What happens if endometrioses is left untreated
I have constant burning pelvic and back pain on my left side . I was at a gynecologist this week. She saw no signs of chocolates cysts anymore! Just some small fibroids. She wasn’t sure if I have endometrioses. And what was causing me so much pain. Another gynecologist confirmed that I have endometrioses due to my chocolate cyst and blood test from 2 years ago. I have stopped taking birth control pills.
Never had laparoscopy and I am afraid of surgery. I don’t know if I have endometrioses anymore!!! The new gynecologist said that she couldn’t confirm any diagnosis without laparoscopy.
Do you also experience constant burning pain with regular periods?
Is it ok to leave the endometrioses untreated?
What kinda meds do you take?
What treatments are you using?
Thanks.
Great questions! Personally, as someone who has been dealing with endo for three decades, I would not recommend leaving endo untreated. I am also someone who has advanced disease and had multiple endometriomas and my endo progressed and worsened, causing adhesions to other organs. I'm not saying that this is in your future, but I definitely would keep an eye on it at the very least. The fact that you have burning pain in your pelvis and back does concern me, as does the fact that you've had chocolate cysts. No one should have to live in constant pain, or even pain for several days a month.
I completely understand your hesitancy to do surgery; I was really scared before my first surgery, and now I've had four altogether. Each time gets a little easier, in my experience.
Birth control and hormones never worked for me, and the science shows that they only mask symptoms but do not cure endo. They definitely provide relief for some people, and you can find a lot of folks here who will attest to that. But my opinion is that the laparoscopy is worth it both to have a definitive diagnosis and for the surgeon to remove any endo lesions found and/or cysts. I would make sure that you have a surgeon trained in MIGS (minimally invasive gynecological surgery) and someone who will do excision instead of ablation, as that is the gold standard of care.
Feel free to reach out with any other questions! ~Katrina, Endometriosis.net Advocate
