Endometriosis. I just got diagnosed by having a laporoscopy. What do you know !


Question:

Endometriosis. I just got diagnosed by having a laporoscopy. What do you know about this disease? treatment?


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I am a 41-yr old mother of 3 and was finally diagnosed with Endo via Lap 12 years ago, although I've suffered with the symptoms for thirty years. I've had 5 laporoscopies to both surgically remove and cauturize the sites (surgical removal is more effective). Note: everytime they go in to get some endo growth out, its very possible that the tools transfer endo cells to a new site. Limit the # of Laps.

I tried the Lupron injections that put you into a menapausal state, meant to reduce the endo growths "to ground zero", but when I came off the Lupron (you have to after 6-months due to bone loss) the endo was back in full swing, but this time with a twist: when menstrating I swelled up like I was seven or eight months pregnant, resulting in my first of eight abdominal hernias.

After going to the Endometriosis Association Conference in Milwalkee (every 5 years) I learned about CONTINUOUS low-dose Birth Control (Lo-ovral was the right match for me). What I mean by continuous is that you don't take the placebos so you never menstrate. Oh how I wish I wish I wish someone had told me about this years ago. Only come off the pills when/if you want to conceive -- this way you save your body from making all those endo growths, for all those other months, over all those years. If I had a daughter I'd tell her to take continuous low-dose BC until she wants to have a baby, thats what the doctors who believe in continuous BCP are doing with their daughters. Menstration is just a prep for pregnancy.

My doctors here in NJ are both unfamiliar with and uncomfortable about CONTINUOUS BIRTH CONTROL PILLS so they wanted me to come off every 5 or 6 months. Whenever I did that, my abdomen swelled up enormously again which is how I got more hernias. Note: every abdominal surgery creates scar tissue and adhesions, which are wonderful little places for endo material to get trapped and grow.

This Spring, after a particularly rough bout with endo and swelling, my belly never got normal again even when I went back on the BC pills. Last week I had a radical hysterectomy, removing my uterus, cervix, both fallopian tubes, both ovaries, appendix, endo growths, debridement of scar tissue and adhesions, and repair of four abdominal hernias. There will be no more endo growth, however, if they did not nick it all off my bowels (where I most tend to grow it) I may still have some endo pain, I've read. But at least I won't be swelling up anymore!

As I've indicated, if I had to do it over again I would have done CONTINUOUS low-dose BCP and prevented menstration -- all year round. I think science is on the brink of accepting this method: that women do not need to menstrate at all until they wish to conceive -- and only then.

Long winded (sorry) but a long history. Hope it helps someone somehow.




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