What is Endometriosis
Endometriosis is a common medical condition where the tissue lining the uterus (the endometrium, from endo, "inside", and metra, "womb") is found outside of the uterus, typically a...
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Needing advice/opinions on what my doctors say...
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this is a venting/ I need opinions discussion.
Please tell me if your doctors have told you similar or completely different things. My doctor put me on 500mg of glucofage a day to treat what they say is my PCOS. He told me that 90% of women with PCOS get pregnant just by taking the glucofage. He said for the women who don't get pregnant off of pcos is because they need to loose weight in addition to taking glucofage. He said I would be pregnant in no time because weight was not an issue. Well here I am going on three years (in February) and I am still not pregnant. The glucofage did help me to start a period. But its very irregular. I am on 3 months off 3 months.I moved so I had to switch doctors a year and a half ago. So My current doctor decided to up my dosage in June to 1000mg a day to hopefully get me to have a period more often. Well ever since June I have had only one menstrual cycle. So I went back to my doctor in August and said look we need to try something else we still are having no luck. My husband had a semen analysis last May and everything came back fine. So my doctor said lets start you on clomid. I have heard good and bad results from this have any of you tried clomid and what was your experience? Well anyways like I mentioned I have only had one period since June here we are and its the end of October. So My doctor said lets wait another month and then I will start you on provera. I started provera 5 days ago and I pray that it works. ( I took it last year and it did not give me a menstrual cycle). Once I start a period which hopefully happens and on my 5th day of cycle I can finally start the clomid. She gave me 50mg of clomid for 5 days. I have alot of the symptoms of Endometriosis as well. But my doctor said lets see if we can get rid of the symptoms before we go in laproscopy and test you for it. I have sever pains in my lower abdomen so bad I crawl in the fetal position and stay there for hours. On a few occasions we were temped to call an ambulance it got so bad but didnt due to knowing we didnt have the money and the pains would go away soon. The pains start right before my period and get more severe toward the end of my period then go away. Its very painful to have sex with my husband as well. I also get severe lower back pain. I am always tired get bad headaches etc... are these signs or symptoms of Endo? If so.. how can I encourage my doctor to treat me. My friends say the longer you wait the more severe it gets and the lower your chances are at getting pregnant... Also those of you who have PCOS what treatments have you received? What has been successful for you? Posted on 10/24/09, 05:10 pm |
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It certainly sounds like you have endo or polycystic ovaries or both!
There is NO REASON a doctor should wait 1-3 years before even attempting to diagnose what is wrong with you and no reason they should be giving you various drugs without any diagnosis! The only way to diagnose endo is to do a laparoscopy (small surgery to look inside and remove it),but you want a doctor skllled in treating endo to do it and that is obviously not your doctor! Once you get a lap for endo, your chances of conceiving increase by up to 50% sometimes and during it they can confirm a diagnosis and test your fallopian tubes. In short,you need a 2nd opinion very badly and there may be some simple steps to get you on your way to conceiving! 
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P.S. One thing that regulated my cycles (which I tried after a lap) was acupuncture. It is really effective in treating fertility problems. I went from crazy cycles (21-45 days) to clockwork 29 days every time.
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I agree with Utah about the second opinion. I'd say the doctor is useless if they won't treat it after three years. You have a right to get the best treatment available and this doctor is not it. Make sure that before you switch doctors you have your General Doctor refer you, my insurance decided to not cover it when I didn't and now I owe over $1000 for two appointments and a vaginal ultrasound. Not fun since like you I don't have the money to pay for expensive medical bills.
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Utah-I have heard of accupuncture helping... where do you get this done at? is it expensive. Do you get a certain type done.. or just like stress relief? ( I dont know anything about it so I dont know if there is more than one kind but I am assuming there is.
Utah and Mae-My doctor has me on glucophage (metphformin) to treat what she feels I have is PCOS. But its not doing anything for me to regulate a cycle or get me pregnant. but she isnt doing anything to try and find out if I have endo... which her and I both feel is a possibility. She said I should just try to get pregnant before she does a surgery to diagnose me.. well I am obviously not getting pregnant so its time to try something new I guess.
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i thought i had endo, but i have pelvic venous congestion.. which is pelvic varicosities... unfortunately it is not spoken of much and not bought forward by doctors in discussion.
it mimics endo. if you would like to know more and symptoms etc... please message me. the test for this is a vanography dye CT by an interventional radiologist
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I also had Pelvic congestion and Endo, they can both feel similar. But I agree with the other girls, you need a second opinion.
It's your body and you have every right to explore any and all options. The pain you are experiencing is not normal cramps. The pain with intercourse, the back pain... all that are signs of endo or pelvic congestion. I think you should see someone else and talk to them about all your concerns. They are lots of specialits out there who can help you! Best of luck! Keep us all posted.
