Endometriosis?

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Does anybody else here have endometriosis? I just learned I have it a few weeks ago in some papers I found from after my surgery. I don't know too much about it, but I'm wondering if it could be why I'm having exceptionally heavy periods and going through feminine hygeine supplies like crazy. That also might just be my PCOS. Does anybody have any tips on how to cope with it or what I can expect?

I'm also wondering if anybody has had or heard of surgeries to correct it.

My grandma had a lot of cysts in her uterus when she was in her forties. She had to have a hysterectomy because the bleeding became so bad that it could have killed her if it continued.

Endometriosis is a condition in which edometrial cells that make up the lining of the uterus proliferate outside of the uterus. Typically this proliferation occurs in the fallopian tubes (and can block them, causing infertility) and in the abdominal cavity surrounding the reproductive organs which can damage the ovaries (and also cause infertility), however they can also spread to the bowels and, rarely, more distal sites. On rare occasions, endometrial proliferation has been found in the lungs and brain.

The endometrial cells respond to hormonal fluctuations in the same manner that endometrial cells in the uterus do, and can cause heavy bleeding, extremely painful menstruation, diarrhea, painful bowel movements, difficult urination, and in some instances, adhesions which can result in life threatening bowel obstructions or a condition called "frozen pelvis".

Interestingly, the pain caused by endometriosis does not correlate with the severity of the disease. A person can have very advanced endometriosis with little pain or early stage endometriosis with severe pain.

Treatment depends on what aspect of the condition is being treated. For women who's chief complain is painful menstruation and heavy bleeding or breakthrough bleeding, a D&C may be done, and/or hormone therapy may be implemented. This can be in the form of birth control pills or progesterone cream.

If the woman has adhesions that are causing complications such as frozen pelvis or bowel obstructions, ablative surgery maybe be performed.

I've known a few women with endometriosis. They have had surgery to treat it. Afterwards, their symptoms usually became much less intense.

Thanks for your replies.

I need to make a doctor's appointment to talk more about this. I'm hoping it doesn't involve another surgery, but will do what it takes to make it better. I don't want to be in pain like this forever.

I've had endometriosis for about 20 years and PCOS for 30. If you decide on surgery make sure you find a surgeon who will excise your lesions, you usually get longer lasting results this way, unless you have underlying gut issues that you haven't dealt with. I had excision surgery 4 years ago and the pain went away for about 3 months and then slowly started increasing until I had pelvic pain every day again. I recently saw a naturopath and she's been treating me for SIBO for the last few months. I knew my gut wasn't great but I didn't think it was that bad or could be causing all of my pain. Now that my gut inflammation is down all of my pelvic pain is nearly gone, sex doesn't hurt anymore, my mood is better, my sensory issues are more manageable, and I think I had a period with a normal amount of blood for the first time in my life! Low iron/ferritin and thyroid issues can cause flooding periods. I guess all of those bugs were eating all of my iron and leaving none for me. If I could do it all again I would have gotten serious about healing my gut before having the surgery. Any abdominal surgery brings the risk of adhesions which can end up causing more problems for you than the endometriosis.

There are tons of natural ways to deal with endometriosis too. Diet, supplements, herbs. If you have really bad cramps I would suggest magnesium and Estrosmart. Taking ginger supplements a few days before your period starts can reduce flow for some women.

I thought I was strange having endo and PCOS. Maybe it's another aspie thing. I think mine came from my gut issues which I've always had and seem to be pretty common.

Oh yeah, I'm new here. Hi from Canada

I'm not diagnosed with endometriosis, but I had horrible cramps from the time I was about 14 until I was 18 and finally went on birth control to try to help alleviate the cramps. It is confirmed that my mother has it (they actually did the surgery on her where they look inside and take out all the tissue that's built up), and since it's often genetic, that's likely the reason I had such bad cramps too. I almost passed out once in high school and they called an ambulance! But I haven't had problems anymore since going on birth control.