[QuietAussie]

Ok ladies, here is a doozy for you! I am writing in this particular website as I am at my wits end with all the pain and discomfort I am experiencing. I am a recently engaged 27 year old woman so should have all the happiness in the world right now but sadly it is not the case as my menstrual cycle is all over the place. Don't get me wrong, I am really happy with the man but physically I am frustrated.
Anyway, a long story cut short.... my periods have always been irregular but it is only in the last couple of years they have been getting more and more painful.... plus I get pain in between periods quite significantly. I have recently been for an initial consultation with a Gynaecologist who is running a few tests mainly to eliminate a few things before possibly performing the laparoscopy to look for endometriosis. Now, I do not know if anyone who may read this has endo but here are my symptoms just in case they are similar to what other people have experienced (and have been diagnosed with endo). Dull pain right throughout the month whether I get a period or not, my lower back kills me... sharp pain is experienced through the whole of my lower back, dizziness, cramps that are total agony in the week leading up to a period, bloating, fluid retention, lethargy, clumsiness and feeling unstable on my feet, nausea and vomiting with the pain at times..... all I can think of at the moment.
Please if anyone can shed a light on my predicament, that would be absolutely fantastic!

[Catherine2011]

Could this be endometriosis? reply

I am so sorry for all the pain you are going through. No one, especially one as young as you should have to go through this. In answer to your question, the big symptom that I could not ignore was pain during sex. It was unbearable. I also had the lower back pain for ages but attributed it to weak muscles. I also had infertility issues. My symptoms were not as severe as yours, but I had to get help when I was faced with having pain during sex all the time. It took about 3 months for my gynecologist to suggest laparoscopy. During the first ultrasound the first month they could tell I had cysts on my ovaries, but didn't realize it was endometriomas (endometriosis on the ovaries) at the time. After another ultrasound and hysteroscopy (to find out I had a polyp inside my uterus, laparoscopy was recommended to find out if I had endometriosis and also a D&C to get rid of the polyp. They staged the endometriosis at stage 4 which is pretty severe, however I've heard that it affects everyone differently. You can have symptoms such as yours and only have stage 1 or 2. Afterwards there was relief but still had feelings of pain and achiness on the right side. My gyno recommended Lupron, birth control pills, or a hysterectomy. My choice was none of the above. I was 47 at the time and I heard that endometriosis stops after menopause. I then found a PA that specialized in bioidentical hormones. Endometriosis seems to be an estrogen dominant disease. We are getting estrogen in everything these days. Food is a big one. When your body gets too much estrogen, your body doesn't make enough progesterone to even it out. Thus the big hormone imbalance. She warned me that it would take about 6 months for this to start working. And it did. The ache went away in my pelvic area. It sounds like you definitely have a hormone imbalance. Check around and find a PA or doctor that works with bioidentical hormones. The first step is doing something and questioning the doctors....not one doctor knows it all! The laparoscopy may give you peace of mind to finally know what it is, but from there be careful what you do. Sometimes the doctor can get rid of enough endo during the laparoscopy to give you some relief, but if they recommend Lupron, beware. Read up on the long lasting bad effects. It was never patented for endometriosis, but they are prescribing it. Good luck and I truly hope you find relief!

[QuietAussie]

Wow.... thank you so much for replying to my post! All that is really useful information. I have been back to see the gyno today after having a few tests, he has diagnosed a condition called Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome but it really still doesn't explain all the symptoms I've been experiencing... especially the pain. He has given me a new contraceptive to try to get my periods into a regular cycle again. The only thing I am fearful of with this is that I am not really that good with the pill as it makes me quite naseous. The gyno has also prescribed a medication to control the nausea just in case I need it which I am really grateful for due to the huge fear I have. The other thing is, I have to wait til my next period to try it :S I am going back to see the gyno in 3 months to review the situation and to see whether I have had some improvement.

In the past I was diagnosed with an underactive thyroid so have been on a low dose of thyroxine..... I learnt today that I need to increase my dose which explains my general lethargy of recent times. It seems things will get better from here but if my pain is no better in 3 months.... the gyno has offered to investigate for endometriosis as well.

Again.... thanks for the reply and I'll keep you updated as I found your information quite interesting.