Aa
Well my mom got her results and it looks like endometriosis
My question is what is it exactly and what will happen? She's really stressed out over it and it being tax season(my dad owns his own business) and she's going to owe lots of money. She doesn't know how she's going to figure out her finances especially if she needs an operation. I heard something about an ablation? What is that? I guess I'm just looking for support and prayer for my mother. She's my rock and I don't want her to break down...I want to be strong for her but I don't know how I could be if I don't know exactly the situation she's in. Any experiences/advice/suggestions are greatly appreciated.
Jamie
Jamie
My SIL had this done and she was in pain for a couple weeks afterwards but it wasn't unbearable:
Laparoscopy is the most common procedure used to diagnose and remove mild to moderate endometriosis. Instead of using a large abdominal incision, the surgeon inserts a lighted viewing instrument called a laparoscope through a small incision. If the surgeon needs better access, he or she makes one or two more small incisions for inserting other surgical instruments.
If your doctor recommends a laparoscopy, it will be to:
1). View the internal organs to look for signs of endometriosis and other possible problems. This is the only way that endometriosis can be diagnosed with certainty. But a "no endometriosis" diagnosis is never certain-growths (implants) can be tiny or hidden from the surgeon's view.
2). Remove any visible endometriosis implants and scar tissue that may be causing pain or infertility. If an endometriosis cyst is found growing on an ovary (endometrioma), it is likely to be removed.
Laparoscopy procedure
You will be advised not to eat or drink for at least 8 hours before a laparoscopy. Laparoscopy is usually done under general anesthesia, although you can remain awake if you have local or spinal anesthetic. A gynecologist or surgeon performs the procedure.
For a laparoscopy, the abdomen is inflated with gas (carbon dioxide or nitrous oxide). The gas, which is injected with a needle, pushes the abdominal wall away from the organs so that the surgeon can see them clearly. The surgeon then inserts a laparoscope through a small incision and examines the internal organs. Additional incisions may be used to insert instruments to move internal organs and structures for better viewing. The procedure usually takes 30 to 45 minutes.
If endometriosis or scar tissue needs to be removed, your surgeon will use one of various techniques, including cutting and removing tissue (excision) or destroying it with a laser beam or electric current (electrocautery).
After the procedure, the surgeon closes the abdominal incisions with a few stitches. Usually there is little or no scarring.
What To Expect After Surgery
Laparoscopy is usually done at an outpatient facility. Sometimes a surgery requires a hospital stay of 1 day. You will likely be able to return to your normal activities in 1 week, maybe longer.
Why It Is Done
Laparoscopy is used to examine the pelvic organs and to remove implants and scar tissue. This procedure is usually reserved for checking and treating:
Severe endometriosis and scar tissue that is thought to be interfering with internal organs, such as the bowel or bladder.
Endometriosis pain that has continued or returned after hormone therapy.
Severe endometriosis pain (some women and their doctors choose to skip medicine treatment).
An endometriosis cyst on an ovary (endometrioma).
Endometriosis as a possible cause of infertility. The surgeon usually removes any visible implants and scar tissue. This may improve fertility.
When laparoscopy may not be needed
Directly viewing the pelvic organs is the only way to confirm whether you have endometriosis. But this is not always needed. For suspected endometriosis, hormone therapy is often prescribed.
How Well It Works
Pain relief
As with hormone therapy, surgery relieves endometriosis pain for most women, but it does not guarantee long-lasting results.
Between 70% and 100% of women report pain relief in the first months after surgery.1
About 45% of women have symptoms return within the first year after surgery.2 This number increases over time.1
Some studies suggest that using hormone therapy after surgery can make the pain-free period longer by preventing the growth of new or returning endometriosis.3
Infertility
If infertility is your primary concern, your doctor will probably use laparoscopy to look for and remove signs of endometriosis.
Research has not firmly proven that removing mild endometriosis improves fertility.4
For moderate to severe endometriosis, surgery will improve your chances of pregnancy.5
In some severe cases, a fertility specialist will recommend skipping surgical removal and using in vitro fertilization.
Overall, pregnancy rates are highest in the 6 to 18 months after surgery.6
After laparoscopy, your next steps depend on how severe your endometriosis is and your age. If you are older than 35, egg quality declines and miscarriage risk increases with each passing year. In that case, your doctor may recommend infertility treatment, such as fertility drugs, insemination, or in vitro fertilization. If you are younger, consider trying to conceive without infertility treatment.
Endometrioma
There are various ways of surgically treating an endometrioma, including draining it, cutting out part of it, or removing it completely (cystectomy). Any of these treatments brings pain relief for most women, but not all. But cystectomy is most likely to relieve pain for a longer time, prevent an endometrioma from growing back, and prevent the need for another surgery.1
Risks
Complications from the surgery are rare but include:
Pelvic infection.
Uncontrolled bleeding that results in the need for a larger abdominal incision (laparotomy) to stop the bleeding.
Scar tissue (adhesion) formation after surgery.
