A little worried...(might be TMI for the guys)

Question

I'm a little worried right now. I'm going to my moms in a couple hours to celebrate her b-day. Problem is...she has Tylenol over there and I'm already having a battle with myself 'cause I just know I'm gonna want to take a couple. Sounds pretty lame...I know...but let me explain: 

I have Endometriosis and when my period starts I go through extreme, crippling pain, nausea and some of the other lovely symptoms listed below. Now...over the last several years...these symptoms have become increasingly worse...and even while taking more than 15 Tylenol 1's...I can barely function. I'm usually curled up on the couch crying for two days. Now...my period is starting today and I'm so paranoid that I won't be able to cope without some kind of heavy painkiller. I know for a fact that it's not my addiction that's making me feel this way...I don't want to take these damn pills or any other for that matter. But...I don't know what to do. I know that for the long term...I need to talk to a doctor and schedule another surgery or try hormone treatments...but for this month...I don't know. I'm scared at the moment...I would rather have a broken leg and deal with the pain with no meds than go through the pain that I know I'm about to endure. 

Any suggestions???

For those who are not familiar with Endometriosis...here's some info from Wikipedia:

Endometriosis is a common medical condition characterized by growth beyond or outside the uterus of tissue resembling endometrium, the tissue that normally lines the uterus.

Symptoms
A major symptom of endometriosis is severe recurring pain. The amount of pain a woman feels is not necessarily related to the extent or stage (1 through 4) of endometriosis. Some women will have little or no pain despite having extensive endometriosis affecting large areas or having endometriosis with scarring. On the other hand, women may have severe pain even though they have only a few small areas of endometriosis.

Symptoms of endometriosis can include (but are not limited to):

(dysmenorrhea) - Painful, sometimes disabling menstrual cramps ; pain may get worse over time (progressive pain) 
Chronic pelvic pain - typically accompanied by lower back pain and possibly abdominal pain. 
dyspareunia - Painful sex 
dyschezia - Painful bowel movements 
Nausea, vomiting, and/or diarrhea. 
Urinary urgency, frequency, and sometimes painful voiding (dysuria) 
Infertility and subfertility. Endometriosis may lead to fallopian tube obstruction. Even without this, there may be difficulty conceiving. In some women, subfertility is the sole symptom, and the endometriosis is only discovered after fertility investigations. 
Some women may also suffer from Depression and fatigue. 
In addition, women who are diagnosed with endometriosis may have gastrointestinal symptoms that may mimic irritable bowel syndrome.

Patients who rupture an endometriotic cyst may present with an acute abdomen as a medical emergency. Endometriotic cysts in the thoracic cavity may cause some form of thoracic endometriosis syndrome, most often catamenial pneumothorax.

avisg · Answer

I used to have the sugery done every few years ...it worked long enough for me too have two kids then i had my hystercomy at 33 .....

beenthere125 · Answer

Yeah...I'm 27 and don’t have any kids yet. I really, really want to though. I'm not in the position to be trying to conceive right now obviously...but that's my goal after getting myself back together so to speak. So...hysterectomy isn't an option. When I see my doc I will be finding out what my best options are. I may go for taking the birth control to stop my periods for a while (they say this helps because it allows the scar tissue to heal). I've heard a lot of women have had success getting preggo a month or two after coming off the pill. If that doesn't work...then I may opt to have surgery again...but really want to try to avoid that if at all possible. 

But yeah...went to my moms (I couldn't cancel 'cause I'm the only one in my family who has a car...so I was the designated chauffer for everyone). All went well...only took 3 Tylenol and I seem to be doing okay so far. My period hasn't fully started yet...so I'm not sure yet how it will go...I only have 10 pills...so I'll just stretch 'em out and hope for the best. I have no intention of buying more...and no money to buy more...so I have no worries at the moment that I'll relapse. It's just not an option.  

Thanks everyone for all the responses. I'll be sure to keep ya's all updated. I love this forum and spending time here has become my new addiction (poor hubby...hehehe!). Uh oh...addicted to substance abuse forum...ahh! lmao! Sorry...gotta laugh 'cause dang...I'm spending a lot of time here. :)

Thanks again, 
Melanie

catmagnet · Answer

I had ( have) it too, I got a d&c and it settled down a lot then the babies, well, now it hardly ever bothers me maybe I'm one of the lucky ones not even sure its still there

newgirl2708 · Answer

had adhesions (sp?) too, had horrible pain, had hysterectomy (complete) at 35. Best thing I ever did. Well...not best...but love it nonetheless. I was done having children married it was the best scenerio. Like Magi said, if you're in a good situation, look into the surgery.

worried878 · Answer

I had endometriosis and still do...I had an exploratory surgery and that is what they found...was more like pressure but some pain especially adround my period...anyway they took alot of it out but could not get it all without making me unable to have children...i had not signed a consent before hand/the doc shoulda asked me to..this was years ago...i have been on depo provera ever since so now I do not have periods and it solves the whole problem...have u thought about that?  Mine was never to the point that I had to take narcotics or maybe i just never thought about it back then...I really never have gotten true pain relief from narcotics anyway...just didnt care as much about the pain...liked the buzz tho!  if u r trying to quit narcotics, u do need to find another way to deal with the endometriosis

newgirl2708 · Answer

Don't go, say you have the flu...stay home. You can get all of a suddent sick. You can go through the w/d's at home and no one will know and you won't be tempted by the pills over there....

signed,
easier said than done  ;)

confused456 · Answer

Sorry to hear that you are going through all of this but hopefully you can get it all taken care of. Best of luck to you.

