Endo and Menopause.
Hi there,
I would like to hear from ladies who chose not to go for lap surgery and continued to live with endo till menopause, does it settles down post menopause? Does the symptoms subside if not completely disappear?
I am almost 44 and on the foothills of menopause, its been most difficult and painful 3 years of my life dealing with symptoms of Adenomyosis, suspected endo and late stage perimenopause. I want to avoid surgery as much as I can and wait till menopause to see if that helps, if not then I guess surgery is the only option.
Any feedbacks would be helpful.
Thanks😊🙏.
I am so sorry that the last few years have been such a struggle. Sadly I don’t have an answer for you as I have not reached menopause (36yo) and I’ve had multiple surgeries. But I hope that someone can give some advice.
Amber (endometriosis.net team moderator)
This is a great question! I'm 40 and have yet to go through menopause, but I agree with you that perimenopause is rough for adeno and endo symptoms — my symptoms started to get worse in my late 30s.
I've had 3 laps, but I've actually gotten the most relief from non-surgical treatments, especially for digestive issues, chronic pelvic pain, and period pain. I currently take a prescription Cox-2 inhibitor for the cramps I get when my bleeding starts, which is very helpful. I've also had a lot of relief from pelvic floor therapy, dietary changes, and certain antidepressants. I'll leave this article with you in case it's helpful (there are other links to other articles that might help toward the bottom of the piece). - Keri (endometriosis.net team member)
https://endometriosis.net/living/symptoms-experiencesIf the endo is on your bladder or intestines or pulling organs into distorted positions then you will continue to have pain after menopause. The tissue will not go away, it will just not have hormonal cycles to respond to. At 44 you really have no way of knowing when you will hit menopause. The average is 51.
What advice would you give your daughter, or best friend, or any loved one? Would you tell them to suffer for possibly a decade to avoid surgery? How much value would you put on their quality of life for the 3 years you have already suffered? Do you value your own quality of life less than theirs? You deserve to feel good!
Without surgery there is no way of knowing how endo is causing your pain and if it will go away after surgery. Surgery will absolutely end your adeno pain though so at least one pain generator would be gone.
I saw over a dozen doctors and had so many ultrasounds and my surgeon was still completely blown away when she got inside my abdomen. I've never been pregnant and she said it looked like I had had at least 3 c-sections because there was so much scar tissue. If I hadn't had surgery it would have continued to progress until it pinched off my ureter and could have ended up with permanent kidney damage.
Endo is always progressing until expert excision surgery or menopause and menopause is not at all guaranteed to end your pain.
If I was your friend I would be digging and searching for the best surgeon available to help you because I know you deserve to live a full life free of pain and suffering. It is not normal for women to live in pain and give up decades of their life. It just isn't.
I know surgery is scary and maybe expensive, but if I hadn't invested in this then I would have started losing income and lost much more money than the cost of the surgery, not to mention my independence.
Whatever decision you make I am cheering you on from afar and hoping you the best life imaginable!
