Thread: pain pain pain

Finally pain is fading. That was very very bad. My husband is calling a clinic nearby to see if I need a referral from my general doctor.

Why don't you go straight to hospital?

ER= bad and generally useless plus being 30mins or more away and anyone who could drive me being 20mins away so by the time I'd gotten there the pain was pretty much gone. With no immediate symptoms you'll be lucky if they even agree to see you instead of just helping you make an appointment with a doctor in the next few days.

So the gynecologist is leaning towards endometriosis. I have an ultrasound tomorrow afternoon. If that finds nothing they will do a laparoscopy to look at everything from the inside but before they go cutting holes in my abdomen no matter how small she wants me to see a GI doctor to make sure my chronic constipation and digestive tract problems aren't causing the pain. I'm pretty sure if anything it's the other way around. My reproductive system has been in question since it started functioning, the pain started before the constipation even if it was much more minor then, and now nothing thicker than my finger can pass through the end of my colon. She's leaning towards the results leading to using drugs to stop estrogen production completely. There was mention of potentially having to remove my ovaries but since no diagnoses is confirmed it's all speculation and I got lots of pamphlets of info that are nowhere near as good as google. :P

Are they suggesting lupron? I was on that for six months due to my endometriosis. I'm surprised that they are talking about removing your ovaries before they even have a diagnoses though...If it is endometriosis there are some doctors that claim that they can go in and cut out all the tissue rather than just scrape it out. Look into that before taking that step, I just had it done and I'm pain free now. Mine wasn't the same as what you would have, it was around my uterus and on my ureter. It's worth looking into if you end up being diagnosed with it. Some doctors won't even consider the possibility of being able to cut it out though. So it might be worth talking to more than one doc...

Yes she was really pushing lupron. I'm wondering if it does turn out to be endo if they could do a partial hysterectomy which would remove the part causing me pain (the pain is most definitely my uterus) and then as much of any other tissue as possible. While there are some risks to removing even part of the uterus along with possibly not solving the problem I really wouldn't mind losing most of my uterus and not having periods or the main cause of pain while I highly dislike the idea of anything that lowers my sex drive. I really like my sex drive to stay the way it is and it's been kind of depressing for both of us that I haven't felt like sex as much with my recent health problems and stress of still trying to pass my classes.

What are the differences between symptoms of fibroids and endo? If there are any. I really did not have any pain from the exam or pressure anywhere. I had some cramping and complaints from both my uterus and intestines for the rest of the day afterward but only after I started walking around later. I also have no pain during sex. I have cramps during foreplay occasionally but I would not qualify anything as pain except when I have non intercourse related orgasms that lead to strong uterine contractions. Then it's like my uterus contracts and never relaxes. Not spasms or cramps just lock down and stay that way for about 30mins while the pain spreads through the connecting nerves in my abdomen. When it relaxes pain starts to fade. Although it's bad enough pain that even after it's gone it leaves me stressed out and worried the rest of the day and I get random minor cramps the rest of the day. If it didn't go away in the time it takes to decide whether to go to the ER I would have been there for sure and probably black out before I got there if the pain lasted that long.

Hysterectomies aren't always effective...In fact I know 2 ladies that had full hysterectomies and it came back into their bodies. It is unknown exactly why that is. My doctor was considering actually doing a full hysterectomy if my previous laproscopy didn't work. We are hoping it did. Endo can go into different parts of the body, not just in the reproductive system, mine actually grew on parts of my urinary system. We were afraid of somehow it tearing because my ureter was stuck to my uterus. Another common place for it to be found is in the digestive system, and it sounds like that is possible if you have it that it is there.
I was actually on lupron right after my last laproscopy last year and my doctor said that if it didn't help then a hysterectomy wouldn't help...Well the lupron didn't do a thing except give me hot flashes, make me need lube for sex, give me mood swings and make me shed more. However there are quite a few women that it does help.
I don't know anything about fibroids, however I do know that endo can show up in a variety of symptoms. For me it started out as extreme cramping during my cycle, then after a few years everything else happened pretty much over night. I could no longer stand up strait because my abdomen hurt so bad, my jeans hurt because of the pressure, sex could be painful and I couldn't lift heavy objects. Other women it just gives general pain, sometimes even backpain, also can make flows heavier or lighter. Some women don't have any symptoms. My mom didn't have any until the doctors noticed something was wrong in her reproductive system and turns out she needed a full hysterectomy. It hasn't come back that we are aware of. Because of the fact that endo has so many symptoms it can't be diagnosed without the laproscopy. At least you have a doc that right away is wiling to try it.

I'm well aware that it isn't always effective but if removing the tissue can be effective on it's own then why can't removing part of the uterus (which is the only part causing pain) and the tissue be more effective without removal of the ovaries or forced menopause. I'd honestly rather take the risks of having my uterus partially removed than spend 6-12months on lupron. Although being reversible it would make sense to try lupron first. No way I'm doing it while I have classes to worry about though. I'm under enough stress from that. My subconscious will have to avoid causing orgasms for 3 more months if it comes down to a med that has consequences which may increase my insomnia, ruin my mood, and make concentration and memory worse or surgery which would stop me from going to class for another week. I'm already behind.