Endometriosis and clots

[glitterberrys.livejournal.com]

I was diagnosed with endometriosis a few years ago, had the cysts on both ovaries removed, did one lupron injection, was too miserable to do it again. I have another cyst that could be an endometrioma, or could just be a cyst. It's been there for a couple of years now, doesn't grow or change much, full of fluid and probably some blood.

I am having an insane period right now. I have no idea how many pads I'd theoretically be soaking because whenever I pass a clot (which is nonstop at this point), I book it to the bathroom because I can't stand messy pads and don't want to change every single time. I'm used to heavy periods; I only use overnight pads because that's the only way I can get away with changing just a few times a day. But this is just 48 nonstop hours, moving into the wee hours of the third day, of clots and incessant heavy bleeding. I'm constantly napping, though my energy is mostly fine when I'm awake. (I'm dealing with some pretty significant depression right now and being awake isn't my favorite thing, so I lie around in bed even when I'm not tired.) Otherwise I feel fine, just crampy.

I know clots and heavy bleeding aren't uncommon with endometriosis. But at what point do you go "huh, this isn't right?" Because this is really ridiculous.

I was just at the GYN recently, for bloating and, ironically, because my periods had been completely clot-free and with only bright-colored blood, when I'm used to dark blood and clots. (Everything went back to my normal after the appointment. Of course.) All looked fine except for the aforementioned cyst, which isn't any different than it has been. No new cysts, no fibroids, if my endometrium looked too thick he didn't mention it. (Someone I know was just diagnosed with endometrial cancer with similar symptoms to mine, so that's on my mind.)

And if it's pointless to go back to the doctor about this because I seemed to check out okay a couple of months ago, is there anything I can do about this? The clots are really unpleasant to pass and I've got one every ten minutes that needs dealing with.

Anyone out there with similar issues caused by endo? Besides surgery and birth control, did anything help? For that matter, am I being reasonable in guessing that this is endo-related and not something else entirely?

lack of libido/wetness/labia discomfort

[simply-hope.livejournal.com]

Hello.

I'm reaching out here because internet searches have yielded little to no help about my specific issue(s) and I'm hoping I can connect with people who understand my language when describing my current situation.

(some background)
About a year ago I had sudden onset pain at the very beginning of my menstruation cycle, nothing like I had experienced before. We're talking wrenching, sweating, panting, screaming pain that usually lasted 10 minutes to an hour. The first time it happened I didn't really take too much of it, until it happened again, a month later at the first sign of my cycle. Then I made the connection. Unfortunately for him, this time my (then) fiancé was present and felt totally helpless, as I rocked back and forth, sweating and in intense abdominal pain. I made an appointment with a doctor ASAP. After several visits including pelvic/abdominal ultrasounds, bloodworm, etc. It became clear that I had sizable cysts on one ovary, and she sent me to a specialist (oncologist) to determine if these should be removed. This specialist was great, he was not convinced based on my age, health history, and family history that these were a) cancerous b) requiring surgical removal.
He put me on Gliddess (sp?), birth control, and followed up a month later with an ultrasound, and then 6 months later with an ultrasound. In this time the cysts have gone away, and he wants me to stay on BC as it helps prevent the formation of these sizable cysts, and obviously the pain that comes along with.

In that time however, I've noticed over the last couple months that my sex drive has gone down SIGNIFICANTLY. I don't feel the desire to have sex, and when I am faced with it I have overwhelming guilt about my lack of sex drive (does not help, I know). It's weird because in my mind, I crave sex, but my body doesn't follow suit. I'm finding in addition to the lack of libido, difficulty getting wet and labia discomfort. By this I do not mean pain, the word pain insinuates (at least to me) that it's intolerable and/or hurts. What I'm experiencing isn't hurt. It's discomfort, it just feels strange. I can't really describe it. When my husband touches me in ways that used to bring me pleasure, now it just feels uncomfortable and/or annoying. I know the word annoying is a weird verbiage but that's what it feels like. It's almost like a sensation of overstimulation?

I'm concerned that the birth control could be responsible for these symptoms. Yet, I haven't necessarily had success finding other people with these specific complaints. I know lack of sex drive and discomfort comes in all shapes and sizes so to speak but it would make me feel a lot better to have some sort of support here. After a year of struggles to determine what was initially going wrong, and now not dealing with those awful bouts of pain, I am now faced with another set of issues. I'm still young, and my husband and I have an active sex life despite this, but I don't participate as much as I want to. And I don't initiate as often because I know it will be difficult for me. I don't like that. I feel absent because of these symptoms.

My husband and I are planning on beginning our journey towards pregnancy sometime next year. And I'd like to enjoy that journey sexually (before during and after!) So, I'll have to come off the birth control eventually anyhow. I'm making an appointment for later in the month with a local, female, obgyn that I'm hoping I can discuss all this with in detail. The doctor that sent me to the specialist is my primary caregiver, who happens to also perform pap smears, etc but I'm not happy with that set up. I'm hoping the new Dr. will be able to help me understand what's going on here.

In the meantime, have any of y'all experienced similar situations? Any suggestions? resources?

Many thanks in advance.

Nuvaring Question: Late insertation

[cupkate13.livejournal.com]

Hi!

I started the nuvaring last month on June 11th and I inserted it at 10:15pm. I took it out on July 2nd at 10:15 pm on the dot. I was supposed to insert it tonight (July 9th) at the same time but didn't get home in time. I inserted it at 10:36 pm instead.

I have two questions because I inserted it late:

(1) am I still protected or do I need to wait 7days? How does this impact the rings efficiency for the month? (Assuming this isn't perfect use because iwas late, how protected am I?)

(2) because I was late, does my removal time and insertation time now change? Since it was at 10:15 pm and I inserted it at 10:36 pm, is my new removal time 10:36 pm three weeks from now and new insertation time 10:36 pm a week from removal?

Sorry about the long questions. I don't know too much about this method of birth control since I was on the pill for years and couldn't find any information about what to do if I was late to insert besides put it in anyways.

Thanks so much!

Kat