|
Re: Pain increase after seasonale? Please help!!
From: Alyson (anonymous@obgyn.net)
Fri Jul 14 19:05:34 2006
Hi Anna,
I personally did not feel like there was any benifit for me from the
Seasonale. Like you, I felt like it was just making things worse. It
seemed like as soon as I started taking it things went hay wire. I have
not functioned without a pain med prescription since then. After the
Seasonale and the second surgery I switched to Aygestin. It is a
synthetic progestin (similar to birth control) but it has no estrogen. I
was taking 10mg, didn't have a period b/c I took it continuously. I was
still having chronic pain, started having night sweats and not sleeping.
My doc switched me to Danazol in April. It is a synthetic testosterone.
It was working well at first, but not any more.
As far as the laproscopy goes, that's something that can be different
for everyone. There are a couple of things to keep in mind. First, you
can't confirm an endo diagnosis without one. The other thing is that
endometriosis is a progrssive disease. Meaning that over time the
amount of implants will usually increase. That time frame is different
for different people. For me it has benn really fast. As it grows it
can form scar tissue. Having it removed during surgery can provide pain
relief because the implants are gone. The thing is that there are a
couple of ways to remove it. Having it cauterized only removed the top,
most people recommend finding a surgeon that is skilled in excision.
That would involve actually cutting the entire implant out.
Unfortunately there is no cure for the disease. In my opinion it is
probably better to try to manage it than leave it alone. But, that's
just my opinion.
Feel free to e-mail me at strange.eddie@gmail.com if you want to talk
some more. Alyson
At Fri, 14 Jul 2006, Anna wrote:
>
>Posting again..
>
>Thank you so much for sharing your experience Alyson.. I have some more
>questions for you though...I hope you'll take the time to answer them...
>1. Did you feel it was worthwhile to be on seasonale ? It seems like it
>just aggravated the disease...are you on it now? Basically, my doctor is
>recommending I stay on it for atleast 3 months before giving up..but the
>way it is now...I can;t function without a pain killer :( and earlier I
>was managing great without anything at all... But its just that my
>doctor totally feels that it cannot be caused by seasonale..I respect my
>doctor and so I don;'t want to give up midway.. 2. The next step for
>me would be a laparoscopy - since you have had one..do you think they
>help...I would much rather live with my original pain...it was a mnior
>annoyance comapred to what I am going through now..and I feel like
>kicking myself for going on beliveing that something is wrong - getting
>all those tests done -which show nothing anyway - and messing around
>with my hormones..my periods were regular too before this..is it better
>to leave this disease untouched rather than trying to cure it..I am not
>even sure I have it to start with!
>Sorry if I am sounding paranoid...but I really need to talk to somebody
>and make a good decision here.. Thanks a lot! Anna
>
>>At Fri, 14 Jul 2006, Alyson wrote:
>>>
>>>Anna,
>>>I'm not sure how much help I can offer other than my personal
>>>experience.
>>>I was diagnosed a couple of years ago via laproscopy. I started seeing
>>>my doc b/c I only have about one period a year when not on the pill and
>>>started having pains (quick little sharp pain, nothing crazy)that I
>>>associated with my ovaries. Now when I was on the pill and having a
>>>period they weren't pleasant, but certainly not bad (as you said, very
>>>bearable). She figured out that I have polycystic ovary syndrome (hence
>>>no period) and put me back on Ortho Cyclen. I was still having the
>>>pains, so she decided to do a lap to look for endo. She found endo on
>>>the back of my uterus and the sacral ligament. After the diagnosis she
>>>thought it would be best to put me on Seasonale to decrease the number
>>>of periods. I had a bit of cramping and spotting the first couple of
>>>months. When I had that first period though I thought I was going to
>>>die. I had never experienced anything that horrible. I stayed on the
>>>Seasonale for about a year and every period (only 4, but still...) was
>>>excrutiating, knocked me to the ground. Like I said, my periods before
>>>that were pretty normal. She insisted that the endo could not be
>>>causing the pain because she had removed all of it a year prior and she
>>>didn't think there was any way it would have continued to grow while I
>>>was on the Seasonale. I sought a second opinion. He suggested surgery.
>>>At that point I was so miserable I jumped at it. He went in and found
>>>my pelvic cavity "full of disease" (his words), including an Orange
>>>sized endo implant in my hip. My ovaries were involved, uterus front
>>>and back, sacral ligament, pelvic and abdominal wall, and the hip area.
>>>Quite a drastic difference since the surgery a year prior.
>>>Ever since that first surgery and the Seasonale I have had chronic
>>>almost daily intense pain that now includes my sciatic area on both
>>>sides. I don't know why that is and am not saying that it was caused by
>>>the Seasonale, only that it is completely possible to still experience
>>>the pain and symptoms while taking it...and for the endo to continue to
>>>grow. I have also wondered about the idea of the estrogen in bcp's. It
>>>had occurred to me (and I have no idea or proof that it is true) that
>>>something about the hormone levels in the Seasonale did not agree with
>>>my endo. If you continue having problems with it, ask her about Yasmin.
>>>Some women I've talked to here have had better luck switching to that
>>>after having problems with Seasonale.
>>>Feel free to e-mail me if you want to pick my brain about it at all. I'd
>>>be happy to help if I can.
>>>Alyson
>>>
>>>At Fri, 14 Jul 2006, Anna wrote:
>>>>
>>>>Hi ladies,
>>>>My doctor suspects endo because I ahve been having severe pain on my
>>>>left side on and off for more than a year..I earlier thought it was
>>>>related to my colon in some way..but all the tests are normal so far
>>>>(touchwood!)..I have been on seasonale for about 1.5 months...I did not
>>>>have any major side effects except nausea in the morning - but my pain
>>>>which was cyclic/periodic before has really shot up and I am now in pain
>>>>everyday...my legs and hips pain too...which was not happening before..I
>>>>am wondering if the seasonale caused this? I must mention that I ahve
>>>>been under a lot of emoitional stress a month ago and am also taking
>>>>anti-depressants (I started these 2 weeks after the seasonale) I asked
>>>>my Doctor and she said seasonale cannot cause endo to become worse -
>>>>maybe it became worse due to stress and is now out of control and is
>>>>suggesting surgery...I want to avoid surgery right now becuase I am
>>>>dealing with some tough times as it is ...becasue really before the
>>>>sesonale _ my pain was very very bearable..Hasanybody had such an
>>>>experience with Seasonale? I don't have any spotting etc..I read that
>>>>endo feeds of estrogen and OCPs actually contain estrogen - so is that a
>>>>possibility? Not sure....will really appreciate any response...please
>>>>help!!
>>>>Thanks,
>>>>Vibha.
|
|
![[ endo@obgyn.net ]](../../images/endo_at_obgyn.gif)