i'm 23 and sick....advice from women please?

Question

i'm very sick with endometriosis i know it's a common thing and alot of women have it well my doctor says that mine is one of the worst cases he's ever seen he is trying to save my uterus and all that so he is putting me on a medication that is going to throw me into menapause it's a shot that i give to myself. i would just like some advice on how to deal with the menapause please thank you

i've already had a second and third opinion

the surgery is called a laparoscopy i know all about it and it is a temporary solution true you do get relief for a temporary time but it is not a cure the only true cure for endometriosis is a hysterectomy and i am not sure if i want to have anymore kids or not yet the medication i am going on is also only a temporary solution but it still gives me the chance to have kids later if i still want them and i wont have to recover from surgery

and i forgot to say that i already had the surgery once and mine did come back and i really don't feel like having surgery every couple of months

look i've already made up my mind on not having surgery and on the treatment that i am going to have i'm a freaking nurse i know all of my options and all of the freakin studies all i wanted was some advice from women who have gone through menapause already to give me some advice so if you can't do that then don't answer my question please

Answer 1

Hysterectomy is NOT a cure for Endometriosis. Look up the Aromatase and Endometriosis connection and you'll understand why. There are countless published reports of persistent Endometriosis following hysterectomy, and there is no definitive cure for the disease (including the outdated, old wive's tales of pregnancy, hysterectomy and menopause)...but there ARE treatment options that can effectively help, including surgical excision.

Multiple surgeries are often ineffective at treating the disease because the surgeon only vaporizes some areas of Endo and leaves behind the "root" and extensive remaining disease in other areas of the pelvis/abdomen. Unfortunately, such superficial surgery is often the rule, rather than the exception - laser vaporization, fulguration, coagulation and simple ablation are all easy techniques for the doctor to perform, but leave the patient ineffectively treated. Medical suppression is simply that - suppression. It does not cure the disease and only confers short-term benefits to some users. Often, the drug therapies for Endo, particularly Lupron, have nasty side effects of their own as well.

Seeing someone like the folks in the links below for what is called excision surgery may be a worthwhile option - these Endocenters have better than 75% success rates for long term relief in their patients...while there is no absolute cure for Endo, it's a far better consideration than ineffective, repeat surgery, unnecessary and ineffective hysterectomy, and drug suppression:

http://www.drcook.com
http://www.endoexcision.com
http://www.endometriosissurgeon.com...
http://www.centerforendo.com

If none of them are nearby, check http://groups.yahoo.com/group/endodocs for some good suggestions of someone closer who may be equally as helpful.

Also see http://groups.yahoo.com/group/erc for lively discussions about the disease and treatment options, etc. with thousands of others who understand.

If Lupron is being considered anyway, addback therapy is somewhat helpful at reducing the hypoestrogenic effects of the drug. Any prescribing physician will likely offer addback to his or her patients, but if it is not offered, ask for it.

Women with Endometriosis do not have to suffer. Help is out there, they just need to look beyond what those who do not understand the disease are telling them.

Answer 2

Pls get a 4th opinion because your best bet for some relief from the endometriosis is to have a laparoscopy (this is the surgery that Cathi was talking about) done by a dr who is very experienced at cutting out as much of the endometriosis as possible.

Also, that medication that you are on it is just a band-aid treatment which means that once you stop the medication the problem you have now could come back the same or worse than before you went on it. I've had this happen to some of my other friends with endo.

In the mean time, ask your dr about addback therapy. Meaning that you are giving a bit of hormone back but not a dosage that is strong enough to affect the medication's job of trying to shut down the pituitary gland which then stops the periods for a time. The thought is that by doing this with the medication it may slow the endometriosis down.

Pls do some more research on the medication.

A good site that has a lot of info about endo is found at: http://www.endocenter.org

Answer 3

I have a co-worker who is on the same drug. This is her second round. I also have endo and am trying to avoid that course of action at all costs! You are only in menopause as long as you are on the drug. Get a laparoscopy first! It is temporary but it's your best bet. They go in with a laser and "clean everything up." In some cases, the endo never comes back. I had my first surgery in 2002 then I had a child in 2003. I'm waiting another 6 months to try hormone therapy that my dr. is insisting on. If it doesn't work, he wants me to have a hysterectomy. I'm going to see another dr. because I think a laparoscopy is a better choice for me for now. You should look into that before taking lupron or any other drug that will throw you into menopause.

Answer 4

Well, first a little about me, I went into menopause at twenty five and can tell you that for me it was somewhat of a relief not to menstruate anymore. My doctor put me on hormone replacement therapy which helped a lot with the hot flashes. The hardest part for me was the realization that I couldn't have children ( I know how stupid that sounds, but I hadn't wanted anymore children until then). I am 31 now, and I barely have any hot flashes... They do go away gradually. The mood swings were not severe either. I hope this helps, just knowing that it will pass.

Answer 5

Wear layered clothing, so you can take it off and put it back on as necessary. Take a B-100 complex vitamin to keep your moods as smooth as possible. You're going to have a rollercoaster time with your hormones in any case. Prepare a response ahead of time to the question "Why are you sweating."
If your menstrual bleeding gets very heavy or clotting occurs causing cramping, ask your doctor what you can do to stop it quickly and safely at home, if you cannot get in to see him. My gynecologist told me to take 3 Advil and put my feet up for more than an hour. It's only a temporary fix, and you may not be allowed to use it.

Answer 6

I have heard of such a thing. However, get a second opinion. Ask about the worst case scenario(s). What are the percentage rates of this treatment have of working? If you have a good doctor he want be offended because you want a second opinion.

Answer 7

I saw a procedure on television the other night that helps with endometriosis. It's a quick surgerical procedure. I'm sorry that I can not remember the name of the procedure, but it seemed interesting. Check with your doctor about the new procedure.