Adenomyosis - any experiences please

[Miss H]

For those who don't know, it is a condition where the endo grows into the muscle of the uterus and causes pain. My gynae has said the only real cure is to remove the uterus but that a change in diet can alleviate the pain to a degree. As I have never heard of this before, I was hoping to get some info from other people who have it. Have you had children after being diagnosed? How have you handled the pain? Anything that may have helped you.

[Persephone1]

Hi,

I was given a half-@rsed diagnosis of adenomyosis about 5 years ago, after a laparoscopy found no endometriosis. I'd been suffering with hellish period pain since I was 17 and wanted some answers. The diagnosis gave me no answers. The doctor told me that I didn't have endo, but that she thought maybe it was adeno because my uterus was "slightly larger than average." This was useless to me - what the hell is "larger than average" anyway? When I asked what could be done about the pain, the answer was "take a panadol."

After my DH and I had been TTC for about 12 months, I had a vaginal scan which revealed polycysts on my ovaries (not PCOS, just lots of cysts without the syndrome). I was about 10kg overweight, AF was irregular, and we weren't falling pregnant, so I started seeing a naturopath. With her help, I lost the weight and with herbal treatments (and the weight-loss) my AF became regular and PAIN-FREE which it hadn't been in over 10 years. Besides the herbal supplements, I was also taking a lot of magnesium, which is good for muscle cramps.

Later, whilst we were going through IVF, I had another scan of my uterus to look for fibroids, etc. The sonographer noted my uterus size (I think it was about 10cm?) but my FS wasn't concerned at all. My previous half-@rsed diagnosis of adeno had no bearing on the IVF treatment - we were eventually treated for male-factor infertility and I gave birth to my son mid 2010.

So, unfortunately, I probably haven't provided you with any answers for your situation. Personally, I think an adeno diagnosis is about as useful as a diagnosis of being tall or short - it's not easily treated, and tbh I think it's just another label. I don't think doctors know much about it - I struggled to find any information about it.

For me, hormonal problems (weight gain, irregular AF, sugar-cravings, etc) seemed to be linked to my AF pain. I recommend seeing a naturopath to get some herbal and/or nutritional supplements for the hormonal issues and pain relief. My naturopath treatment gave me a new lease on life and I will never again accept medical treatment without first considering natural alternatives, particularly when it comes to my hormones and cycles.

GL. I hope some of that helped.