# endometriosis



## marleyma (Aug 13, 2014)

My drs have been saying all my ibs symptoms and rectal prolapse could be a result of endometriosis. About 6 months ago i had surgery for prolapse (which came back a few months after) but dr said she saw no endometri during surgery (she wasn't exactly looking for it). Does anyone think the surgery to check for endometriosis is worth it? What is your experience if you had this surgery?


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## Corydalis Aurea (Dec 14, 2014)

Marleyma, hi, I am glad you have brought endometriosis up here. I have long suspected that I too have it but I am also weary about going for any scopy. I know that since they are already in there looking, that they also clean out anything they find while in there, so one is not just going to say, ok, have a look, let me know and I will decide from there. I have two cousins who have had scopy and lasering done because they had endometriosis. One of them ended up getting a regrowth of it, and after that she decided to just remove everything in there, a big decision for such a young woman. My other cousin has also had to be re-done. Two different doctors that I talked to about this, both OB docs, said that unless it is unbearable to live with, it is better left alone, because the likely hood of it growing back is pretty good anyway. Now another woman I knew, who was a Natural Family Planner (but not a doc) said that her mom had it, and she let it go too long and got cancer from it, she advised me that if I was pretty sure I had it to please not let it go. But not everyone gets cancer. We all carry cancer cells inside of us, the conditions become right in some people for it to take hold and become deadly. So Maleyma, I offer you my thoughts, but it will really have to be a personal choice for you to make. If you are having some really awful pains, that seem to go along with strange discharge, erratic periods, fever, anything that might make you think you have an infection, sever swelling, vomiting, you know, all the serious stuff, than by all means, don't suffer in silence. But good for you for looking here on IBS support, because many IBS symptoms both in IBS-C and IBS-D could be culprits in your rectal prolapse. I am sorry for you, that must have been scary and very very painful. My best wishes.


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## marleyma (Aug 13, 2014)

Thank you so much for responding! Do you mind i ask how old you are? Im 26 and have had ibs since 19.. period issues way earlier of course. My search for figuring out what's going on with my body has bern pushing me towards getting the scope for endo. I have had so many other test. But.. if it turns out i do not have endometriosis.. i may end up with a worse mentality about everything.


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## Corydalis Aurea (Dec 14, 2014)

Marleyma, I am 37 now. I can sympathize with your distress! My symptoms have been heavy bleeding and clotting, sever cramping, back ache, awful mood swings, pain in the ovaries, bloating, distention, fatigue, dizziness, nausea, constipation, pain during intercourse, painful bowl movements, hives, sweats and chills. I am IBS-C, but am not always sure which symptoms exactly are PMS or IBS!!! I believe I have had IBS issues since I was a child. I was the kid with the belly ache all the time! It wasn't until I was in my 20s that I had had enough of the pain and went to a gastrointestinal doc, who after an good bit of testing diagnosed me with IBS-C. The OB docs I have seen have rated my symptoms and said that it does sound quite likely that I also have Endometriosis. I wondered about PCOS as well, and even tho' I am not over weight, I don't actually rule that out as a possibility either.

Tell me some of your symptoms Marleyma, what tests have you done? Have you been diagnosed with IBS-C or D? Are you having pain? I am sorry to hear you are in such distress at such a young age. Please know you are not alone, there is someone who is sure have answers for you. Hang in there.


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## marleyma (Aug 13, 2014)

We sound so alike. My symptoms are nausea, abdominal pain, dizziness, recurring prolapse, pain during intercourse,menstrual cycle is completely bonkers (every 2 months.. 3 months.. aunt flow comes and goes as she feels!) alot of abnormal bleeding, clotting, bloating etc. All you mentioned really. I was diagnosed with IBS-A at 19. Test? Geeze.. so many.. ultrasounds, mri,colonoscopy, endoscopy, sitz marker, stomach emptying, small bowel xray, cat scans.. im sure im forgetting a few. It seems I'm always not feeling well especially since the prolapse surgery 6 months ago. All I want to know is what's going on.. who would have thought ot would be such a task!?


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## kals (Dec 8, 2014)

i don't know what endometriosis is but I swear I have or had it! I always thought work should grant women days off when they are on their periods, guys have no idea the pain. I had to take an aspirin it was so bad last month.


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## Corydalis Aurea (Dec 14, 2014)

Marleyma, oh my, yes you sure do have something going on there. I also had all the tests you mentioned for IBS, the scopies, markers and scans. After all of that the gastrointestinal doctor said that he was going to go ahead and diagnose me with IBS-C, and that I had a couple other choices to try, see an allergist to rule out allergies, (which I still have not done) or try a string of meds (which I am strongly opposed too-and now looking back, many of the drugs that would have been tried on me have been shown to have terrible side effects) so I just plug on. Some days are better than others but it is never gone. I suspect the endometriosis for the lower abdominal swelling, pain, heavy flow and clotting, but I also have upper abdominal pain, in where I was told is the liver area. I kept thinking it was stomach pain, but when the doc said point to exactly where it is, she said that is too high for your stomach, that is your liver. I learned that liver inflammation is not uncommon for IBS sufferers. But I also know that endometrial tissues can grow anywhere in the body, even in the brain!

Endometrial tissues are alive, they are basically the same kind that grow in the uterine area, they grow and prepare the area for a baby to grow there from the egg. After ovulation, if no fertilized egg attaches to the uterine wall, than the tissue there dies off and sloughs away, causing a period. These tissues have a cycle, so the scary thing is, no matter where they are in your body, they do the same thing, growing, dying and bleeding, sloughing off. Which is causing inflammation, pain, low grade infection and scar tissue. After a while, these scar tissues and tissues can spread, they can strangle off organs and cause other organs to lose circulation, blood flow and proper oxygen.

The things used to treat endometriosis are having a baby, (which is not a permanent fix in all women) birth control pills and shots (which can also raise havoc with some womens systems and emotional balance) or getting lasered out (which never guarantees getting it all out, or it not returning) or special diets said to regulate the hormones that affect endometrial growth.

Now that said, Marleyma you mentioned your periods being sporadic as well, when that happens you also ovulate sporadically and you may also be suffering from the pain of ovulatory cysts, they also cause swelling, tenderness, sharp pains, jabbing pains, pain during intercourse, fever, rectal pains, and all this can last for 3 to 5 days. If you are able to learn about ovulation, you may like to see if you are in more pain and or discomfort at this time.

You mentioned having to take an aspirin for pain, I do not like to take any kinds of meds, for several reasons, one of them being that my IBS does not tolerate them very well. I do have Pamperin on hand for the monthly cramps tho', otherwise I am bed ridden for 2 days unable to manage my day. I love your idea that work should grant a gal time off for those crampy days. Many just do not understand how some of us are in utter misery! I am a stay at home wife, so I am blessed with being able to rest if I need too, but even at that, there have been so many times that we had to be somewhere or plans were already made that I just have to tough out.

I don't know anything about prolapse surgeries Marleyma, but I imagine that like any surgery they take time to mend up from...and I would have to think, just the area that it is in is all that more sensitive, there are a lot of nerves there. I hope that yo can rest and recuperate.

Best wishes for happy holidays, where ever you are.


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## jilliantodd (Jan 20, 2015)

Endometriosis is a condition where endometrial tissue is found outside the uterus. It is trapped in the pelvic area and lower tummy (abdomen) and, rarely, in other areas in the body.


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