Anyone got endometriosis - please advise.....

[1n2s]

Hello. Been TTC for first time since May 2006, came off the pill a month before. Had some strange symptoms over the last 7months of period pains and nausea a week before AF. Went to see Doc who has arranged scan next week. I'm a little anxious as I've read all the symptoms re endometriosis and they seem to fit with me. Can they confirm this or even polocystic ovaries with ultra sound? Really worried I may have one or the other now

Don't worry about it cos it'l make your symptoms worse! Sometimes they can confirm with ultra sound sometimes they cant. your symptoms are more likely cos of the pill. sometimes it takes a LONG time to get fertility back after the pill. I had no periods and weird hormone profile so when I was ttc I had accupuncture and reflexology and now I'm a mum! I know many people who have found accupuncture and reflexology great for conceiving. Also don't worry if you have either of the conditions you testing for because a good herbalist will sort you out. A couple of my friends had endometriosis and got rid of all symptoms with a herbalist.
Chin up now and be positive and your body will respond and soon you'll be cleaning up poo too!!

a laporoscopy is the normal instrument for diagnosis of endometriosis I think, more involved than an ultrasound

Endometriosis can only be diagnosed with a laparoscopy (when they look inside you) because a scan only detects different tissue types, but endometriosis is the same tissue type (but in the wrong place) a scan is usually only used to detect polycystic ovaries. Because a scan is non-invasive this is normally done before an endoscopy so if you have a negative from the scan, they may refer you on to have the endoscopy. My sister has endometriosis so they didn't bother with the scan, and my symptoms were textbook endo anyway.

I have endometriosis diagnosed via endoscopy about four years ago and was lucky not to have it anywhere near my ovaries or tubes, and managed to get pregnant the first month we tried - don't forget that people who have no problems can take a long time to conceive.

I understand that it is generally harder to get pregnant if you have polycystic ovaries - but i believe not impossible. See what the scan says and then go from there....

Whatever the diagnosis, its not the end of the world - my advice is to focus on the positive fact that you've been taken seriously by your doctor and they are looking into the cause of your symptoms(I was misdiagnosed for about 6 years before changing doctor and being appropriately referred) and that whatever the outcome, it won't be the end of the world.

Good luck with the scan and try not to worry, as that will make any pains you have worse.

As calsworld has correctly stated, endo is often only diagnosed through a laparoscopy (this is keyhole type surgery). Tests like blood tests and ultrasound scans will not detect it. If the sonographer looks properly they may find polycystic ovaries if they are present (these are ovaries that have what has been described as a "ring of pearls" appearance. These are multiple cystic follicles. Some of these contain eggs, others are dormant and some release hormones. They can also appear larger than normal size. A normal sized ovary is about the size of a walnut.

PCO is often associated with irregular periods, endo is often associated with very painful periods. The four classic symptoms of endo are painful periods, deep pain during sex, pelvic pain and subfertility. Infact any symptom that is cyclical and gets worse during menstruation may be due to endo.

Would suggest you contact the NES (National Endometriosis Society) and have a look at their website which is www.endo.org.uk. Their publication "Endometriosis and Fibroids" is well worth a read too.

I am sincerely glad you are being taken seriously - it took me 17 years to get an endo diagnosis having had this problem since I was 14.

A good site to look at re PCO/PCOS is Verity which is www.verity-pcos.org.uk.

Thanks to you all for your advise. I will try and stay positive and wait and see what the scan tells. I guess they are looking for POS first by referring me for this.

I'm not being investigated for endometriosis but I had looked at the endometriosis website and having read about the symptoms it all rang bells for me The horrific period pains from being 14yrs, pelvic pains everyday a week before period, even my periods are weird and are sorry to be crude - but its not exactly fresh blood it seems like old blood . Should I tell the Doctor these things or wait and see if they settle - doctor thinks its just hormones after coming off the pill. Oh being on the pill was heaven!! At least my periods are regular so I guess thats one good thing

Thank you all for caring

Sorry to invade your conversation... i think you should tell yor GP everything, no matter how insignificant you might think it is. If they have all the information, they are more likely to push for tests!!
and don't read too many symptoms lists... i always find that i can have things wrong with me if i do that
good luck with everything!!

I have endometrosis, I had surgery to remove the worst of the lesions a couple of years ago. I also have an 8mth old son so even if your worst fears are confirmed then you still have much hope for conceiving. Good luck and I hope everything goes well for you

Tell the GP all the symptoms and would also suggest you keep a pain diary to show the gynae. Some GPs are unfortunately very ignorant when it comes to endometriosis (a GP I once saw told me that endo was uncommon. Soon put him right mind you!). It is actually the second most common gynae problem seen in women after fibroids).

As all this is longstanding it is unlikely that these problems are due to your body just settling down after taking the pill. The pill leaves your system very quickly after you stop taking it. If anything the pill masks the symptoms of any underlying problems, I felt far better with regards to bleeds on the pill that off it.

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Hi

My endo was diagnosed about 7 years ago although the doc thinks I had it for years, I tried the pill then the various drugs all to no avail. Over 4 years ago I had a mirena fitted and it has been a godsend. I now have to either have it replaced or removed and am not sure what to do. I would like to have more children in the next couple of years, my son is 11 and I now have a new partner and am settled. Anyone got any ideas about what I should do over the next 12 months or so?

I was diagnsed with endo 2 years ago during an emergency laparoscopy for an ectopic pregnancy. I had been wrongly told years before that my pains were irritable bowel syndrome and lived in pain and misery for some time. I am still in alot of pain but am having an op to remove legions in a few months. I have an 18 month daughter by the way who was conceived 2 months after the emergency op and was told being on the pill (marvelon) had kept it at bay enough for me to still be quite fertile. Apart from the pain, I find the fatigue really hard to deal with, does anyone else find this? If so how do you cope?

How effective is the removal of the lesions with regard to pain as I'm in agony at least 3 weeks out of 4 and am worried about the laparoscopy not working.

Message for 1n2s:

Just become a member and read this page...

Hope you feel more sorted by now? Laparoscopy best way forward if you want to assess your insides properly. Acupuncture can also help a lot. I've been having it for the last 4 months following a laparoscopy ( which involved diathermy) and it's made a real difference.