Endometriosis, Continued
It was really bizarre to set foot in the dr's office Monday. I was seen there initially over 7 years ago to deal with infertility, and I have run the gamut of emotions within those walls. It wasn't altogether different this visit, as I am in a bad place again because of how I feel. Luckily for me, I was seeing someone who is an expert in the area of Endometriosis, and had more than one option for me to try.
I am not going to get into the specifics of them all. In a nutshell, the prognosis is still overall frustrating. With the exam, he found the free fluid behind my uterus has returned (and got a beautiful ultrasound picture of that), along with lesions that he could physically feel. Without surgery to confirm it, his guess is that the Endo is back in Stage II, the same as it was previously. Surgery to burn it off again is an option, but since the Endo didn't take all that long to return this badly, it will do the same again. That's the part that gets me. Not that it was a surprise to hear, it's just a really crappy feeling to know that no matter what you are willing to endure for relief, it will all be pointless in the end. No cure. I hate that. I hate that so much.
On the good note, I am at least thankful that while this is incurable, it is not fatal. I try to see the positive side of things, and while this may decrease the overall quality of my life, at least I still have a life. It's just still hard. Chronic pain and fatigue is enough to make you half-crazy. Again, this is something that is difficult to convey.
So...my options are some techniques to try and control the pain. I have a few options, more so than my regular OB had presented to me, so I have to decide which I want to try first. All of the estrogen related options are out because of my adverse reactions. That includes any of the pills, the patch, the implant, etc. In other words, the easiest of the options. However, there are some progesterone releasing options that stand a chance for some relief. Especially encouraging is that some of my symptoms are indicative of low progesterone levels, so it could alleviate those problems as well as the pain. There is a medical trial going on right now for which I qualify. It sounds very interesting, but the main drawback to that one is that after the trial is over, even if the treatment was working perfectly for you, you would have to stop until the time when the treatment is FDA approved. If not for that fact, I would probably participate. That said, I believe I am leaning towards one of the options, and the dr seemed to agree it was probably the best choice (aside from the trial). I am really, really hoping that the first try I get it right, and start to feel human once more. Wish me luck.
After learning more about the trial though, it does appear that in the next couple of years, there may be another option with even less side effects which is good news. It would be even better news if they could just CURE it, but I guess I'll take what I can get at this point.
