What are your personal medication/treatment experiences?
Hello, everyone. I'm really excited to be a part of this forum.
I was just diagnosed with endo about a month ago after having three years of miscellaneous pains that would occasionally cause me to faint or be housebound. I'm happy to finally know what was going on and to know I'm not crazy, but I'm feeling a little bit intimidated by treatment options.
I've talked extensively with my doctor about treatment options but I wanted to see if anyone had any personal, experienced insight to share since some things you can only realize about a medicine by actually taking it!
Are there medications or particular treatments that have worked particularly well for you? How have you dealt with the side effects?
I'm currently taking a 5 mg progesterone dose to start with but I feel like it's giving me such incredible insomnia. I don't know if it's just the brand or the progesterone itself. I'm a little scared because I feel like the options are 1) be in pain 2) take a daily medicine with bad side effects or 3) have a hysterectomy - which I feel a bit young for.
Thank you for any insight!
Getting a diagnosis is definitely a great first step toward feeling better. And you definitely shouldn't be in pain every day! Everyone's experience with treatment is so different, so make sure you listen to your body and let your doctor know how you're feeling with any treatment. I'm sure others will weigh in, but I'll let you know what worked for me. I've tried all kinds of hormonal treatments (except an IUD). I had mood and nausea symptoms with hormonal pills, but I tolerated the Nuvaring. Unfortunately, none of the hormonal options helped my endo symptoms. However, pelvic floor therapy, diet changes, and surgery have helped a lot. I worked with a dietitian to figure out my biggest triggers — processed foods, wheat, added sugars, dairy, high-FODMAP fruits and vegetables — and we've come up with a plant-based eating plan that really helps my pain a lot. I've also had three laparoscopies. My latest excision surgery in 2021 has made a huge difference. I had scar tissue near my abdominal wall removed along with endometriosis on ligaments under my uterus. This eased a lot of my pain with sex and exercise. Surgery did not help with my period pain, but I now take a cox-2 inhibitor (generic celebrex) that really lessens my pain once the bleeding starts. It's a prescription, so that's something to talk to your doctor about. Good luck on your journey and keep us updated. - Keri (endometriosis.net team member)
