Back on the Pill

Things move quickly in the world of specialty medicine! It was just Monday (Memorial Day) that I last posted an update on our fertility saga. (An update which, I will admit, turned into a mini-freak out. Sorry about that. But thanks for letting me vent!) Well, a lot has already happened since then - basically in just 24 hours. Tuesday I was supposed to call first thing in the morning to schedule an ultrasound and bloodwork...and they got me in less than an hour after I called! Luckily Mike was able to rearrange his schedule so he could accompany me, which was great because he was not only able to hear everything firsthand but also because he is such a great support for me in medical situations! So we got there for the ultrasound, and my new doctor basically took one quick look (followed by much longer looks) and said, "Yes, this looks like severe endometriosis...there's a less than 1% chance it could be something else, but I'm 99% sure it's endometriosis." Whoa. So I finally have a much more definite probable diagnosis! Basically, I still have one large cyst on my right ovary and at least 4 medium cysts on my left ovary (even though I had another full menstrual cycle, so they should have disappeared if they were functional cysts rather than due to endo), plus their appearance is consistent with cysts caused by endometriosis (which I learned is technically called an "endometrioma" when the endo cyst is on an ovary). Did you also catch the fact that he said it's "severe"?  Not that I'm excited to have a severe disease, but I'm so relieved to finally be taken seriously and not just be told that my pain is all in my head, or that I must be a wimp for complaining so much about what other women supposedly also go through every month. I feel vindicated!!

So now for the next step: surgery. I'm a little apprehensive about undergoing surgery, especially since I've never had anything more invasive than a D&C and my top wisdom teeth removed. I did a little research online, just to get an idea of what the laparoscopy will entail, and what I found just freaked me out more. (There is some thorough info here: http://endometriosis.org/resources/articles/laparoscopy-before-and-after-tips/ and here:  http://www.endo-resolved.com/laparoscopy_advice.html ) But at least I now know kind of what to expect. And, most importantly, my doctor said he would recommend surgery given the severity of my disease even if I wasn't trying to get pregnant! He seems to think that not only will my fertility improve, but also my quality of life will improve (due to decreased pain) following surgery, which I can definitely get on board with!

In addition to the laparscopy, my doctor also wants a hysteroscopy done to repair any problems with the structure of my uterus. (He also saw a small fibroid on the u/s, although he didn't seem too concerned about that - he was more worried about the weird shape that was recorded on the HSG. Groan.) So, in order to have the best success with the hysteroscopy, the uterine lining needs to be thin - which means I have to take the Pill again. I'm not too excited about being on the Pill again, since I am still convinced that my body reacts strongly to medications, especially hormones, but at this point I'm willing to do what needs to be done. It was a bit daunting to take the first one last night, though, and to officially embark on this path toward surgery.

The clinic should be calling me in the next couple days to get the surgery scheduled, and my doctor is hoping that it will be some time in the next six weeks at the longest. There's about a one-week recovery time following surgery before I can go back to work again (barring any complications), then more time for internal recovery time before we can start "trying" again.

Like I said before, it's a little overwhelming how quickly this process has gone! I'm still trying to wrap my mind around all this, and I have so many mixed emotions - relief at having a diagnosis and plan, anger that no one listened to me in the past 10-15 years about my level of pain and the pattern that apparently clearly suggests endo, frustration that neither radiologist from my first 2 ultrasounds (or my primary ob/gyn) made the diagnosis, sadness at all the lost time "trying" that was apparently in vain given the severity of the disease, hope that I could have less pain in the future, fear about having surgery, etc., etc., etc.

I'll keep you all posted!