My 15 year old daughter has been put on a continuous regimen of YAZ to stop severe cramping from Endometriosis. She is still, on occasion, experiencing spotting and cramping, has been taken off YAZ for a couple of weeks, but is back on now in week 8 and is being seen by another GYN for 2nd opinion about laprascopy. If she has this procedure is there any way her future reproductive health could be jeopardized? Also, is there any other way to check & clean out any build-up and won't it all just keep coming back?
The Only way to diagnosis it is to have laproscopy. I have a very aggessive type that keeps coming back, I have had 3 surgeries and am 30! It sucks!! Make sure after she gets cleaned out to have to start hormone therapy right away to prevent/slow future growth. everyone is different and the disease effects all women differently. Good luck, and tell her pain management is probably the best solution since she is too young to have a child. I find that heat, extreme heat on my back and overies works the best.
My doctor prescribed Alesse (I actually take the generic Aviane) for severe PMS symptoms and hormonally-triggered migraines. I then had laparascopic surgery and was diagnosed with stage 2 endo (i'm 31 yrs old) and the dr. recommended that I continue taking Alesse, but skip all the spacer pills and take the b/c continuously. This reduces the possibility that the endo will come back. But there is no way to know the risk of it returning, as everyone is different and it cannot be looked at without the laprascopic surgery.
I saw Dr Camron Nezhat at Stanford, CA. I highly, highly recommend him if you are considering surgery- he is absolutley the best!!!
A good surgeon will do their best to preserve reproductive function, and I have been told that I am able to have kids if I want to. In fact, unchecked endo might actually be more likely to cause infertility than the laparascopic surgery itself.
There are no other ways for a final diagnosis, besides surgery. I waited for a few years, and was so glad to get the surgery done after the fact. Yes, it was a little scary, but having a good doctor makes all the difference. My mom didn't get diagnosed until her 50's and has stage 4- she has been suffering for so long without Dr's taking her symptoms seriously. Now, they are telling her there's a possibility for having part of her colon removed, due to scarring. So if you think you have endo- DON'T WAIT!!! Don't ignore the signals your body is giving you!!! It won't necessarily go away on it's own, even with a pregnancy or hysterectomy. In fact, my mom has had a hysterectomy and the endo has returned.
The fact is no one understands why endo occurs. However, we do know that it must have something to do with the immune system, because normally the immune system would kill and remove and rogue cells in our body. So anything you can do to boost the immune system may help.
There is a new study out from Japan that the supplement Pycnogenol (an antioxidant extract from the Maritime Pine) has been shown to reduce menstrual pain very safely, without side effects. You have to try taking it for a while to know if it's helping- take if for 1-3 months before deciding whether it's worth it. It's one of the few supplements for cramps that doesn't affect the hormones directly (like chaste tree or soy) so it is probably a better solution because of that.
I saw Dr Camron Nezhat at Stanford, CA. I highly, highly recommend him if you are considering surgery- he is absolutley the best!!!
A good surgeon will do their best to preserve reproductive function, and I have been told that I am able to have kids if I want to. In fact, unchecked endo might actually be more likely to cause infertility than the laparascopic surgery itself.
There are no other ways for a final diagnosis, besides surgery. I waited for a few years, and was so glad to get the surgery done after the fact. Yes, it was a little scary, but having a good doctor makes all the difference. My mom didn't get diagnosed until her 50's and has stage 4- she has been suffering for so long without Dr's taking her symptoms seriously. Now, they are telling her there's a possibility for having part of her colon removed, due to scarring. So if you think you have endo- DON'T WAIT!!! Don't ignore the signals your body is giving you!!! It won't necessarily go away on it's own, even with a pregnancy or hysterectomy. In fact, my mom has had a hysterectomy and the endo has returned.
The fact is no one understands why endo occurs. However, we do know that it must have something to do with the immune system, because normally the immune system would kill and remove and rogue cells in our body. So anything you can do to boost the immune system may help.
There is a new study out from Japan that the supplement Pycnogenol (an antioxidant extract from the Maritime Pine) has been shown to reduce menstrual pain very safely, without side effects. You have to try taking it for a while to know if it's helping- take if for 1-3 months before deciding whether it's worth it. It's one of the few supplements for cramps that doesn't affect the hormones directly (like chaste tree or soy) so it is probably a better solution because of that.