Okay Brandye, I'm finally going to ask you something.
I have a history of feminine problems in my family on my maternal side. Since as far as they can go back each woman has had a problem. It's no different with me but anytime I talk to my doctors they don't give me straight answers, they dance around it and tell me I'm too young to make any decisions.
I know I am, but I'm thinking about the future, not the present.
Right now I'm on the pill. I had a bad experience with it before, and while it's milder this time around, I'm still having side effects. I'm susceptible to depression and it's increased on the pill. My temper is shorter, my emotion levels are up and down. I can't control myself and it's changed my personality. I really hate it but my doctors are telling me it's the best way to deal with my pain (they've diagnosed me with endometriosis but don't want to do the surgery if the pills are helping).
I'm tired of the side effects, but I'm out of commission when I'm off of them because I get the pain. And the pain isn't just during my period, it's usually after any kind of physical work or activity (ie walking to class or working on the farm). It can be so crippling, it's like having my period all the time.
Are there other methods of BC that would do the same thing in keeping the symptoms dormant, but have less side effects?
I'm seriously considering a hysterectomy in the future. I do not plan on having children (and if so we'd like to adopt) and with the family history, I don't want to keep worrying about possibilities of getting something. Is that a good option or should I just live with it? I hate taking medication, I try to avoid it at all costs, would that be a good route to go?
I just hate dealing with all the issues of my female organs.
Can you give me a straight answer and not dance around it like every other professional I've spoken to?
I assume the "history of feminine problems" is endometriosos. Evidently you have been given a choice by your doctor(s): endure the pain or suffer the depression. If you are on the lightest possible dosage, that is the bottom limit; any lower and the pain returns. The lightest dosage I am aware of is with the ring. I have prescribed the ring with great results but never for dysmennorhea. I do not know if it would work. There, a doctor admitting to not knowing everything!
Two things occur to me:
1. Ask for anti-depressant medication. I do not like the stuff but there are times when it is appropriate. There are interactions between most of the anti-depressants and hormones, so this may not be workable. It takes a treating doctor to really work through this. No internet quack should be used for other than a sounding board (as I assume you are using me).
2. Throw your hands up and demand the surgery. You do not state your age but I am assuming late teens or early twenties. With your history, it may be the best solution and each of us, as doctors, violates normal guidelines once in a while because the "normal" is not acceptable to the patient. Again, the treating doctor is the real word.
I am sorry that there are no new revelations from me. I would have the surgery if it were me.
Thank you for that. I just needed another opinion, and it's good to hear someone say "throw your hands up and demand the surgery"
thanks again
i'm curious....y don't they want to do the surgery? I was diagnosed with endometriosis when i was 21 (they operated on my 21st bday!!) my sister also had it and was operated (she was 21 too at the time) ....and wen she stopped taking the pill her cysts came back....so she's done it twice.
Now we are both on the pill.....and we dont get pains.
My main doctor said she wouldn't do it because she hates doing that surgery, the other won't because of what you said, I may just have to keep having it done if I decide to stay off the pill.
The thing is, I don't want to stay on the pill. I don't like the effects I'm getting from it.
To be completely honest, I'm looking at getting a hysterectomy before I'm 30. Call it a cop out to my gender, but I don't want these organs. They're a pain to deal with. I'm waiting at most until I'm 25 to make that decision, whether I do it then or not I don't know.
My sister had a hysterectomy by her 24th birthday.... She has an awesome little girl she adopted as an infant when she was about 30 :) My boyfriend is an OBGYN -- I've only briefly looked at some of his books, but there's a method they have to go through before committing to surgery, a timeline to make sure that's the best option. I'm sorry your Drs. haven't been as helpful as you deserve.... BEST!
That is called a "protocol" and is regularly reviewed to evaluate us. We all deal with it and can justify many things with proper diagnoses.
okayy...uhm..this is totally different wat u guys r talkin about...but w.e...I need sum advice and i cant find any other part in this site where i can post sumffin...okaii...im 16..&& ivee beeen wiff my boyfriend for 9 months noww..lately hes been talkin about havin sex..i want to becuz i do love him and i do trust him..but im uncomfortable wiff my body.. i mean like..my pussy..HAHAHA okay this is embarassin..okay so anyways..i just dun like the way it looks and im seriously not comfortable wiff showin him..or any guy..i duno what to do :(..hes gunna tink that i dun find him attractive or sumtin..and i dun wanna tell him what the real reason is..
so yeah gimme sum advice
EXOCTICA ;; <3
1. Learn to post a question in standard English. It took me quite q while to figure out what you were asking.
2. Tell him the real reason.
Hi,
I recommend the hysterectomy if you are sure you do not want children. I am sure that I had endometriosis from my teens. My doctor diagnosed it as polycystic ovaries. Changed doctors in mid twenties and he did a laparoscopy and removed cysts that were black (which I think means have been there a long time). He did not do hysterectomies on people in their 20s. I took 6 months of Lupron, thought I was going to lose my mind and then took a year of continuous birth control pills (bled pretty much the whole year). Then I found a new doctor, again. I finally found someone who did an exam, looked at previous surgical pictures, recommended a total hysterectomy, fought with my insurance company and had everything completed about one month from when I first saw him. I love this man. That was five years ago. I went from constant pain to no pain. My depression went away. I am much healthier and happier. It was the best decision I ever made. Good luck!