My mum had endo & cysts, my Sister had cysts and pretty much so all of the women on my Mums side have issues with that sorta thing.

Anyhooo, Although Hubby and I aren't planning on having Kids anytime soon (only been married six months!!!), I REALLY don't wanna leave it and hope for the best and end up not being able to have kids!

I have probably put it off doing stuff about it already but the pain is usually manageable; and i guess i didn't think about it much until the cluckiness in me kicked in and i realized how badly i want to be a mum.

What should i do??

[Laranna]

Hi Sophie, firstly welcome to BB!

I'm really sorry to hear about the suspected endo. I've had alot of the symptoms you describe and it's not very nice to put up with, so I know how you feel. IMO, I wouldn't be putting it off any longer. The sooner you know what's going on and can manage it, the better your chances of becoming a mum later in life are. Have a chat to your GP about getting a referral to a gynaecologist. The only way to properly diagnose endo is through a laparoscopy so you might be looking down that path.

FWIW, when I was diagnosed, the gynae told me I'd never be able to conceive naturally and would have about 30% chance with IVF. Two and a half years later, I fell pregnant naturally and now have my gorgeous boy

Feel free to ask any questions.

All the best!

[jbub]

I would definitely recommend getting checked out. I have had painful periods forever too. When I was 21 I went to a GP who said it could be endo but you would have to have surgery to find out and did not really recommend it to me. I was not ready to have kids then either. Then when I was 28 and trying to get pregnant nothing happened. Finally saw a gynaecologist and had a laparoscopy only to find I have severe endometriosis. I have been very lucky to have now had a baby (at age 30) via IVF but I think had I known what I was dealing with I would've tried having kids much younger.

[Sibbie]

Thank you
Seeing a gyno is the first thing on my list to do, but i was hoping there may be something non-invasive i could do first? e.g skipping periods with the pill etc (I have heard that can help) or maybe any natural stuff? I am trying to lose weight at the moment because personally it really helps the pain, when I am heavy the pain tends to be worse...

But yes I will definately be booking in to see a gyno ASAP.

[jbub]

I have tried diet to control things - avoiding caffeine, meat, wheat, soy and dairy. I did manage to stick to this diet for a fair while but I really didn't notice any difference in my symptoms and it is REALLY hard to eat like that. I also worried about cutting out whole food groups.

You could read Endometriosis a key to healing and fertility through nutrition by Dian Shepperson Mills.

Also Acupuncture is supposed to help some people.

I have used acupuncture but only pre- and during IVF so not sure if helps symptoms or not (I got pregnant first IVF cycle).

If it were me I think I really would see gynae first to see what degree of endo is there so you know what you are dealing with.

[nic]

Diet was something I noticed when AF was visiting. I had to avoid anything that contained caffeine... including chocolate! If I had a coffee or coke or choccie in the first few days of AF's arrival, it would make the pain even worse.

Have you had a read through the endo/pcos threads? There are a few books mentioned, I just can't remember the names of them at the moment sorry..