pelvic pain from endometriosis or herniated disc?!

[purple441122]

I have terrible pelvic pain! About six months ago, my doctor diagnosed it as "suspected endometriosis/severe dysmenorrhea".  Usually when I have my worst flare ups of pain, it is accompanied by really heavy bleeding that is really hard to get to stop.  In these past six months, I've been on loestrin 24 and have loved it it has reduced my pain a lot and keeps my bleeding under much better control.  Within this past month I started having pelvic pain again.  At first it was with light bleeding, but then the bleeding stopped after about a week, and I still have this pain!  It gets much, much worse when I exercise, in fact doing things like biking, pilates, sit-ups, etc. puts me in really terrible pain.  My doctor suggested that this could be a herniated disc in my lumbar...does this mean that this could have been a herniated disc all along? or am I just catching two problems in the same year?  

I just don't understand...can endometriosis cause this constant pain that just doesn't go away, even when bleeding is put under control? And should exercise be making it worse if this pain is being caused by endometriosis?

Can a herniated disc cause pelvic pain?  I have more recently noticed more discomfort in my back, it's beginning to bother me, but I don't have extreme back pain, the only regular back pain I have had is that when my menstrual cramps get really bad it radiates to my back.

I'm so confused!!

[I_am_me2]

Hi I was having very similar pain. Went to gyno and I found out I have weakening pelvic floor muscles.  The muscles that used to support ur organs are no longer doing the job effectively therefore ur organs are putting pressure on ur vagina bc they aren't supported right
  This was causing my back pain my leg and Abdominal pain.     I know u posted last yr but I hope this helps

[Des_a_rae]

Hi there!

  So sorry you're going through this.  My story is quite similiar to yours!  I have constant pelvic pain and lower back pain.  It's alot worse everytime it's time for me to start.  I say on a scale of 1-10, my pain around the time I start is probably a 12.  No joke!  I have to knock myself out and sleep through it because if I don't, I have thrown up and even passed out from hurting so bad.  Having said that, I was put on birth control because I had really heavy periods and of course the pain was just god awful.  So, after being on birth control it really helped with both. I was tickled pink because FINALLY something was helping.  Well my pain started coming back after being on them for about 5 months and it was back with a vengenance. :(  I told my dr. about this.  Mind you it was still helping with my bleeding, just not the pain.  SO she sends me to an RE because I was also trying to conceive.  I figured something was seriously wrong to be in this much pain and unable to conceive.  SO the RE schedules me for a lapraoscopy and hysteroscopy.  They removed Enometriosis, a cyst on my fallopian tube and the polyp in the middle of my uterus.  Boy was I happy, but I also wondered if they got it all.  All meaning all the endo considering I was only back there for a full 45 min. and that included getting me ready and surgery.  Not alot of time there.  Anyways, about 2 months after my surgery everything started coming back.  He says he's done all he could for my pain and wants to send me to a pelvic specialists.  I have so much pain, ovaries, lower back, hips, thighs, down to my calves and sometimes my hoohaa(sorry tmi).  Of course different times in my cycles the pain is worse but these are the areas I have most pain.  When its' time for me to start I have ALOT of pain in my ovaries when trying to have a bowel movement.   SO I think I'll start narrowing down somethings since he's supposedly done all he could.  I had a colonoscopy that showed everything was fine.  I had an MRI and X-ray of my lower back and hips..everything was fine there.  NOW I go back and think.."he missed endo somewhere".    SO, if this keeps up I'm going to find another dr. to do ANOTHER laparoscopy on me.  My aunt had really bad endo and had to have a hysterectomy at 29!!   I just want someone to finally find it and fix it.  After going through this for 10 yrs now I'm mentally and physically exhausted.  

If I were you, I'd have a laparoscopy done.  It's the ONLY way to diagnose and remove endometriosis.  Unfortunately it never goes away and I've seen alot of women have multiple surgeries but if I can get just some relief it'd be nice.  And like I said..take it one step at a time.  If you don't want to go as far as having surgery, get the MRI and stuff done first.  Rule out the back OR see if that's it at all.  If not, go on to the lap.   Anyways, sorry for this being so long.  I just really hope you find an answer and get the help you need. :)  No sense in being in so much pain all the time. It's worse when you don't know why.  If you need to talk or have any questions please feel free to message me or reply back here.  Take care hun!!  Best of luck to you. :)