endometriosis

[lovesduckies]

lol i was thinking about that lol, but i am only 22, never had a real relationship and i'd like to married when i have a child lol(no offense to those who don't!!!!). i'm not even done with school yet and i can't even afford that hahaha. i don't want to bring a child into the wrold because i want to cure my disease lol.

thanks though!!!

I felt the same way. Actually I was married when I was diagnosed, but I was not ready to have a baby right away. I was still a wild child at 22

hahaha no wild child here. no one to be wild with lol. i'm not financially stable or out of school yet! i think i'm not grown up enough yet lol. i'm still a kid at heart

 

[lovesduckies]

well aftertalking to mom today, she said she's going to talk to my dad about getting me on the insurance. we decided we will try for a hysterectomy and freeze my eggs and my sister agreed to be my surrogate if i decide to have children in the future. i hope it works and i hope i don'thave to wait 3 years. i have heard from various people that one must be 25 years of age for a hysterectomy.

 

[tortoise]

lol i was thinking about that lol, but i am only 22, never had a real relationship and i'd like to married when i have a child lol(no offense to those who don't!!!!). i'm not even done with school yet and i can't even afford that hahaha. i don't want to bring a child into the wrold because i want to cure my disease lol.

thanks though!!!

If pregnancy fixes it, why not YOU be a surrogate mother? You have a baby, cure your disease, and a family desparately wanting a child gets their dream come true.

The other family pays your medical expenses...

 

[lorihadams]

Okay whoa, you don't have to have a hysterectomy. I had two laproscopic surgeries and they went in through my belly and burnt off the endometriosis with a laser. It was outpatient surgery and my scars are tiny. I had 3 incisions that are no more than an inch. You definitely need to talk to your ob about your options before taking everything out.

 

[Bubblingbrooks]

well aftertalking to mom today, she said she's going to talk to my dad about getting me on the insurance. we decided we will try for a hysterectomy and freeze my eggs and my sister agreed to be my surrogate if i decide to have children in the future. i hope it works and i hope i don'thave to wait 3 years. i have heard from various people that one must be 25 years of age for a hysterectomy.

I would caution against such a drastic method of taking care of this issue.
You are quite young, and witha bit of care and time, you can certainly see a major reduction in your issues.
The articles I linked for you, are just the tip of the iceberg.
Addressing the hormonal issues and the real root of the cause of the endo, can be very beneficial for you.
Having to spend the prime of your life taking meds to take care of what a comlete removal is going to do to you.

 

[RubyRose]

Hi there,

I'm 37 and have endo as well. I'm glad you got diagnosed so young! It took me about 10 years to get diagnosed, which is apparently about average, so it's good it's happened early for you. Hopefully that means things are changing in western medicine and women's health issues are getting taken more seriously! I agree with the others about the hysterectomy thing.. Sheesh, if that's the doc's "solution," run in the other direction and try to find an endo specialist, even if you have travel to see one.

There are quite a few things you can do to help yourself heal, especially if you start now. I'd recommend spending some time on the site www.endo-resolved.com, which was stared by a women who cured herself of endo. There is a ton of information on there.

The thing that has been making ghe biggest difference for me is NAET therapy (an energy medicine technique.. see www.naet.com) and making some radical changes to my diet: basically following the anti-inflammation diet and giving up all the good and fun stuff for as long as you can stand it (I lasted about a month of following it religiously) and then slowly and tentatively adding things back in and listening/sensing your body to see how it responds.

The things to avoid: wheat, dairy, sugar, meat, nightshades (tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, potatoes), fried things, junk food, prepackaged and canned stuff. Anything acid forming. You can find a chart online I'm sure identifying the worst acid-forming foods to the most alkaline, and try to eat mostly from the alkaline end of the spectrum.

After avoiding the "bad" stuff for a month or so I had a much better cycle with less pain and bloat. I am now reintroducing things and noticing my body is pretty unhappy with me when I eat wheat, dairy or meat too much, but a little bit now and again is fine. I've been getting healthier, saving money and having fun creative with my foods: I now bake my own brown rice bread and oat muffins, use my own applesauce, stevia or a bit of honey for sweetener, eat more beans and lentils, eat a bit of goat cheese instead of dairy, make my own lovely and creamy almond or hazelnut milk.. i even made my own chocolate almond ice cream, sweetened with frozen bananas.. YUM.

The other thing I would urge you to try is to reduce your stress level as much as you can. Stress pumps certain inflammation-inducing chemicals through our systems and whack our hormones out even more, so if it means changing your job or day to day routines, taking up meditation and yoga, or choosing not to spend time with certain people, minimizing stress will help you immensely.

Good luck! Ruby

 

[RubyRose]

Another word about hysterectomies: sometimes they don't get rid of the pain. Check out the site "Hystersisters.com" and you'll see what I mean. Many women still get endo pain if they've had their lady parts out. I asked a gyn about this and he said, "Well then it couldn't have been endo causing the pain" I don't buy it though, given how many women I have met and read online who have had this happen.

Ruby

 

[Farmfresh]

I had endo when I was about your age and was undiagnosed until AFTER my third pregnancy. When they went in to do a tubal they discovered it! At that point they used a laser to clean up the problem and I have had NO problems since then. The baby is 22 now!

I would opt for that type of treatment first. Less expensive, less invasive and less permanent. Always try the littlest solution first, you can ALWAYS opt for a bigger solution later.

By the way ... Welcome to Sufficient Self!

 

[Blue Skys]

I just wanted to chime in and say please do lots of research and talk to several doctors before going for a hysterectomy. The thing with endo is that some of tissue from your uterus as probably "leaked" out of your fallopian tubes and "coated" some of your organs, this causes the tissue to be inflamed each month during your cycle and cause worse than normal cramps. Like someone mentioned they can go in and remove the tissue that is causing the major discomfort. There are way less invasive treatment options than to remove your uterus, and even if you choose to do that, it may not resolve your pain issues.

Best of luck to you!

 

[clkingtx]

lovesduckies, I joined this forum so I could reply to your post. I would have gotten around to joining later, but I wanted to chime in on this.
Definitely do tons of research, there is a lot of info out there. As was posted, women who have hysterectomies sometimes still have the endometriosis, as a previous poster explained, the endometrial lesions can be on bowel, bladder, stomach, pretty much everywhere. One of my sisters in law had a hysterectomy after her fifth child(who is 13 now), and she still has endo pain. I will tell you what I did a few years ago that helped me. I took vitamin C 500 mg and Vitamin E 400 meq every day. I also took a b complex every day. After about a month of taking these vitamins, I rarely had endometriosis pain, and when I did, it was nowhere near as severe as before. I got off of the vitamins when I got pregnant, but the endo usually does come back after the baby is born; and sometimes worse than it was before. It all varies from person to person, as others have stated.
Just know you have plenty of options. I had a laparoscopy that diagnosed endometriosis, and my gyn wanted to give me lupron injections. (to basically put me into menopause, and let the lesions heal) I wanted to have a child someday, so I refused(I was concerned that my cycles would not start back up after getting off the lupron, since they were wacky anyway) Instead I used the vitamins, and they helped. So do tons of research, and make an informed, and prepared decision. I hope it works out for you.
Carrie