Home Could this be endometriosis?

[ilovethiswebsite]

Hi everyone,

I am very confused as to whether or not I have endometriosis. I was hoping some of you could help me figure out what is going on.

Five years ago I had kidney stones (on my right lower side)... They passed naturally and I was fine after that...

This past summer, I went in to the hospital with an acute abdomen... I had blood in my urine, was throwing up, had diarreah, had elevated erythrocytes and leucocytes in my blood (indicating infection somewhere in my body) and was in a ton of pain... Doctor thought it was appendicitis but was not able to rule it out with a CT scan or ultrasound (cound''t see my appendix). The CT scan revealed two abnormal looking cysts (3 cm big; irregular in contour as if they were bleeding) on both ovaries...

Since then I have also had really bad lymph node swelling in my groin and back... Also apparently have swelling in my right sacroilliac joint (lower back).

My pain persisted about 3 months and has gotten better in the last two weeks. It was pretty constant but did get better for a few weeks then came back.

I finally saw a gynecologist today and have scheduled a laporoscopy in December... He wants to rule out endometriosis and appendicitis....

I guess my question is do these symptoms sound like endo to you guys? I always thought endo was more of a chronic, mild pain and not associated with an acute abdomen similar to appendicitis...

PS: (I have also posted this post on hystersisters.com).

 

[split_shank]

I had endometriosis about 3 years ago and has been controlled since with BC and laproscopy to remove the growths. Those symptoms don''t sound typical for endometriosis that I have heard of. Personally, I had more of the chronic, aching in a few particular areas of the abdomen that had occasional sharp flare-ups during times of extreme exhaustion, stress, or just close to my period. I guess there were times that the aching may have made me want to throw up, but it never came to that. The growths "bleed" the same as the shedding of the lining of your uterus, so the inflammation are typically what causes the pain. I had every test done in the book, including ruling out an appendicitis since my pain was very close to that area, and the only way of knowing for sure was with the laproscopy, so I feel you are on the right path. Even if it is not endometriosis, they will probably have good luck figuring it out with being able to ''see'' in there. Many may choose to go more conservative than surgery, but I know how frustrating it is to keep doing test after test and med after med and not know if its for the right thing. They ended up taking out about 3 TINY little growths that sure caused a lot of pain for their size. They also took my appendix out because they said it look inflammed and didn''t want to have to deal with it at a later time. Like I said, these were just my symptoms, and I''m sure others will have more to add. Hope it helps and you are feeling better soon!

 

[split_shank]

Did they mention anything about PCOS since the growths were on your ovaries??

 

[ilovethiswebsite]

Date: 9/24/2008 6:59:15 PM
Author: split_shank
Did they mention anything about PCOS since the growths were on your ovaries??

Hi Split shank - thanks for your reply... No mention of PCOS... what is that?

I guess you are right - the only way to rule out endo and appendicitis for sure is laporoscopy... What was the laporoscopy like? Painful? How about the scars left over? I have never had surgery before and I am freaking out a bit...

 

[split_shank]

PCOS - polycystic oviaran syndrome. I am not an expert on it, so I dont'' want to give you the wrong information about it. There are websites that can differentiate the two. I thought I had this at first, since the first time I went in for pain, they found a lot of fluid around one of my ovaries.. apparently a cyst had ruptured and caused the pain. However ovarian cysts are VERY common for many women and alot of times rupture and go away on their own. I don''t want to speculate but I believe other cysts can be fibrous, filled with other things like hair-like fiber (crazy, I know), and be numerous and continue to get larger. This is as far as I''ll go into it because mostly dont want to worry you, and also I am not an expert on this condition.

As far as the laproscopy, I had mine at age 21. 3 scope holes, about a half inch each. One was made a little bigger after they decided to take the appendix out (doesn''t fit in those tiny holes!). I am not sure if the incisions are based on where your pain is, because they will be very thorough (sp?) and will check every nook and cranny. Mine were just below my bikini line, one on the left side halfway between my belly button and hip bone, and one actually inside my belly button. Never did find that one! All left hairline scars afterwards, and I actually can barely tell where they are now. Everyone scars differently though. Basically, these scope holes are smaller than the width of your pinky fingernail. You won''t notice them like a C section scar or anything like that.

The pain after surgery was not from the incisions, but the air that they put in you during the procedure. They fill the space between your muscles and organs with air so they can snoop around, and while they try to get it all out before they leave, there are still air bubbles that are trapped in there. Since it is outside the organs, the dr. said your body just has to reabsorb the air naturally. THe pressure from this hurt so bad when you could feel air up in your diaphragm area under your lungs. OUCH!!!! This gradually faded over a few days.

Looking back, the few days of discomfort after surgery was worth having the correct diagnosis, and the pain resolved. I had a few ''pangs'' of pain a month or so after surgery, was terrified that it was back, but my dr said there will be microscopic spots that may remain that they may not find. I was put on a different BC and have not had pain for 3-4 years. Also to note that if you do in fact have endometriosis, that after I was put on a continuous BC, like Seasonique, I had very good results. you can do it with regular BC, just taken continuously for 3-4 mo. at a time. My dr''s reasoning- The fewer periods you have, the less those spots bleed with your period and less chance you give it to grow. I believe it.

Sorry this is so long, but I know I would have like to known what to expect when I was in your shoes. Hope it helps!

 

[Dreamer_D]

I''m no expert, buy although endo tends to manifest as growths inside the uterus, it can also spread outside the uterus and that type of growth could cause the type of pain you are desceibing.

I really really think you need to be asking your docotr these questions! You need to advocate for yourself and if you do not understand why they want to do something, or why they aren''t doing some other treatment, ask ask ask them and make sure they give you a complete answer. If you don''t feel comfortable doing that, get another doctor!

I wish you the best.

 

[split_shank]

PP is right, you do need to ask your doctor these same questions. I hope I didnt come off as pushing for surgery, i just wanted you to know what it was lilke in my case. Surgery is major, no matter how little your incisions are. You are put under anesthesia. There can be complications. If you decide to do the procedure, they will explain this to you. Hopefully your doctor has given you treatment options. In my case, I was tired of being switched around from one medication to the next, being on way too high of hormone levels of BC, terrified of being so young and it growing out of control and not being able to concieve in the futre, and just wanted to know for sure what was going on. I felt this was the way to find that out. You are the one to decide for yourself what you want!

 

[ilovethiswebsite]

Hi ladies,

This whole process has been infuriating and extremely frustrating for me. The health care system here in Canada is so *ucked up it''s unbelivable. I went to the ER with an acute abdomen in June, and I was only able to see a gynecologist the other day... After waiting in pain for 3 full months I finally found a doctor who would hear me out and give me some direction. He was very receptive to my symptoms and complaints, and wants to do laporoscopy to investigate... If it''s my appendix he can take it out at the same time... I am scared about the surgery for sure but it''s a necessary evil... FI and I also want to have kids in the next few years so I want to make sure if there is something wrong in my abdomen (whether it be appendix or cysts or endo) it be treated before it gets worse... Either that or I live with the pain... All the other tests they have revealed nothing... I did ask him all the questions I posed in this thread (e.g. scarring etc..) but I wanted first hand opinions from others....

Thanks for the advice