# IBS or Endo?



## 20960 (Sep 16, 2006)

I am 18 years old and have been told i have ibs for about 2yrs. I was wondering though if mabe i have endometriosis beacause right before my IBS symptomas started my period became worse than u could believe! Right when i would start my period i would almost faint and then the cramps would start they were horrible enough to make you scream and cry! And at the same time you felt like you had to go to the bathroom really bad. Thats the first day the second day my stomach would be super sore and cramps would shoot from my stomach into my lower back and i wouldnt be able to move. Once my perod was over the rest of the month would be constipation for a week then loose stools then Diarrea and thats how my life was and now im just taking any ibs med i can and naproxin sodium when i start my period. I was wondering if this sounds more like endometriosis than IBS????Sorry for the spelling im sleepy =]


----------



## Cherrie (Sep 1, 2006)

Hi sorry about your pain.By description alone without medical exams, it can be hard to tell -- many women have both PMS and period pain, and their BM's also vary with the hormone changes at different times of their monthly cycle.Here's a list of endo symptoms and I'd encourage you to go talk to a gynecologist if you feel you have most of the symptoms described in there. Also, while some ibs-ers have back pain, back pain is not a typical IBS symptom and can be more related to mensturation than ibs.http://www.endometriosis.org/symptoms.htmlCherrie


----------



## rockingirl (Jan 10, 2008)

I'm going through the same thing right now. I don't know which I have either. The only way to know for sure about endo is having laproscopic surgery. My gyno wants me to try medication first to see if that helps. However, I'm using so many different things for IBS that I don't really want to add anything else to my system, you know?


----------



## Freyauppsala (Jan 22, 2008)

Hej sounds like me! All that pain during mense. Yes it sounds like endo rather than IBS but the only way to know for sure is to have a laparoscopic surgery. Talk you your Gyn and talk about your symtoms and how the coincide with your mense cycle. I have alot of pain during ovulation as well as when my period begins. As a teenager I would faint and have so much pain I could not go to school!! So sweetheart I understand how you feel. Do not give up on yourself. Keep posting.Freya


----------



## 20960 (Sep 16, 2006)

Thanx guys! Well i wanna go to my GI or gyno but i dont have insurence right now so i gotta wait till march. I dont really know much about endo though i mean is it like ibs were you just gotta take a ton of meds and see what happens or can it be cured?And yeah i know what you mean about not wanting to take more meds!


----------



## rockingirl (Jan 10, 2008)

Beanie said:


> Thanx guys! Well i wanna go to my GI or gyno but i dont have insurence right now so i gotta wait till march. I dont really know much about endo though i mean is it like ibs were you just gotta take a ton of meds and see what happens or can it be cured?And yeah i know what you mean about not wanting to take more meds!


Well endo is actually growths on the outside of organs, I believe it's the same as the tissue in your uterus that you shed during your period. Thats may be why your period gives you so much trouble, because the tissue on the outside also sheds then. You can't cure endometriosis, but by going on the pill hopefully that would regulate it by controlling hormones, and if they do laproscopic surgery, they can remove the growths that they see, which will hopefully not grow back if you're on the pill. Sometimes an ultrasound can find large masses of endo, but not usually. The only way to know is laproscopic surgery, and most of the time doctors want you to go on the pill first. I'm working on trying all different things for IBS, but if they don't work I'm going to go on the pill. Right now I don't want to because I'm afraid it could just mess up my body even more!


----------



## Guest (Feb 8, 2008)

Have their been any studies regarding people having both Endometriosis and IBS? I was told in 1996 that I could have endometriosis as well as IBS. However, I decided not to go through with the surgery that diagnosis endo. I wish there was another way. These past couple of months, I have had a lot more IBS pain with my periods, as well as during ovulation (landed me in the hospital this month). Right now I am menstruating and I feel terrible. Plus, I am passing clots a lot larger than I normally do. When I was ovulating last month, the abdominal ct-scan showed follicles on my right ovary (normal but could cause pain) as well as fluid--probably from a burst cyst. Of course I've been going through this on and off for years and years without ever getting any straight answers.My worst pain is on the left side way below my abdomen--in the pelvic region. Sometimes it's in the same spot on the right side. Sometimes it is relieved by a bowel movement; sometimes not. I still do not know if this is bowel-related or ovary-related and it is quite frustrating!!!!! How I wish I could wake up one day without having to think about all this... wish it would just "poof"! go away.


----------

