I don't know that it keeps spreading. There are many theories on it, and there are many theories on what even causes endo in the first place. Some believe it is caused by retrograde menstration, which means that blood from the uterus leaks into the abdomen and causes endo. If this is what really causes it, it may get worse I guess if not treated. But some believe that endo is not caused my retrograde menstration, and that we are born with endo. I lean more on this belief, since endo has been found in infants during autopsies. So I don't know. Some doctors believe that using birth control will stop the pain. But I am on birth control, yet I am still in pain.

Im the same as CarrieKitten, I dont know if it spreads but the birth control etc they place you on is suppost to help it not to spread further..Its hard they dont know why endo grows, but know its aggrivated with mestruation.. however it can grow regardless.

Everyone is different, entirely different, what works for one person could not even possibly help another. Its all each individual to their own. I wish we all had something that helped us!

I've been on so many BCP's, Depo Provera, Progesterone etc.. and Im still in pain. Since laser surgery more than ever before. So I have NO idea anymore what works, for me not much it appears!

it's worth finding out what works for you though, that way you can try sticking to it for as long as you can =)

goodluck!

I have been on so much birth control too. The doctor I was seeing kept wanting to change my pills all the time, I finally said no, I'm not changing again. I am on Ortho tri-cyclen lo now and I do still have pain some days, but it is the best birth control I've been on. Elle, do you want to be on birth control?

From what my Doc has told me, yes it will continue to grow and spread. Without any kind of control, such as Lupron or birth control. Endo feeds off of Estrogen most people with endo have elevated estrogen levels in their bodies and we need it leveled out by Birth control or Lupron to keep the estrogen levels down so the endo doesnt feed off of it. But endo is also can be caused by back flow of the menstrual cycle every month, which leaves old blood to sit and create adhesions, but these adhesions that can grow can be controlled by BCP's or Lupron. That is the way my Dr explined it to me.

from what i heard the pill stops pain, does not stop endo from growing.

Hello :) Birth control pills are meant to control your hormone levels and prevent the spread of endo. Depending on how severe and aggressive your endo is, if you are not on a bcp, chances are your endo will spread. This is because the endometrial tissue grows and then bleeds during the menstrual cycle, causing the disaease to spread and symptoms to worsen. The best advice I can give is to discuss your particular case with your doctor, and make an informed decision.

first endo feeds off manily estrogen so birthc control pills containing this will only make it worse. they claim pills,shots,hormones,etc will stop endo but it doesnt. i had surgery and was on depo provera immediatly after to stop the spread and 6 months later it grew back in more places. ive tried everything since age 15 to control my endo and nothing has worked. its came back every time. im now 19 and decided to stop all forms of treatment to see if endo will spread or remain the same. so far i feel good! hope you make the best decision for you and your health. every woman is different.

hope you find something that will work for you :)

There is nothing wrong with taking birth control pills with estrogen. There is not enough estrogen in the pills to feed the endo. Birth control pills with estrogen actually lower the body's natural production of estrogen, that's why they are often prescribed for endo. Without the pill, your body actually makes more estrogen than what a pill has in it.

endo is an estrogen dominace disorder! why would you take estrogen pills when endo itself feeds on natural(body made) and fake estrgens especially when women with endo already have too much estrogen in their body. thats like adding fuel to the fire why add more when your own is bad enough? im sorry but from experience with taking just about every estrogen containing pill my pain didnt get better it made it worst and my endo grew like crazy when i was on them. you need something that it going to shut your ovaries down(lupron,depo provera) it will throw your ovaries into menopause thus stopping the formation of your hormone making which is the cause of endo growth. although these both can cause fast weight gain and a whole bunch of other symtpoms it did help with my pain since i didnt have a period for about 6 months.

In general, women are made up the same. But when it comes to hormones, it's extremely hard to determine where your levels are. Unless my doctors are willing to track my hormones, ( i.e., what makes estrogen go up and down, etc. ) I refuse to put estrogen in my body. Giving your body estrogen to regulate should work, but everybody is different. For many women, bcp with estrogen work, but for many it does not. It's such a slippery slope. Every gyno that I have seen for endo all agreed on one thing, that estrogen based bc doesn't seem to work, at least for me. I think we would all benefit from seeing an endocrinologist.

As far as endo continuing to grow if left untreated, there again, everybody is different. Biologically we are the same but metabolically we are different.

Birth control pills can have varying levels of female and male hormone, and even just female hormone, depending on what levels they are trying to achieve.
For me personally, the older Ive got the less birth control helped me, and after my firsdt laporoscopy, birth control didnt do anything at all to help. Even hormone therapy, which removed all oestrogen, didnt really work after a few months.
A Laporoscopy by an experienced surgeon who understands how Endo can grow and appear is your best chance as far as I know to give you some relief. Its a lottery whether it grows back and how soon and to what degree...

Estrogen in the pills actually help control the body's production of estrogen. Without the pill, your body actually makes MORE estrogen. Birth control does shut down the ovaries. That's how they prevent pregnancy. No, it doesn't stop the pain for everyone, but it can help with some of it.

From my experience I was on every birthcontrol there was on the market until I got tired of it and after my first Lap in 2005 I stopped all forms of treatment. By 2009 having no treatment no nothing I ended up forming a large lesion behind my left ovary and it become "stuck" to my lesion as the lesions are litterally sticky which is why they also are called Adhesions...

So I do believe that Endo DOES get worse if it is not treated but then again they told me being on BC would stop cysts from forming and it didnt...(I have PCOS) ON BC I still ended up in the hospital with a 5cm large cyst....

I had my 2nd lap in 2009 and I was pain free (dare I say) for 8 great months...I am back to being in pain but am looking to change my diet a bit and see if that can help at all...

Yes, it keeps spreading. This is a disease that doesn't goes away by itself. The only cases I known (my mother is one of them) are women that get rid of it by getting pregnant and it seems that the process of having natural births help in the removal of adherences. My Mom had endo, but at the age of 21,22 and 23 she all her kids. Therefore she spent those years mostly pregnant which stops the hormones that fuels the disease, add to that the 3 natural births and mother nature helped her get rid of everything. Other than that, it has to be treatment to stop the spreading of the diasease. In my case I spent almost a decade in Orthotrycyclen, which was a nice pill which did good to my skin and gave me no side-effects but the endo continued spreading and killing my chances of fertility.
KrYs

Pregnancy doesn't always make endo go away. The symptoms may get better during pregnancy, but a lot of times endo flares back up afterward. My cousin has had 2 kids, and she still has problems with endo.