Needing advice yet again

[endotrouble]

Thanks for taking the time to read this ... I really just need some advice ... doctors can say what they say but at the end of the day they aren't living with this and dealing with the issues it brings.

I have endo and have had 3 laparoscopys "lap" in 3 years. I have stage 3 endo (American stages) and have been told by my doctor that i have to go on the pill. Back when i was first diagnosed with endo i was put on the pill and tried many different ones - it definitely didn't help and not only that, i was in for another lap after only 6 months. I am really hesitant about going down that path again. The doc said that i would go on the pill, have a lap after 6 months and if it didn't improve then come off the pill and get pregnant. I queried whether you had to wait a while after coming off the pill before getting pregnant and he said at least 3 months otherwise there was a high probability that my baby would end up with ADD! after being told that - i wonder what the pill would be doing to my body - i am not 100% sure that modern day medicines are the best thing.

I had a lap in September of last year and am already in a lot of pain again - i'm thinking i'll need another lap in the next 2 months going by the pain at the moment. that aside, my biggest concern is fertility - i think i can deal with the pain etc so long as i know that it is not reducing my chance of having a baby. i tried to talk to the doc about this but he brushed it aside. I've just turned 22 and while i've thought long and hard about the prospects of having a child early (and am prepared to do so) I would prefer to be in a better place than i am now - at the same time though i don't want to loose my chance.

i am just so confused about it all - i don't feel like anyone i talk to can really guide me in the right direction. am i doing the right thing? should i be on the pill? is this getting to the point where i should be considering pregnancy or not? is there other avenues i should be looking into ... anyone?

[Laranna]

Sorry your doctor is not giving you the answers you are looking for

After I was diagnosed with endo, I was told I'd need IVF to get pregnant and after my lap the obgyn wanted to put me on Zoladex and after that keep on the pill. I refused all these drugs because I was sceptical about what they were doing to my body. I was on the pill for 10 years and it never helped with my pain or regularity of my periods.

I got a copy of the book "Endometriosis and Other Pelvic Pain" and went and saw a naturopath and changed my diet and lifestyle and noticed a big improvement in the way I felt. I was pain free for about a year, then "normal" period pain returned, but nothing like what I had before the lap.

I'm a big believer in food as medicine (not that medicines and drugs do have a place, they do).

It was easy for me to stop the pill as both my tubes were blocked and the obgyn had said I pretty much had zero chance of falling pregnant naturally so I figured why do I bother taking the pill. I was in a long term relationship and we didn't really need the pill.

But do as much reading as you can, I highly recommend that book I mentioned above. If you are ready for pregnancy (as ready as anyone can be!) then I would consider not taking the pill if it has caused you so much grief in the past.

Along with diet and exercise, having a great attitude and not getting too stressed out (easy to say not easy to do) has a huge effect on pain levels too - that is what I found from my experience anyway.

HTH, if you have any other questions just ask

[endotrouble]

hi Laranna

Thanks so much for your reply. The most amazing thing in all of that for me is that you are expecting!? Congratulations - that's so exciting! I know it's a very personal thing and so i understand if you don't want to share with me but I am interested to know how you've fallen pregnant and how long it took you etc.

[Laranna]

I fell pregnant naturally which was a huge surprise. A very welcome surprise, but most unexpected as I believed the doctors when they said it probably wouldn't happen. My partner and I have never used contraception but we never charted or TTC as such. So it took us just under 2 years to conceive.

[briggsy's girl]

hiya hun

i don't have endo, so what i'm thinking comes from seeing others who've suffered from it, and what their treatment has been. i know one of the girls who got pregnant through IVf after severe endo problems was actually on synarel nasel spray for a period of time - perhaps it's something to consider...

[nic]

I was put on the Synarel for 3 months prior to starting our first IVF cycle.
I was sniffing it twice a day, so a bottle lasted me something like 28 days. A bottle is around $100, but our FS got a number from medicare (the proper name of it escapes me at the moment) because I have endo and we ended up paying about $30 a bottle.

Some info that came with the Synarel said you should have a bone density scan every 6 months.

that aside, my biggest concern is fertility - i think i can deal with the pain etc so long as i know that it is not reducing my chance of having a baby.

Just remember that every month you have a visit from AF, it's giving the endo a chance to grow just that little bit more. Can you maybe seek a second opinion? Even if only to find out what options they suggest.

Goodluck