beenthere125 · Answer

Grr! I'm sitting here waiting to head over to my moms...and I am already starting to have w/d symptoms. Took my last 3 Tylenol 1's this morning at 8:30 and it's 1:43 here now. Headache and sweats have begun and now I'm really worried that maybe this is the addict in me that's worrying so much about this. I mean...I know the pain is ligit...but I'm not even there yet and I'm already trying to figure out ways to get some pills to cope through it. I hate this ****!!! If I have severe w/d symptoms along with my regular dose of pain and everything else during my period...how the hell am I gonna cope? I only have like $40 to get me through the week and whatever my mom can pass me probably won't be enough to get me through it all...so I'm stuck. I don't want to buy more Tylenol...but I don't want to end up in real bad shape and needing to go the doctors...'cause I can't right now. The doctor thing is a long story...but I owe them $153 from a previous visit where my health card had expired...now I have to wait for the new one to come in and they'll reverse the charges OR pay the $153 and wait for them to reimburse me. Yeah...I don't have $153 so I'm kinda screwed! Damn...whatta mess I've got myself into!

beenthere125 · Answer

Yeah...had surgery in 2002 and then things calmed down for a while. However, over the last year or two...everything's come back and then some. I'm all too familiar with the various treatments...but truth be told...I have not been able to see a doctor for some time (long story). I'm getting everything together so that I can make an appointment this month...but I'm just at a loss for what to do during this cycle 'cause I don't want to take these damn pills. Oh...and it wasn't the doctor masking anything...it was me. I was the one who chose to live with it and self-medicate. So...yeah...I only have myself to blame for letting it get this bad...but it's kind of a long story so...I won't bore you with the details.

confused456 · Answer

Happy Easter!! Good luck!

avisg · Answer

what treatment have your doctors tried at the moments all it sounds like is that he i masking the pain not getting to the root of the problem .I lived with endo from 17 until 33
there are things that can be done to lessen it . lasering lasts the longest .......

beenthere125 · Answer

Thanks again everyone. I've gotta go get ready to head out. I'll check in later tonight and let you's all know how it's going. Man...I am sooo happy I found this forum! You guys are awesome...and just what I need right now.
Happy Easter everyone...hope to ttyl! :)

confused456 · Answer

Keep your chin up. I know first hand how intense the pain is. I am so sorry that you are going through this. Call it a bump in the road for medical reasons. Do not beat yourself up or be too harsh if you have to take something to get some relief.

cathy5841 · Answer

hi i am sorry i didnot mean to be flippant about your pain.  i definantely understand when you are in pain for 2 days it very well feels like 2 weeks.  i do hope you find a way to cope.

flmagi · Answer

I didn't have the Endometriosis, I had adhesions (sp) connected to my colon and leg nerve and a few other problems, but the pain was intolerable 2 weeks a month. I took about 15 Ibeprophen a day. Back then I never thought of getting pain pills. Finally got a hysterectomy and life was good.
Your so young to have a hysterectomy though. Do you have kids?  If you do and your done, get a hysterectomy. One of the best things I ever did for myself.
If you weren't already addicted, I'd say that 2 days a month on pain killers would be ok, but.........
Good luck, wish I could be more help.

beenthere125 · Answer

k...now I'm all teary eyed. lol! It's sooo hard to explain it to anyone who hasn't been there themselves. I've been told most of my life that I just need to go for a walk or use a heating pad and get over it. It wasn't until a friend suggested that I ask my doctor about Endometriosis that I finally found out what was going on. I knew my pain wasn't normal...how could it be? I didn't see any of my other friends crying or vomiting during their periods. I've got pretty much every symptom...including painful intercourse (at times) and infertility. I want to have kids sooo desperately (after I've gotten myself in good health) and it hurts so much that this damn disease has so much control. I'm gonna try my best folks...but I think I might fall a little off the wagon today and tomorrow. I have no intention of starting this whole thing over again...so I will be limiting what I take to the bare minimum. I'll just pretend I have two more days of tapering before I'm done...then maybe I won't feel so guilty if I end up needing to take some. 
I'll try my best. Thanks for the kind words and support...they mean more to me than I could express here in writing. :)

confused456 · Answer

I have dealt with it like I said. There is not much that and I am sorry. Like I said, it helps a little.....but not too much!!! It isn't fun to deal with, but I hope you can make it. To be honest, if the pain is unbearable, which I know it is, and it only lasts 2 days, can you possible take something for those 2 days of the month and not the rest of the month. I am sorry. Not the best advice, but not sure what else to say. The meds would be for a medical condition. Just a thought.

road2recovery · Answer

like you all i had the same thing...the pain was unbearable...Which is where my pain meds started from....i tried everything, until finally i had a hysterectomy....but i was done with having babies....i truly feel for you, because i know the pain all to well...
r2r

beenthere125 · Answer

and yeah...I've tried hot baths, heating pads, Motrin and many other OTC drugs. They do nothing to ease the pain. :(

beenthere125 · Answer

Wow...thanks ladies. I was kinda expecting to get blasted by everyone for this. It's nice to see that there are people who actually understand. I'm hoping for the best...but this being day one with zero codeine...I'm a little worried that the pain will be even more intense than usual. I typically get to the point where the waves of pain end up making me run to the toilet to be sick. NOT a fun thing to go through. Yeah...the intense pain may only last 2 days...but when you're in that condition...it usually feels like 2 weeks! lol! 
Anyone else ever deal with anything like this? If so...how did you cope with pain???

cathy5841 · Answer

i am sorry you ahev to suffer with this.  but, there is a bright side.  it only last 2 days you said.  sorry i cant offer any help for the pain, but i will pray for you.
HAPPY EASTER

confused456 · Answer

Tough one! I also have it and I feel your pain....literally. I hope you can find something else to deal with it. Load up on Motrin b4 you go and put a hot towel on your tummy. It sounds dumb, but it helps a little! Good luck.