Endometriosis and Weight Gain

bump for you!

I was diagnosed with endo about 7 or 8 years ago. I've managed the pain well, for the most part. Now I'm married and trying (unsuccessfully so far) to get pregnant. Dr says to not give up hope, so I'm hoping that getting my weight under control and changing my eating habits might be what finally works.

I had a severe case back in 2005-06, had surgery, and felt much better after.

It is back now on my remaining ovary and getting worse and worse each month - fewer 'recovery days', more 'handfuls-of-Advil' days.

Thank you for posting - It reminds me to schedule a doctor's appointment for this (I must have grown used to the chronic pain).

I find sitting for long periods of time (um, like working at a computer 10 hours a day) aggravates it so my time stretching and walking actually helps.

I hope you feel better.

walk in small amounts mulitble times a day and do your best to focus on your diet. weight loss isn't all about exercise. it is of course great for your over all health, and you should definately exercise. but i would focus on pain managment and diet for now so you can get your weight loss started.

I sure wish I had good answers for you, but I don't. All I have is my experience. I fought endo for many years, through pain and infertility and multiple surgeries. After my second child, I decided that between the PCOS and Endo, I had had enough and had all the girly bits removed. Thankfully, the pain is gone. Not so thankfully, between the meds and the hormones, I have steadily gained a LOT of weight.

Just so I don't sound too negative, there are some bright spots. If you can fight through the initial pain, and realize that breakthrough pain usually isn't your ovaries exploding, exercise helps a lot. On those really bad days, if you can't manage targeted exercise, light cardio could help. Yoga is great. Be really careful with pain meds though. Every time they have prescribed them for me, I have ended up gaining a lot of weight. I don't understand the chemistry of it (though I am sure somebody here does), but that is what happens. Try evening primrose oil and the trusty old heating pad. Those Thermacare things that you can stick to your abdomen while you are on the go are lifesavers too.

I wish you the very best!

I totally understand what you going through, I had a complete, and i mean complete hysterectomy at 32 as well, I will be 35 in march, my issue is the hormone replacement therapy i am on, and how my body struggles to lose an ounce!! But i will keep going and i think you should as well, even just light walking, it took a full year for me before i could do the lightest of things.

I'm sorry that you're suffering, I have very severe endometriosis as well. All i can recommend is, if you can, get yourself to the Center for Endometriosis Care in Atlanta. It was after their surgery that i got some relief! I'd had surgery before with laser, totally ineffective and was given the most awful medications. Lupron, Depo provera...do not get these!! http://www.centerforendo.com/

look into the CEC, they know what they're doing and really care about their patients. Good luck and I hope you feel better!

Okay my fellow Endometriosis sufferers, I have good news! Let me introduce myself first, I am 20 years old, I was diagnosed with endometriosis one year ago, i'm actually having a second surgery on May 20th. I have seen my weight fluxtuate, but let me tell you, It's NOT and i Repeat, NOT fat. It's simply swelling of the abdomen. Best way to decrease this? Heat, Aquatherapy. And what i mean by aquatherapy, Is simply sitting in a nice hot bath for 20 minutes a day. You're swelling will go down.
I work out 3 times a day, 7 days a week, Going for walks also decreases swelling. I know all of this because i see the best doctor in the united states for this disease. (Literally, the best). If you have any questions, feel free to message me and ask away. I am very knowledgable about this disease.


So remember, It's not weight gain, It's simply swelling of your insides!!!! Don't get down. (: But also keep in mind, what works for other women, may not work for you! Every woman's disease is different, even though we're all suffering! Talk to a doctor and see what is best for YOU!.
Love Hayley.

Count me as another person plagued by endo. I was doing great last summer - finally losing weight and getting into some great new habits. However, to combat the endo pain (and a 21 day cycle), I was popping copious amounts of ibuprofen every 3 weeks. It was scaring me to continue to do so. I didn't know at the time what the pain was from. I saw a new gyno in the fall who agreed to remove my right ovary (the source of the pain). Through phyical exam it appeared to be fused to my abdomen. I had the surgery in November and had the ovary removed. That's when she confirmed the endo. I was happy it was over. It was a good month before I wasn't sore to the touch though, so no exercise there. Then at the appointed time in December - the same awful pain. In the same spot. Where there was no longer an ovary. It's such a depressing feeling, to try everything in the world and have the pain always returning.

As a last resort (no way am I doing the Lupron shots), I asked to be put on bcp's. I'm no longer having children and had a tubal a few years ago (it's own roller coaster of disaster). Except at the appointed time in January, the pain returned with such a vengeance that I counted 2400 mgs of ibuprofen that I took in a 24 hour period. Scary stuff. So I started taking the pills continuously. I haven't had any pain since that horrible bout in January. But I found out yesterday after noticing my years-old jeans suddenly wouldn't zip... I've gained 20 pounds. Since January. I know it's from the pills - my eating habits really haven't changed, even though I haven't been working out reguarly. So now I'm really bummed. Do I get fat from pills or suffer the pain? Or get a hysterectomy and worry about hormonal changes and weight gain from that? It's such an insidious condition to be diagnosed with. I feel disgusting, after stepping on the scale I'm pretty sure I LOOK disgusting, ugh.

Well, I'm not going to get any fatter. I'm losing the 15 I lost last summer and another 15 while I'm at it. Starting the JMBR on April 29th with the kickstart week. Hoping the BCP's won't hinder the weight loss though. Glad and yet sad at the same time to see that there are others out there who know what I'm going through. Gotta love being female!

Endometriosis is a hard thing to live with. I've had it since I was born. Its been genetically passed down through the women in my family. We all struggle with pain and all struggle with the weight loss problems. Our bodies cant function properly with all those hormones running around. For pain I went on a birth control pill. I skip all periods (doctor recommendation) to manage pain and to prevent tumors. Its been working great (painless for almost a year) and wont have future side affects on pregnancy. The doctor recommends this because having a period causes our uterine wall to thicken and shed(bleed) and that's when the tumors pop up and attached to the wall. If the wall is thin they cant find a home and that's exactly what the skipping does- it thins the walls....no period- no tumors. the only other thing to be done after is to have your hormone balance checked to make sure the BC is keeping everything on tract and lowering pain. As for the weight loss the only thing to do is cut out the bad- move in the good- and get the heart rate up. Our bodies need at least 1hr 4-5 days per week of intense calorie burning. (average heart rate of 170+) tied with a well balance organic or natural based diet. Fatty foods, bad carbs, oils, additives, hormones and fructose sugars all cause our bodies to shut down and clog. If your clogged you've got too many hormones and poisons. this causes major weight loss issues because your liver cant process it all and goes on strike. Your liver says what stays and what goes so if you only put in good, it will have energy to kick out the bad and put the good stuff to good use. And before trying herbs for liver health Google them. I just found out Milk thistles helps heal the liver and boost weight loss but in people with hormone issues it acts like a super hormone and can cause bad hormonal issues. So be careful out there and good luck. I hope my story helped.