OBGYN says I might have endometriosis?
My OBGYN said I might have endometriosis. My symptoms are sharp abdominal pain (like someone stabbing me with an exacto knife and twisting!), nausea, fatigue, that sort of stuff. She gave me three options, laproscopic (spelling?) surgery to go in and check it out, hormone therapy, or birth control pills. Should I do the surgery first to see if that’s even what I have, or start the other things to see if it goes away on it’s own? I also have ovarian cysts and the pain could be from them. I don’t really want to do the hormone therapy and go through the "menopause" if that’s not even what I have….but the dr. sounded like she thought I should only use the surgery as a last resort. Has anyone else had the same thing and what did you do?
sorry, I forgot to add that I already had an ultrasound, and they found several things that could be linked to endometriosis. That’s also how they discovered the cysts. Hope this clears things up a little.
Filed under: Ovarian Cyst
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As someone who suffers from endometriosis I would try the birth control pills first. Seasonale is a great one because you only have your period 4 times a year and it’s safe to do that. It really helped me. If that is not helpful then I would consider surgery. But you may want a second opinion just to ensure your diagnosis, it never hurts to get another opinion on your pain. Did they do an ultrasound to check for fibroids, that can be a problem as well.
I would seek another opinion with a doctor. Then if he agrees that it is likely endometriosis then I woud try birth control pills. If that doesn’t help after 6 months then I would go for the surgery to confirm the diagnosis especially before starting any of the hormone therapies with result in medical menopause as that should be your last resort in my opinion it’s more drastic than the surgery.
I was told that I may have endometrosis for years and it turned out to be the ovarian cysts. When I had the ovary removed with the cysts, the cramps, pain, and nausea went away.
Usually doctors will first conduct an ultrasound. Many times, endometriosis is visible that way and it gives a lot of information without being invasive. If your doctor did not suggest one, then you should probably get a different doctor and a second opinion. Birth control pills and hormone therapy are used to treat endometriosis, not diagnose it. Although in some cases, laproscopic surgery is the only way to detect endo. But get a new dr and an ultrasound first.
I think the simple things should be tried first….do the birth control pills……give it a few months and if the pain doesn’t subside..then try the other methods.
my doctor thinks i might have it too. i did an ultrasound to rule out other things. most of the time, endo CANNOT be seen on an ultrasound. however, you should ask for one first to see if it might be something else. the only way a doctor can see endo on an ultra sound is if the endo caused a mass (which it can do sometimes). im going for the surgery b/c it’s not a major one, plus it’ll give them a good look at everything else to see if everything is normal. if you get the surgery then you’ll know for sure that nothing is wrong or what is wrong. also, you could ask for them to check your hormones. sometimes they can tell a doctor what you may have. good luck. by the way, i know someone who got the surgery and they said it didnt hurt at all and it wasnt that long. also, if you have endo, the birth control will only hide it.
Get the Laproscopy done! I was given the same options by my Dr. in February after many months of false answers from many different doctors. I chose the surgery instead of trying something that may not help. It sounds like your doc is pretty sure that you do have endo. Don t wait until its too late. After my Laparoscopy I was told I had stage 4 endo, chocolate cycst, and 2 extremely swollen- most likely ruined ovaries. My Dr told me I should opt for a total Hysterectomy, I was in SOOOO much pain so thats what I did. I had a hysterectomy at the age of 26 and I won’t lie- the symptoms of early menopause are extremely difficult at times, but even with that I haven’t felt this good in years (besides the nasty hot flashes). I didn’t realize what the endo was doing to my body until it was gone. I dont mean to scare you but it’s better to find out now before hysterectomy becomes your only option too. If its caught early enough there are much better solutions.
It’s your call really but I would go with the lap. I would strongly advise against hormone therapy such as Lupron without first heavily researching it-it should not be on the market IMO. Do the lap but try to find out first if your dr. will excise the endo or cauterize it if she finds any. It should be excised thouroughly. E mail me if you have any other ?’s-but please, be very weary of Lupron!