For a while now I have thought I might have endo. I am a twenty year old female and began getting my period when I was around eleven years old. My periods have always been quite heavy, and I usually bleed for about six days, the first 3 are very heavy and then suddently it is very very light. When I was in highschool I would miss days every month because I just wouldn't be able to come in. If I do not take any pain relievers, and most of the time, if I don't take more than the recommended amount, I am crawling on the floor crying. It is terrible. No one on my family has been diagnosed with endo, although my half sister had very very painful periods as well, which (the pain) went away shortly after she had children.
I am almost afraid to go to the doctor because I am afraid of knowing, and most of all the incision they have to make and do in order to confirm or deny whether I have it or not. The whole procedure does not make me comfortable and makes me very uneasy. I have told my doctor before that I had very painful periods and that most of the time I cannot even relieve the pain with pain relievers and she asked if I wanted something prescription stronger, which quite frankly upset me because I want to fix the problem, not be taking prescription painkillers for a week every month. I do not like the idea of taking so much medication to begin with. It scares me to think of how many pills I have to take, and that I end up taking more than it says on the bottle to take, just to relieve this pain. This would most certainly cause long term damage to my liver.
I just can't stand feeling so miserable. I dread getting my period. A couple years ago I got terribly sick to the point where I thought I was going to die and called the ambulance. I can't eat on my period, I have no appetite, I am constantly taking pills, and I ended up throwing up and gagging for HOURS and hours, I couldn't stop. When I went to the ER they hooked me up, gave me an IV and ran some tests. Basically did nothing, the women at the check in were especially rude and told a friend of mine that people need to just deal with their periods.
Does anyone have any advice on what I should do from here? Who I should see?
I'm sorry to hear about your pain. I understand where you are coming from. I was diagnosed with endo about 4 years ago. It can be very painful and anyone who has never experienced it can never imagine the pain. I am 31 now and I was put on a birth control pill for my endo 2 years ago. It is called "Ovcon" it directly targets endo and I have also been period free for 2 years (what a blessing). I have also been pain free as well. It has been amazing for me. My last alternative was a hysterectomy. I am so glad my doctor introduced me to this pill. There is also another option, it is a monthly shot called "Lupron" it is FDA approved but is very costly. The cost per shot is 500.00, my insurance only offered to pay half of it. I could not afford that so my doctor said let's try this pill. And the rest is history...
I have had a total of 3 laparoscopic surgeries and some of my endo had actually been cauterized. It is the size of a grain of sand and it can cause such pain that keeps you in bed for 24 hours.
I wish you the best of luck and don't be afraid to look into your options. I have heard that if you ignore the symptoms, the scar tissue can make it very difficult to ever carry a pregnancy full term or even worst case scenario, never be able to get pregnant.
Let me know how things work out for you. If you ever have any questions please message me.
I'm sorry to hear about your pain. I understand where you are coming from. I was diagnosed with endo about 4 years ago. It can be very painful and anyone who has never experienced it can never imagine the pain. I am 31 now and I was put on a birth control pill for my endo 2 years ago. It is called "Ovcon" it directly targets endo and I have also been period free for 2 years (what a blessing). I have also been pain free as well. It has been amazing for me. My last alternative was a hysterectomy. I am so glad my doctor introduced me to this pill. There is also another option, it is a monthly shot called "Lupron" it is FDA approved but is very costly. The cost per shot is 500.00, my insurance only offered to pay half of it. I could not afford that so my doctor said let's try this pill. And the rest is history...
I have had a total of 3 laparoscopic surgeries and some of my endo had actually been cauterized. It is the size of a grain of sand and it can cause such pain that keeps you in bed for 24 hours.
I wish you the best of luck and don't be afraid to look into your options. I have heard that if you ignore the symptoms, the scar tissue can make it very difficult to ever carry a pregnancy full term or even worst case scenario, never be able to get pregnant.
Let me know how things work out for you. If you ever have any questions please message me.
Best of luck to you.
GMSALW
Thank you for your kind words. I saw you live in Tampa, I live in St Petersburg. Do you have any doctors you are seeing in the area that you recommend?
My main issue with the entire ordeal is fear that I won't be able to get pregnant if I do have Endo and if it indeed worsens. Can doctors give me anything to treat it without making any incisions, or do they do that, and then decide how to treat it?
Yes, I do live in Tampa. I highly recommend Dr. Bruce Shephard on Habana St. He is a OB/GYN and is highly known, he is also affliated with St Joseph's Women's Hospital. I have seen him as a patient for the past 5 years. I am not sure if he is accepting any new patients but it won't hurt to try. If he is not, maybe they could recommend another GYN.
Actually they would do an exploratory Laproscopic procedure to determine if it is indeed Endometriosis. They can do ultrasounds, but it is not highly affect on determining Endo.
