Have a Hard Time Working Out With Endometriosis?

Baybbee123
Baybbee123 Posts: 57 Member
edited December 2024 in Fitness and Exercise
I am sorry to share so much information here - I know no one really wants to talk about these things. But I find it difficult to work out during these 3-4 days of the month and was wondering if anyone on here suffers from POS or Endometriosis? I have to take prescription medications just to get through these 3-4 days - let alone thinking about working out! There is simply NO WAY I am dragging myself to the gym on these days - it is hard enough to walk to be honest. Mostly I just lay in bed like a bum these days, but I want to break this habit. Do any ladies have any tips if you suffer from these conditions? Looking for some type of work out ideas besides hitting the gym?

Replies

  • zoom2
    zoom2 Posts: 934 Member
    I had thermal ablation surgery about 8-9 years ago...that made such a HUGE difference in my quality of life. I was done having kids, though...ablation is not an option for women who still want children.

    Endo is evil. I had all the symptoms from my very first period at 12.5, but wasn't diagnosed until I had my tubal and ablation when I was ~30. I no longer have much, if any, cramping...and my periods are essentially just a week of spotting.
  • twinmom01
    twinmom01 Posts: 854 Member
    I had incisional endo (from having a C-section) so I totally feel your pain...it hurts so much - I know I would lay on the couch and cry. I went through a year of specialists to try and find the root of my pain (apparently incisional is quite rare so no one thought of that - cervical US's, colonoscopies, a Dr. who thought the pain was all in my head until finally a new Dr. sent me for a comprehensive abdominal US and we found the patch of endo all caught up in my scar...)

    Have you looked into any type of surgery to try and correct the problem (at least for a period of time as endo can grow back) - I know when i was researching endo after my diagnosis there is a way they can "clear" it laproscopically....

    I have no real suggestions about exercise just my sympathy from knowing the amount of pain you are in each month
  • zoom2
    zoom2 Posts: 934 Member
    I had incisional endo (from having a C-section) so I totally feel your pain...it hurts so much - I know I would lay on the couch and cry. I went through a year of specialists to try and find the root of my pain (apparently incisional is quite rare so no one thought of that - cervical US's, colonoscopies, a Dr. who thought the pain was all in my head until finally a new Dr. sent me for a comprehensive abdominal US and we found the patch of endo all caught up in my scar...)

    That's interesting...I didn't realize it was rare. I also had a CS and my scar was a big mass of endo adhesions, too...I have one ovary that's pretty much hamburger, as well (though I have stupid 23 day cycles, so it's apparently still spittin' out eggs, meh).
  • twinmom01
    twinmom01 Posts: 854 Member
    I had incisional endo (from having a C-section) so I totally feel your pain...it hurts so much - I know I would lay on the couch and cry. I went through a year of specialists to try and find the root of my pain (apparently incisional is quite rare so no one thought of that - cervical US's, colonoscopies, a Dr. who thought the pain was all in my head until finally a new Dr. sent me for a comprehensive abdominal US and we found the patch of endo all caught up in my scar...)

    That's interesting...I didn't realize it was rare. I also had a CS and my scar was a big mass of endo adhesions, too...I have one ovary that's pretty much hamburger, as well (though I have stupid 23 day cycles, so it's apparently still spittin' out eggs, meh).

    You can have endo outside the uterus which can cause issues when having a C-section...I didn't have any before having my C-section - so they surmise a piece of uterine tissue got caught up in the sutures = incisional endo - from my readings it is more common in women who have had hysterectomys (i.e. where there is no endo to begin with) - I know my dr. who had been doing general surgery for over 30 years (I was his last surgery - dont' know if that was a good thing or a bad thing) had only done 2 other pure incisional endo.

    I am sure it will probably become a bit less rare with the increase in C-sections though...I know I had a friend who was complaining of pain about a year after my surgery and it sounded just like my pain and I told her about incisional endo and to demand her Dr. do an full ab US to look for any type of mass...sure enough same thing...

    The thing that sucked for me is I hyperovulate so when I had the endo adhesion every other month the pain would last twice as long (my hyperovulation my dr thinks one overy spits out an egg every month rather than taking a turns...so every other month I release 2 eggs...but apparently not at the same time because they think my twins were conceived up to 5 days apart:blushing: )
  • zoom2
    zoom2 Posts: 934 Member
    The thing that sucked for me is I hyperovulate so when I had the endo adhesion every other month the pain would last twice as long (my hyperovulation my dr thinks one overy spits out an egg every month rather than taking a turns...so every other month I release 2 eggs...but apparently not at the same time because they think my twins were conceived up to 5 days apart:blushing: )

    Wow, that's something...and not a fun something (aside from conceiving twice in a month, heh).

    My doc found adhesions on my bladder, bowels, and elsewhere in my abdomen. I was diagnosed as stage 2. Menopause will be kinda nice between the decades of endo and the short cycles. I'll be 40 in less than a year and really look forward to being done with this nonsense once and for all! :grumble:
  • lolabluola
    lolabluola Posts: 212 Member
    I have endometriosis and my birth control pill (4 month cycle) and exercise actually help so much. Also avoiding sugar and alcohol helps me. Avoiding junk carbs also helps me. I had surgery last march - that didn't seem to help me. my diet and exercise is the only thing that seems to help (and baths and hot blankets!)

    good luck
  • hajenkatt
    hajenkatt Posts: 331 Member
    Can you talk to your doctor about taking your pill packs back-to-back and skipping the placebos? I have Stage 4 endo, and I have been doing that for over two years now. It helped immensely.
  • missikay1970
    missikay1970 Posts: 588 Member
    i have endo and it's really bad, i'm about to have a hysterectomy. i literally drag myself to the gym to do at least a little something, although i usually can't stay long b/c i have to change pads, etc. so frequently. i take 4 Advil and make myself go. otherwise i would stay in bed for 2 days and cry.
  • Serenstar75
    Serenstar75 Posts: 258 Member
    I have endo and have had issues since I was 11-years-old. I had a hysterectomy at age 25 (kept ovaries, so I still have a cycle and still have -some- pain because there IS endo tissue still inside my body where it doesn't belong, but it's far better than it used to be.) I know how you feel. I used to sit in a crying ball because the pain was so severe. It interrupted every part of my life. I wouldn't push myself on those 3-4 days personally. I'd let your body have the rest it needs to handle the pain you're dealing with. Now, if it were more than 3-4 days in a month, I'd say sure find some way to push through as some women do. But I couldn't. I was in that much pain and there was no way I could even move those days. If the abdominal pain wasn't enough, the migraines added to it to keep me bedridden during.

    For Missikay, I wish you the best with upcoming surgery. Hyst isn't a cure, but it sure does help a HECK of a lot. It can so improve your quality of life.

    Someone mention ablation too. That wouldn't work in my case. Endo was outside and on other organs. This was over 12 years ago for me though.
  • hendrijm
    hendrijm Posts: 27 Member
    I have endo and there is no way I could work out during that time. It is only 3-4 days, just getting through them is tough enough. I'm starting a new treatment, all these hormones have made me gain so much weight, I'm going to eat much less sugar and increase the omega 3 fats in my diet. I have heard that helps quite a bit with the pain.
  • Sgrant2325
    Sgrant2325 Posts: 1
    I find that if I am able to drag myself away from my heating pad and do some light yoga poses it seems to help. Some days it is near impossible to workout but the restorative yoga poses seem to help more then just laying there. And if you have enough energy you could always try some more active poses, just avoid inversions, i.e. headstands or handstands.
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