women-- question...
#340459 - 01/05/09 01:36 PM
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Aly
Reged: 08/16/04
Posts: 669
Loc: Columbus, Ohio
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Hi all,
I'm still around, lurking a bit! My belly has been doing well and I'm able to hold down a job now! HUGE success in my life.
Anyway, some might remember I've had some trouble with my periods. They were so painful and heavy my whole life, but a little over a year ago, I started bleeding (right before my wedding..woohoo) and from then on, I have bled on and off non stop. My doc is fabulous and I've tried every pill in the book! Nothing is working! I had an ultrasound a few weeks ago and he saw excess fluid, probably blood and wants to do a D&C...
Has anyone had one before? If so, tell me all! He also wants me to do antibiotics afterwards just to play it safe since I'll want kids in the future..(not sure how those are really related, but probably don't want to!)
Anyway, any experiences with this?
I'm not too nervous about being put under, as I had my gallbladder out a few years ago, so this seems like a piece of cake!
Thanks for an words of wisdom!!
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IBS-A
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Aly, congrats on the job! Glad to hear the belly is doing better as well. Are you still taking the Align??
I had a D&C last year when I went in for a diagnostic laparoscopy to determine if I had endometriosis. I did, and they removed it, and they did a D&C as well. I didn't have a clue I was going to have one until I woke up in the recovery room and the nurse was putting a pad on me and I had to ask her why!
The D&C was seriously the least painful part of the whole procedure. I had some cramping for a few days, but it was no worse than period cramps. I also had some spotting, but again, nowhere near as bad as one of my periods. I don't really remember if I had to take antibiotics afterward, though I probably did.
I too experience the joys of non-stop bleeding whenever I'm not on a strong enough pill. I had surgery to remove endo in 2007 and I still experience the non-stop bleeding. My (new) doctor thinks it's one or both of two things going on: 1. my original doctor did not remove all of the endo, which is likely because he's not a specialist and he lasered it rather than excised it, which means basically it grows right back and/or 2. I never ovulate and so my body has nothing telling it when to bleed and when not too. I haven't wanted to stay off of the pill for the 6 months or more required to figure out if I'm ovulating properly, so I don't really know for sure what's going on.
Good luck in your search for an answer!
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IBS-C
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Thanks for the response.
1. I'm not an align anymore...I question this, but seem to be stable enough to save the 30 bucks a month! lol. I might try it again, but I wonder if I'll have to go through a long adjustment period again...hmm...
2. Sounds like the D&C should be pretty simple. Thanks for the insight...
3. As for endo, I really think I might have it, but my doc never really discusses it. It was brought up as a maybe, but I have almost every symptom! The only way to know for sure is with a lap exploratory, right? I wonder if I'll need that... can endo be found inside the uterus? Or only on the outside? My doc is doing a scope as well as the D&C, but only inside the uterus. Also, can you see endo at all on an ultrasound? Mine was clean..
THanks! Sorry for SOO many questions! I really do feel your pain about nonstop bleeding...what a pain!
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IBS-A
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Don't worry about the questions! Endo can only be found outside the uterus. Endometriosis is when the lining of the uterus actually implants itself in other areas of the pelvis. It is then driven by the same hormones that control your monthly cycle, so it swells and bleeds and does all sorts of other stuff it shouldn't do anywhere other than the inside of your uterus. My doctor found endo on my bladder, but I strongly suspect he may have missed some on my bowel.
The only way it can be diagnosed officially is via a lap - it cannot be seen on an ultrasound. However, I have heard of doctors treating for endo without a lap if there's a strong history of symptoms. Medical treatment is hormonal - either birth control pills (usually continuously) or something called Lupron. Both can temporarily halt endo - b/c by tricking your body into thinking it's pregnant, Lupron by tricking your body into thinking it's in menopause. Neither is a permanent option. Even surgery is not permanent - the endo almost always grows back.
There are dietary things and supplements you can try to reduce symptoms. Google the name Dian Shepperson Mills and you'll find lots of good info. Heat helps me quite a bit as well. I ordered a special heating pad called the endo-femm that covers my entire pelvis, and I use it daily.
It's good to have a reason why my periods have always sucked, but endo is a tough diagnosis. There's not much that can be done for it, short of repeated surgery. And the symptoms are so similar to IBS that it's almost impossible at times to tell one from the other! So how do you treat it?
Keep us posted! When is your D&C scheduled for?
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IBS-C
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Interesting... I very well could have endo on top of everything else. I have all the classic symptoms, and there are many times I question if I'm having "belly cramps" or "period cramps"... what a pain!
My D&C is one week from today-- the 12th. My husband is taking the morning off work and my Mom is coming to town as well. She's a nurse, so I like having her close by...
So, if I had endo, wouldn't all of my symptoms have gotten better with all the differnt pills I've tried? strange...
It's realy getting old to have pain and cramps in the same area and have no idea which problem it is related to. The bleeding has settled down the past few weeks, but everytime i say that, it comes back with a vengence!
My doc did say that if the D&C doesn't give me the relief I need, he is willing to put in an IUD. Usually they don't do that unless you've had a child, which I have not. However, it is possible and will work just as well, but with a few more cramps at the beginning than other women experience. Hopefully this will help, though, and I won't need the IUD. Although my husband and I are not planning to have children for a few more years, it's strange to think about a form of birth control that lasts years....
Well, thanks for all of your help! You're the best!
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IBS-A
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Endo
#340493 - 01/06/09 10:43 AM
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Nelly
Reged: 08/06/04
Posts: 4381
Loc: Within stray mortar fire of DC
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I control my endo with depo provera. I can't take estrogen because I just bleed every day of the month. I've tried all sorts of bc pills since I was 14... all of the Orthos, and some others including the mini pill. They all made me bleed and the stronger estrogen ones gave me blinding headaches.
I waited 10 years for depo to be made available in the States, and once it was, I jumped on it!! I've been period-free since Aug. '99, and I love it. No PMS, no pain, no period-induced IBS and no blood. And no endo!! Hooray!
~nelly~ 
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Done today
#340728 - 01/12/09 03:45 PM
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Aly
Reged: 08/16/04
Posts: 669
Loc: Columbus, Ohio
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Well, I had my D & C this morning. I cannot complain--it was easy and simple. They found no fibroids or polyps, so the irregular bleeding must be hormonal. Hopefully with everything cleaned out and starting a new pill, the bleeding will stop. If not, next stop is an IUD. Hopefully we won't have to do that, since I haven't had babies yet and it can be a bit more painful because of that.
But the BIGGEST relief is that the antibiotics was in the IV! No oral ones...yay! I couldn't stop thanking my doc!
I was told to lay low tomorrow as well, but I have to been in work at the latest by 3, so I might take the morning off.
Belly has been good during this. Really crampy this morning as the anxiety kicked in, but once I was asleep, all was forgoten!
Thanks for all the advice and have a great day!
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IBS-A
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AHH
#340739 - 01/12/09 08:15 PM
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Aly
Reged: 08/16/04
Posts: 669
Loc: Columbus, Ohio
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I could start another post, but thought you'd all appreciate the irony of this day...
I've been feeling crummy from the D&C, but unable to really nap. I FINALLY fell asleep at 10:30 and was thrilled. I was awoken at 10:45 by my husband screaming that our laundry room was flooding....
The neighbors above us overflowed their washer. awesome. It got all over everything and is now coming out of the light fixture into the living room....on our 1 year old beautiful cherry dining room table.
And all I wanted to do was sleep...
My husband keeps telling me to just fall back asleep. If only it were that easy!
Hope everyone else has a nice clean DRY laundry room!
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IBS-A
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