Re: diagnosis of endometriosis but no laparoscpopy peformed
From: anonymous (anonymous@obgyn.net)
Tue Jan 11 17:51:09 2005
Kathy, the very next thing you should do is make an appointment with a
different GYN. Any doctor who makes a diagnosis and determination for
major surgery based upon the report of an assistant should be relieved
of the duty of being your doctor. Perhaps I'm reading this wrong or you
made a long story short and skipped over a few details but:
#1 Endo can be suspected through various means but diagnosis comes
through laparoscopy.
#2 Hysterectomy is forever and should NEVER be used as an initial
treatment unless there is danger to your life by not having one (uterine
cancer, etc.)
#3 Women get cysts on their ovaries all the time. Seeing one on an
ultrasound is not necessarily indicative of anything, particularly if it
changes size during your menstrual cycle.
#4 Three months of birth control pills is not enough to jump to
hysterectomy.
#5 Please, get yourself a new doctor, NOW.
At Tue, 11 Jan 2005, Kathy wrote:
>
>I am 42 yrs old and today I went to see my Dr for a consultation, after
>seeing her assistant in October. Without going into the whole story,
>she recommended today that I have a hystorectomy (the "worst" ovary and
>uterus). She apparently has diagnosed me with endometriosis but have
>never had a laparascopy or anything similar. The initial ultrasound
>showed a cyst on my left ovary which is still there (but has shrunk
>some), so the thinking is that it's related to endometriosis. The most
>recent ultrasound revealed a new cyst on my right ovary which was not
>there before, but it could not be determined what type of cyst it is.
>
>I have always suspected I have endometriosis, however, I thought a
>laparoscopy would be performed to determine that for sure before
>proceeding with surgery. I am nervous about scheduling a hystorectomy
>without knowing for sure that THIS is truly endometriosis.
>
>I have pain (almost constantly during the last 3 weeks) and my periods
>have always been painful and heavy. I started taking the pill 3 months
>ago which has helped the heavy bleeding during my period, but the pain
>is still bad. I have pelvic pain which wakes me up 2-3 times during the
>night. I take Motrin and that does help a little, but this is no way to
>live. I also have pain after sex, urinary pressure (hard to describe)
>and bowel problems.
>
>Thanks - any help or suggestions are appreciated.
>Kathy
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