Surgery Hasn't Helped, Now What? Part One

By Kimberli Davino

4 min read

The excitement of booking surgery and having high hopes of finding relief shortly after is something I know so many of us have experienced. But what happens when one surgery becomes two, two becomes three, and so on?

What happens when you have had numerous surgeries and no relief is being found? In fact, you almost feel worse after each one.

What do you do next?

Do you have surgery every few years? Do you take the medicine that you know was not helping you and know may cause long-term effects or do you just continue to live in pain and do nothing about it?

Living in pain and doing nothing

For so long, that is what I chose, living in pain and not doing anything about it. Especially after each unsuccessful surgery.

Mainly because doctors didn't believe that I still wasn't "better" after my surgery and they really wouldn't help me much more. After my third unsuccessful surgery last December, I decided I had to do something else.

Surgery wasn't cutting it and no matter how many different things I tried, I felt my quality of life worsening.

Reached out to a holistic health coach and functional medicine doctor

Throughout my health journey, I only focused on working with traditional doctors. However, it was obvious that it was getting me nowhere.

So I decided to step out of my comfort zone and try something new. I reached out to a holistic health coach and some functional medical doctors.

The holistic route was something I hadn't tried before, so why not? The worst that could happen is it would just be another thing that didn't work.

But I went into it hopeful.

Working with a holistic health coach and functional doctor

I learned quickly that doctors try and treat symptoms, not figure out the root cause of what's causing the symptoms. This means, random assortments of medication, repeat surgeries or there is nothing else we can do for you is thrown at us as the answer.

But this wasn't the case when I started working with my holistic health coach and functional doctor. When we spoke, I felt heard.

In fact, they had not only helped others just like me but had been through a pretty similar journey themselves and could relate to everything I had described.

Wanting to know the cause of the symptoms

I don't think I have ever worked with a medical professional who wanted to figure out what exactly was causing my symptoms. Let alone, believe me when I voiced my opinions of what I actually thought it was.

But the holistic health coach and the functional doctor did. I came to them for help, desperate for help and I truly thought I would be turned away. But I wasn't.

Before I knew it, we were going into depth about every single thing about my life; past traumas, past antibiotics use, past blood work, past illnesses, illnesses now, the types of foods I was eating, the type of water I was drinking and products I was using.

That hopeful feeling continued to grow.

Getting a plan in place

After talking a couple of times, we decided we were a good fit for each other. My holistic coach felt she could help me and I felt the same way.

So we decided to move forward with the next steps. She decided a 6-month program with her, would be just what I and my body needed.

My first thought was, omg, that is such a long time. I wanted to back out and say forget it.

But my gut feeling knew that I needed this. I had run out of any other options to try and heal and live a normal life.

Update on my progress

I am on month two already! It has been so hard and has truly been different from anything I have ever tried. In a sense, it has also been the same as well.

Something feels different. My mindset maybe.

How I am approaching things and what I am being more aware of. Not to mention, having an awesome team behind me that is helping me every step of the way.

Do I feel better? It is still hard and I feel too early for me to say yes or no.

I can say I have definitely noticed some positive changes. Not to mention, I have learned a lot about what is going on inside of my body besides just endometriosis.

I have a long way to go. That's for sure.

But I will say it again, that hopeful feeling keeps on growing.

So why do I share this? Because this approach can help me find even a bit of relief, more than any surgery or doctor has been able to provide, then I want to share it with you all in hopes it can maybe help someone else.

So far, this has been the best option for me. I hope, I can inspire even just one warrior, to believe that there possibly are other options out there and ways for us to heal ourselves.

I know I won't cure my endometriosis, but I sure believe I can heal myself from it and give myself a better life.

This article represents the opinions, thoughts, and experiences of the author; none of this content has been paid for by any advertiser. The Endometriosis.net team does not recommend or endorse any products or treatments discussed herein. Learn more about how we maintain editorial integrity here.

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alexN0076 Member
I’m glad you are feeling hopeful again and that the holistic approach is helping you! I can’t say I had the same experience with them though. When I first had problems with endo I saw a natural doctor and although I felt heard, they did not find or diagnose me with endo. I ended up on this crazy diet and spent a lot of money (cause my insurance doesn’t cover naturopaths) that was unnecessary. My OBGYN ended up suggesting I had endo based on my pain and a lump they found during a scan. I have already had 1 surgery that helped but might need to have more in the future because I’m still experiencing occasional symptoms. All that being said, I really 
1. Kimberli Davino Member
 <inline-mention username="alexN0076" user-id="4167491"/> Thank you! I am so sorry you didn't have a good experience yourself 🙁 I definitely don't think this is something I would have done before a diagnosis either. I definitely recommend anyone to get a proper diagnosis before trying anything like this. My insurance doesn't cover this either, so I hear Ya, it is definitely pricey. But no more than I have spent over the years going to multiple doctors and having tons of procedures and scans (is how I am trying to look at it anyways!). I have learned a lot though in these last 2 months about other things going on inside of my body that doctors never took the time to get to the bottom of. So, it is kind of bitter-sweet. But I was so sick of having continued surgeries every 2 years and not finding relief ever! I will say, I definitely do not feel better just yet, but I also have found a tiny bit of relief at the same time, if that makes sense. Every person is SO different. And I absolutely know not everyone will find the same relief or help from what I do and vice versa! Just wish there was one solid thing that worked though. Ya know? Sending you the biggest of hugs. Thanks for being here and your comment. Hoping you do find something that helps your continued symptoms <3 -Kimberli (team member)