Hi ladies,
Thank you for your feedback.
I've been a bit busy, my daughter (who had her lap on 9/7) has been battling an infection at the site of her belly button incision. I haven't had the time yet to research the tampon angle again; I'm going on memory from a few years ago.
Lyn: Isn't it amazing that we all just put up with the pain because we thought it was "normal". I switched to the tampons made from cotton, called "Cottons".....supposedly they don't do as much damage because they don't have to be bleached, hopefully someone can confirm this for us.
Sarah: The information you gave is so helpful, I'll pass it on to my daughter. The menstrual up sounds fantastic, she's only just turned 18 and she would love an alternative to pads. Thank you for clearing up the asbestos theory, that's good to know.
YDI: I had a lap two years ago but unfortunately it didn't help me, I couldn't even walk normally for 18 months. Chronic abdo pain ( i also had adenomyosis), my only option was hysterectomy which gave me my life back. I can certainly relate to your pain.
Saram: Our family histories do sound the same, I forgot about the diahorrea...yes, us too. And yes to the early menopause, good thinking. Mum was 35 when she started. It just crept up on me, they saved my ovaries when I had the hysterectomy(age 42), it wasn't until I was without the pain that I had my hormone levels done. I'd had all the signs of menopause or perimenopause but didn't take any notice because of the great deal of constant pain.

If we keep swapping stories and ideas who knows how much of this jigsaw we can piece together. You guys have helped us already, thank you. Knowledge is power and we need all we can get to help us take a bit of control over our illness.
Kind regards to all,
Linda