the return of endometriosis

[iver]

After years and years of horrible periods in 2015 I started getting the pain in between periods, getting worse until I was in terrible pain everyday of the month. Referred to gynaecologist and had laparoscopy diagnosed endo.

We conceived the first month trying after the op. Fast forward dd is now 5 months and endo is back. I am in absolute agony with it, sometimes waking me up in the night making me physically sick. Paracetamol/ibuprofen/codeine not touching the pain.

I went to see gp and was told to take the pill (no discussion on how i felt about it.) I was told I can't be referred back to gynaecologist until i've tried the pill. I don't know want to take the pill for a number of reasons - one being I'm breastfeeding and periods haven't returned yet so don't want to start them artificially.

Sorry for the long post just wanted to get everything down. Basically I want to know is taking the pill the only way I can get referred? Surely I don't have to take something I don't want to before I get help? I thought it would be easy to get sorted if it returned after diagnosis It's really affecting my mental health too.

What a nightmare that it has returned for you even whilst breastfeeding. What pill have they prescribed? IMO- no you shouldn't have to take the pill before a referral but unfortunately GPs are pretty crap when it comes to endo. Can you afford to pay for private consultation with BSGE endo specialist? £200 ish. At least they'd know what they are talking about (or should do). Ps if you have been prescribed combined pill it can greatly affect milk production.

When did your symptoms start?

Thanks for replying. The pill begins with M i can't remember the name. I wish I had the money to see a private specialist but it's just too much for me to pay.

While I was pregnant I had stomach/back pain that I just put down the pregnancy but now looking back I think it was the endo. It has got a lot worse and more frequent the past few months. I agree about doctors being crap with it, when the pain is comparable to contractions it's not easy to just live with!

Yeah, labour is easier to deal with rather than the daily endo pain. There's a good endo support group on Facebook called Endo Revisited. It will give you guidance on how to get appropriate treatment at an Endometriosis Centre on NHS. It might be that they failed to treat all your endo during your lap which is why pain is back already.
Google BSGE and you'll see which centres are near you. If you are in England, the process should be fairly simple for you to access a centre as you can request it.
Check which pill it is. Anything containing estrogen can reduce milk supply. Ps Well done for continuing to breastfeed even though you feel like crap!!!
My pain has only got really bad since I stopped breastfeeding. Wish I'd kept going longer than 6 months.

Do any foods make a difference ?

You may think that if you become ill you just go the doctor and they give you a drug to take away the illness

What if your Endometriosis is caused - or made worse - by things that you eat, or don't eat ?

Here are some questions to ask your doctors about Endometriosis

• What causes it ?
• How will looking at it and scraping it help me get better ?
• How can I stop it recurring ?
• Could my illness be caused by things that I eat, or don't eat ?
• What can I change about my diet and lifestyle to help my body repair itself ?

These are easy questions to ask, but very difficult for doctors to answer as they know very little about Nutrition.
It may be worth asking them to refer you to a Dietitian or a Nutritional Therapist, as they specialise in Nutrition.
If your doctor won't do this, try a search for BANT and interview 10 local Nutritional Therapists who have had success advising about Endometriosis before choosing which one to work with

Search online for "anti-inflammatory diet"
This and the suggestions below may help to reduce the pain

Here are 3 well-proven natural ways to reduce the Inflammation that causes the pain of Endometriosis

*Increase your Vitamin D
*Increase your Omega-3
*Reduce your Omega-6

Here are some relevant references that may be useful to you:
Vitamin D Wiki
Optimise Omega-6/3 Ratio
How much Omega-3 ?
15 Omega-3 Foods
What to Do About Inflammation ?
Expert Omega-3

Some people have reported that eating specific foods like meat or dairy gives them an instant flare-up
You may find that keeping a Food Diary may help you find out which foods make your Endometriosis worse and which may help
.

thank you niqnet you've been so helpful

interesting post rufus, i have noticed sometimes when i'm really hungry it can start things off but wasn't sure if it was a coincidence. will read all of the info thanks