Still experiencing pain with continuous BCpills (cryselle)
I have been taking continuous cryselle for about 8 months, and I SWEAR that the week of what WOULD be the sugar pills, I get cramping and pain that I would normally associate with having a period or withdrawal bleeding. I recently had left ovary removed, ablation for endo and adhesions, and both tubes removed. I'm disheartened to feel like it didn't help much. Does anyone experience this while taking the combo pill continuously? Any thoughts?
New here and thanks in advance!
Firstly, just wanted to welcome you to the community! We are happy you are here and hope you know you can reach out to us anytime; we are here for you. Second, I took the combo pill years ago, before I even knew I had endometriosis, and I actually struggled a lot with it. I don't remember the brand name, but I do remember the week of the sugar pills was always rough. I am so saddened and sorry to hear you are having some issues, too. I know how disheartening it is for sure, when you have surgery and do all these things only to find, it didn't really help much.
I will make a few suggestions that I had learned from my surgeries. My very first surgery was ablation, and I found no relief after it. In fact, I felt worse. Many doctors not well skilled in endometriosis, do use this form of surgery. However, what I learned shortly after, excision is the golden standard treatment for endometriosis. I will drop some links about it here. But I did feel a bit better after my excision surgery compared to when I had ablation surgery!
https://endometriosis.net/clinical/excision-ablation
https://endometriosis.net/stories/ablation-versus-excision-overview
Of course, I am not a doctor, I am just basing off my experience but because of the ablation, that can possibly be why you are certainly still feeling no relief whatsoever. Another thought, if you haven't yet seen one, I would suggest meeting with an endometriosis specialist. They may be able to give you better advice/treatment options to help you manage your pains/symptoms. If you head to Nancy's Nook- a FB group- she lists endometriosis specialists that you can search in your specific location/surrounding area!
I truly hope this helps and that you do find some sort of relief dear warrior. Please, like I said, reach out anytime you need. We are here for you. Sending you good thoughts and a big hug. -Kimberli (team member)Thank you. Any thoughts help!
Welcome! Your experience sounds a lot like mine. I actually felt much worse on a continuous combined birth control pill. I tried to explain to my doctor that the pill made me feel like my worst PMS week was spread out ALL the time. I couldn’t tolerate other side effects of the pill either, like nausea, fatigue, and mood swings. I tried the NuvaRing for a few years for contraception, and it didn’t help with my pain either. Here’s an article in case it’s helpful: https://endometriosis.net/living/stop-birth-control.
For me, pelvic floor therapy and diet changes actually helped my pelvic pain the most (I have pelvic floor tension). I also take a prescription anti-inflammatory for period pain, which really does help. My third surgery, which was excision and not ablation, also improved some symptoms, like painful sex, that my first two surgeries didn’t help with. That’s a lot of info to throw at you, but please let us know how we can answer any specific questions! - Keri (endometriosis.net team member)I just wanted to check in and see how you're feeling. Has your experience on the pill gotten any better? - Keri (endometriosis.net team member)
