Re: Back Pain
From: anonymous (anonymous@obgyn.net)
Sat Jan 17 19:11:30 2004
Wendy,
I don't know what IVP stands for, but it is a test to check for kidney
stones. They inject a dye into your bloodstream and take x-rays to see
if there is any kind of blockage or stones. It would have to be done at
a hospital, and you would know if you had one. You have to do a prep
kit for it the day before. It is not a bad procedure and would rule out
stones if that is not what is causing your pain. Kidney stone pain is
different from endo pain. It is a much more intense pain, as if you
have just been stabbed. It is not like the dull ache with occassional
worsening pain that endo has. As for putting a heating pad on it, endo
is an inflammation, so heat would not be good for it. I didn't reply to
your questions about bcp earlier, so I will now. You are right, birth
control does not stop the growth of endo, because endo feeds on estrogen
and that is a main ingredient in bc. However, if you take them
continuously you eventually don't have to deal with the horrible pain
that comes with your period. I personally have been on them
continuously for four years and though the first two years were real
tough, I stuck it out. I am glad I did because I don't think I would
have been able to make it through college having my period. Even when I
regulated it with regular bc pills, the pain was so intense that I
couldn't move from bed for a week. I would suggest that you talk to
your doctor before you go off them, and I would ask about stopping
mid-pack to have a period. BC pills are horomones and any change in
taking them can have a severe effect on your body. Ultimately you know
your body best, but I would ask your doctor first for his/her
recommendation.
At Sat, 17 Jan 2004, Wendy wrote:
>
>What is an IVP? They did some blood tests on me when I went to my
>regular doctor - would that be included in those tests?
>
>My brother-in-law is currently in the hospital having surgery on some
>stones - yuck.
>
>Thank you for your story - I will try to get other things tested.
>
>At Sat, 17 Jan 2004, anonymous wrote:
>>
>>Wendy,
>>
>>This might not be the case for you, but I began having those same kind
>>of "kill me now" back pains about two years ago. I had always had
>>severe back pain from the endo, but never anything so bad that I had to
>>do breathing exercises to cope with the pain. Anyways, I went to my gp,
>>who told me that I had a kidney infection, though it didn't show up in a
>>urine test. He put me on antibiotics. It didn't help, so I went back.
>>He said the infection had come back and put me on antibiotics again.
>>Then he said it was probably my endo and I needed to see my obgyn. When
>>the pain came back the next time, and I knew it wasn't my endo, which
>>has a very specific kind of pain, I went back to him. He said that it
>>was my endo, that there was nothing he could do about it and to stop
>>coming to him. Two weeks after my wedding in May, I was in the ER from
>>pain so bad and so constant that I could do nothing but cry and sweat.
>>It turns out that it was a kidney stone that had gotten stuck in my
>>ureter. I had emergency surgery to remove it before my left kidney died
>>from being so stopped up. It took the dye 9 hours to show up in my left
>>kidney! To give you an idea of how long that it, the dye was in and out
>>of my right kidney and into my bladder making me have to pee within 20
>>minutes!! I would ask for an IVP. Had I known that I could have saved
>>myself a lot of pain and agony. And besides, I have had endo for a long
>>time and I have never heard of anyone having endo in or on their back!?
>>Endo can cause "referred" pain, where the endo in one location causes
>>pain in a variety of other locations. Anyways, I wish you luck in
>>solving this mystery. Don't give up and don't give in to the doctors
>>when they tell you "it's just your endo." That is the easy way out and a
>>response you will probably hear out of a lot of doctors for a long time
>>to come.
>>
>>>At Sat, 17 Jan 2004, Wendy wrote:
>>>>
>>>>I had a lap back in October that diagnosed and removed endo on my
>>>>uterus, overies, and cul-de-sac. They also removed some adhesions. This
>>>>month I started to have cramps early - I still had 2 weeks to go on my
>>>>Birth Control Pill, but the cramps were so bad that I decided to stop
>>>>taking the BCP and have my period just to get it over with. The cramps
>>>>were normal cramps - nothing close to the pain I felt when I would have
>>>>endo flare-ups. The weird thing is my lower back started aching. Then
>>>>the ache turned into an "Oh my god - kill me now" constant pain. I
>>>>didn't injure my back (I am not very active) so I figured that I must be
>>>>getting a bladder infection or a kidney infection or stone or something.
>>>>I went to my GP who told me that it was endometriosis in my back. She
>>>>said that a lot of times the surgery, while removes some of it - it can
>>>>also spread it to weird places. Well - I am going to see my ObGyn
>>>>Tuesday - but I wondered if anyone else had this in their back - (by the
>>>>way, she put me on Vioxx and it is a pretty good pain pill)
>>>>
>>>>Also - I think that I am going to give up on the pill. Obviously it
>>>>does NOTHING to stop or help the spread of endo. The doctors tell me
>>>>that it does, but my body does not like the synthetic horomones, and I
>>>>have no concreate evidence that it does anything, Has anyone else had
>>>>sucess going off the pill?
>>>>
>>>>Thanks -
>>>>
>>>>--
>>>>Wendy in Austin
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