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Pain Management

I am 34 years old. I have always had bad periods, but last year I ended up in the ER for the pain.  It is unbearable . I was diagnosed with stage 3 endometriosis after a laporoscopy was performed and was put on continuous Birth control, which has been ok until 2 months ago, when the cramping started again.  I do not want to go for another surgery because it is not even proven to help the condition. The condition is chronic and from what I am reading they don't even know the causes.  I just got married and I want to have a baby soon, but I am in SO MUCH pain. I went off the birth control last week, and every day I have cramps which make it hard for me to work and live a normal life.  Advil doesnt help, Motrin doesnt help.  My fertility doctors dont seem to want to give me anything else for the pain so I am going to see a pain specialist becuase I refuse to live like this.  Does anyone know a doctor in NJ who specializes in Endo pain?????
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Avatar universal
I was not diagnosed until last year.  I had painful periods my whole life, and no one started mentioning endo until 2 years ago.  The pains were getting out of control.  I landed in ER last summer and almost passed out from the pain.  BP was 70/40.  I am not sure why people think painful periods are normal, because they are not.  None of my friends had this much pain.......I think many doctors just brush things off until they become really really bad.
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Avatar universal
I had a lap in 07 and a recent ultrasound revealed a few very small cysts, but the doc told me no need for another lap unless the cysts were larger than 2cm. They were all relatively smaller than 2 cm. I really did not want to get another lap, i didnt want to go through surgery again, be out of work and all.  I want to start infertility drugs soon....I hope it works!
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211043 tn?1337050701
I just wanted to say that I would do more surgery if you're TTC.  I also have pcos, so I've got two battles, but I underwent fertility treatments (7 months on a hormone called clomid) to make me ovulate.  This was before my endometriosis was found.  I never had any success or even came close to getting pregnant during that time.  I switched doctors and found someone willing to do the lap, and sure enough they found I had endo too.  As soon as I healed from the surgery, I did my first round of injectables and an IUI.  I got pregnant the very first try!  This it pretty unheard of but possible.  I ended up losing the baby, but that was probably because of the pcos and how it affects my hormones - not the endo.  I asked the doctor if the endo (which was connecting my fallopian tubes and ovaries to my uterus) could've been pulling on the fallopian tube and disrupting the path of the egg and the reason the other treatments didn't work - she said "absolutely!".  So you could always try it without the lap, but in the end I think it's worth getting cleaned out before you make any serious efforts.  

best of luck to you!
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Avatar universal
A couple of weeks ago my gp told me i could have endomitrtosis. I had a rough idea what the condition was and wouldn't be too surprised if that be the case. However, my question was why the hell was i only being told this now after 6 years of excruciating pain and endless visits to the a&e department. I am currently waiting for a laporoscopy, hopefully this will be the end to my painfully problem.
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Avatar universal
I didnt even realize there was such a thing as pelvic pt.  You would think my doc would tell me.  Where do you live?  I would love to hear some techniques if you want to share.  This has really affected my life the past year.  I have had to call out of work numerous times because of cramping and I am afraid of losing my job at some point.  This is just vvery frustrating and I find it hard to believe that besides Ibuprofin there is nothing else I can take.  I realize that its dangerous to take pain meds....but at this point I just want to be able to continue working.....
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Avatar universal
I feel ya. My doc didn't want to regularily prescribe me Vicodin either, and I didn't really want to rely on pain meds- I just hate being drugged. But Ponstel helped on the days I needed them. It still allows you to function & is non habit forming, though not for everyone. I first discovered it while I was living in Thailand from a Thai lady I was working with who had endo; it's not commonly prescribed here anymore and can be a bit expensive. Check some info out at: http://www.medhelp.org/drugs/show/429. I recently started going to pelvic pt as well (only gone for two weeks now) and it's amazing some of the techniques they've got for reducing pain. I can't say if it decreases pain a lot at this point but I'm willing to try anything. It's worth a shot.
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Avatar universal
Thank you.  Since I am 34, I see no point in putting off pregnancy so I am not interested in any more Birth Control methods. I am done.  I gained 7 pounds of bloating and I want to get pregnant withing 3-6 months.  I have an infertility doctor who I know is wonderful with fertility drugs and IVF, but the pain management has been poor.  Vicodin helps a lot, however, I cannot find anyone to prescribe it for me on a regular basis because it is addictive.  I take a half of Vicodin 2 times a day. I dont think thats a problem, and it gives me a better quality life.  What is Ponstel?  At this point, I am going to start trying to conceive normally and if I am not pregnant within 3 months, we are going to get more aggressive with fertility f\drugs and the like.  Like I said, my main concern is severe cramping and pain....It is terrible
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Avatar universal
I don't know a specialist in NJ but do know a couple in NYC, but the surgery can help a bit temporarily. It can also help with TTC (a problem a lot of women with endo have). How soon do you want to have a baby? Because if it's not in the absolute immediate future you may want to consider the Mirena IUD (says its for 5 years, but can be taken out at any time, even after a couple months. Helps with the bleeding/cramping in a lot of women). As far as pain management, Ponstel (though can rip up your stomach lining if you aren't careful) has been good for me, and of course, Vicodin. Acupuncture also can work wonders, reflexology can help at some points, and pelvic physical therapy works for some women too.
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