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Acupuncture is rarely covered by any plans, but I find it so effective I didn't mind paying for it. I live in Canada, so I am sure the costs are different, but if you find someone who is skilled (a traditional chinese medicine expert) they will work with you to get you healthy and not be concerned about timing every appointment. I apts are $60 for 1 hour and she treats me for the other hour free!
I see a specialist in gynecological problems. She is well versed in endo, fertility, PCOS etc. I did not believe in it 100% when I started. In fact, I thought it was a waste of my money but had no other options for pain management after 2 surgeries and wanting to have kids. Now, 1 year later, it has changed my life. My cycles are EXACTLY 29 days every month (even after a miscarriage where it is supposed to get wacky!). I think your doctor is not working with you correctly. I have read that if ANY couple does not conceive in 1 year they are to be referred to fertility doctors. Is your doctors a fertility specialist? If not, she is making errors that could cost you your family. Any skilled doctor knows that endo is only diagnosed through a lap surgery and that if you have it, your chances of conceiving INCREASE with the surgery, not decrease. Ask to be referred to a fertility doctor ASAP.
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Wow, that is shocking!! It took me 8years to get diagnosed with endo and pelvic congestion.... You could easily have either or both of these, and/or PCOS hun. You really need to find yourself a more sympathetic doctor! That is unacceptable that he is not doing more to help, he should have referred you by now!
Two things that I know of to help conception with endo is HCG and progesterone. They are both completely natural hormones, identical to that which the body makes. If you want info on this I will email you everything I know! At the moment I am on both HCG and progesterone to maintain this pregnancy, I only needed progesterone last time. The hormones are given to both stimulate the ovaries and cause ovulation, and to prepare the uterine lining for pregnancy. Finally, I wanted to mention that any hormones you take (such as the pill) will shrink any endo deposists you may have. If it is endo, you should really have a 12week break from any therapy before undergoing a lap (I have had a few, so if you want any tips or info on them just let me know!!) so that the endo can be more easily seen - providing it turns out to be endo!
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As for your question about Clomid, I do know a couple of women who have been put on Clomid and successfully conceived. However, even the information factsheet states that you should be given a physical check BEFORE being prescribed Clomid to see if there is any reason you are not falling pregnant.... It is successful in stmulating ovulation in a high number of women, yet lack of ovulation is the problem in only about 20% of infertility cases.... Has your doc done blood tests throughout your cycles to check ovulation?
I was seen at FertilityCare, they are just wonderful! Firstly, you chart your cycles and have blood tests, so any problems (lack of ovulation, defective luteal phase, thyroid problems etc) are firstly diagnosed and then treated. This is a very importnant step! The couple is taught how to track the womans ovulation, so you will KNOW if you ovulated or not and can use the system to avoid or achieve pregnancy. It is very effective. The medications prescribed at FertilityCare are also unharmful. Clomid says that it should NOT BE TAKEN DURING PREGNANCY, whereas HCG and progesterone are both not only completely safe during pregnancy, but are actually necessary to maintain a pregnancy! This seems so much more logical to me, since success rates are high for both methods. Clomid also says DO NOT take if you have ovarian cysts (other than from PCOS) yet if you have endo you may well have ovarian cysts! I do, and many other endo sufferers do too. So you really need to know what is wrong before you begin such a treatment. This is taken directly from the Clomid factsheet: *The chances of multiple pregnancies are higher when you use Clomid. *The chances of ectopic pregnancies (foetus growing outside the womb) are higher if you conceive on Clomid. *Clomid may cause uterine fibroids to grow in size. *Prolonged Clomid use may be associated with a small increase in the risk of ovarian cancer. Really think about the alternatives to Clomid before you agree to it, as other hormonal treatments are less risky. In addition, you really should be getting help and a diagnosis before being shoved onto medicine such as this. Best of luck hun, please let me know if you want any info on anything I have said (I do not want to overload you if you are not interested!) :)
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I had acupuncture by acupuncturists who specialized in fertility and female problems. My health plan covered it, so I only paid a $15 copay each time. I went twice a week and each session was over an hour, sometimes even two hours long. It worked great. I had zero pain for the eight months I went. However, when my personal circumstances changed and I could no longer go the pain came back tenfold. So, for me personally it was kind of like massage therapy or chiropractor. It works when you go. I lost about 20 pounds when I went which was also great! She would even help me with other "issues" such as migraines and sinus problems which helped as well.
I was not TTC; however, I know several women who were going at the time which it worked for them! So, when the time comes when I am TTC I will definitely go back for that!
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