Dr appt went well. He's fairly certain that I do have endometriosis based on my past and current symptoms. Since I've already had a lapro surgery done a few years ago and a colonoscopy last year where no endo-cells were found (though who knows if those surgeons were fully knowledgeable of endo and all the different appearances it can take), we decided to do a test as opposed to another surgery at this point. I'm going to have a pelvic ultrasound (and yet another vaginal one if needed) done. We're going to go ahead with one month of Lupron to sort of "test" if it has any effect on my symptoms and then go from there. He explained what to expect during the different phases over the month that I'll be on the Lupron (I believe it will be via injection) and then we'll go deeper into treatment options once we establish whether or not the Lupron helped. He also mentioned that it's possible I have Adenomyosis (basically having endo in the middle layers of the uterus and not on the surface) since no growths were noticed on my surface tissue during my other procedures.

I thought I'd feel some relief but I had the opposite reaction last night. Kind of feeling a little defeated but I think it's just because I'm trying to accept that if I DO have this, it's for life. I think that aspect freaked me out a bit. For now I'm researching and learning different ways to cope with the pain. I try to avoid taking pain meds as much as possible but I need to understand that it's okay to take them if I'm struggling. I'm going to send out an e-mail to my family today to sort of fill them in as to what's going on. My family is very supportive and I like to be open about medical issues (I think we all should) instead of being ashamed so I know they'll be understanding.

I don't know when I'll be getting the shot yet because the dr said it's fairly pricey and they have to run it by the insurance company first to see how much they'll cover etc. Of course, we are switching insurance companies at my job next week so there's going to be a delay in getting an answer from anyone but at least I know that the wheels are set in motion.

Thanks for letting me vent!!

Hi cysters!!
Just wanted to follow up again with my progress with the one month Lupron shot. Today is 3 weeks after I got my injection and I'm still waiting for the relief... I still had a normal TOM last week and definitely have the increased pain the doctors warn MAY happen. Well, it definitely got worse~ no MAY about it. I've had a few bouts where I don't think the cyst(s) actually burst but I was in agonizing pain to the point where I was tender for the next few days. Funny how I'm getting to know the different types of pain when they strike.

For the past week I've also had a few of the "normal" Lupron side effects like hot flashes, irritability etc. I also attempted a 5k on 8/3 but was getting very winded and was unable to catch my breath for a majority of the race. Luckily there were lots of fun obstacles so it helped a bit but when I got home I had a huge headache and the "loss of breath" lasted on and off until Monday. I called my dr and they advised to go to the er to get checked out in case of a lung clot (yikes) and they ran an ekg, bloodwork and chest x-ray and thankfully everything came back okay AND I was finally starting to catch my breath while in the waiting room. So still unsure what caused the loss of breath ad also unsure if it was due to the shot I had a week and a half before that.

That leads me to this week. Like I said my TOM came and went just like normal. I'm still having A LOT of pain~ it's definitely increased since getting the shot and now it feels like I have a large cyst on my right side in addition to the one I know about on my left side. I even think it may be affecting my bladder now since I'll have the sense of urgency but will have to sit and wait for a bit for the urine to actually pass and it is painful in my uterine/ovarian areas when I do so~ a very different feeling from a UTI though. Plus I have a pain now going up my right side from my shoulder down to my pelvis that I'm guessing must be from the new cyst as well. Good times I tell ya!

So that's my Lupron experience in a nutshell. I have a follow-up with the dr next week on the 22nd and I'll not continue on the Lupron since this is just way too painful to deal with and I'll be scheduling another surgery instead. Not ideal but I knew it had to be done again eventually anyway so I'll find out more next Thursday.

Hope everyone's doing okay!!