Damage to the bowel, bladder, or ureters (the small tubes that carry urine from the kidneys to the bladder).
Laparoscopy is the most common procedure used to diagnose and remove mild to moderate endometriosis. Instead of using a large abdominal incision, the surgeon inserts a lighted viewing instrument called a laparoscope through a small incision. If the surgeon needs better access, he or she makes one or two more small incisions for inserting other surgical instruments.
If your doctor recommends a laparoscopy, it will be to:
1). View the internal organs to look for signs of endometriosis and other possible problems. This is the only way that endometriosis can be diagnosed with certainty. But a "no endometriosis" diagnosis is never certain-growths (implants) can be tiny or hidden from the surgeon's view.
2). Remove any visible endometriosis implants and scar tissue that may be causing pain or infertility. If an endometriosis cyst is found growing on an ovary (endometrioma), it is likely to be removed.
Laparoscopy procedure
You will be advised not to eat or drink for at least 8 hours before a laparoscopy. Laparoscopy is usually done under general anesthesia, although you can remain awake if you have local or spinal anesthetic. A gynecologist or surgeon performs the procedure.
For a laparoscopy, the abdomen is inflated with gas (carbon dioxide or nitrous oxide). The gas, which is injected with a needle, pushes the abdominal wall away from the organs so that the surgeon can see them clearly. The surgeon then inserts a laparoscope through a small incision and examines the internal organs. Additional incisions may be used to insert instruments to move internal organs and structures for better viewing. The procedure usually takes 30 to 45 minutes.
If endometriosis or scar tissue needs to be removed, your surgeon will use one of various techniques, including cutting and removing tissue (excision) or destroying it with a laser beam or electric current (electrocautery).
After the procedure, the surgeon closes the abdominal incisions with a few stitches. Usually there is little or no scarring.
What To Expect After Surgery
Laparoscopy is usually done at an outpatient facility. Sometimes a surgery requires a hospital stay of 1 day. You will likely be able to return to your normal activities in 1 week, maybe longer.
Why It Is Done
Laparoscopy is used to examine the pelvic organs and to remove implants and scar tissue. This procedure is usually reserved for checking and treating:
Severe endometriosis and scar tissue that is thought to be interfering with internal organs, such as the bowel or bladder.
Endometriosis pain that has continued or returned after hormone therapy.
Severe endometriosis pain (some women and their doctors choose to skip medicine treatment).
An endometriosis cyst on an ovary (endometrioma).
Endometriosis as a possible cause of infertility. The surgeon usually removes any visible implants and scar tissue. This may improve fertility.
When laparoscopy may not be needed
Directly viewing the pelvic organs is the only way to confirm whether you have endometriosis. But this is not always needed. For suspected endometriosis, hormone therapy is often prescribed.
How Well It Works
Pain relief
As with hormone therapy, surgery relieves endometriosis pain for most women, but it does not guarantee long-lasting results.
Between 70% and 100% of women report pain relief in the first months after surgery.1
About 45% of women have symptoms return within the first year after surgery.2 This number increases over time.1
Some studies suggest that using hormone therapy after surgery can make the pain-free period longer by preventing the growth of new or returning endometriosis.3
Infertility
If infertility is your primary concern, your doctor will probably use laparoscopy to look for and remove signs of endometriosis.
Research has not firmly proven that removing mild endometriosis improves fertility.4
For moderate to severe endometriosis, surgery will improve your chances of pregnancy.5
In some severe cases, a fertility specialist will recommend skipping surgical removal and using in vitro fertilization.
Overall, pregnancy rates are highest in the 6 to 18 months after surgery.6
After laparoscopy, your next steps depend on how severe your endometriosis is and your age. If you are older than 35, egg quality declines and miscarriage risk increases with each passing year. In that case, your doctor may recommend infertility treatment, such as fertility drugs, insemination, or in vitro fertilization. If you are younger, consider trying to conceive without infertility treatment.
Endometrioma
There are various ways of surgically treating an endometrioma, including draining it, cutting out part of it, or removing it completely (cystectomy). Any of these treatments brings pain relief for most women, but not all. But cystectomy is most likely to relieve pain for a longer time, prevent an endometrioma from growing back, and prevent the need for another surgery.1
Risks
Complications from the surgery are rare but include:
Pelvic infection.
Uncontrolled bleeding that results in the need for a larger abdominal incision (laparotomy) to stop the bleeding.
Scar tissue (adhesion) formation after surgery.
Damage to the bowel, bladder, or ureters (the small tubes that carry urine from the kidneys to the bladder).
Is there anyone else that knows what the procedures are?
My mom went to get a 2nd opinion from out OB and he doesn't seem to think its endo...He thinks her bowel pains and problems are GI and that its just a cyst. Her CBC blood test came back with something not right and she's got a lot of the symptoms. We thought we were taking steps forward now something just made us take a step back... He wants to still do that lapro...procedure to get rid of the cyst...but hes thinking about a procedure that starts with an M...and it may stop her periods. My mom's only 41 years old so she's almost too young for menopause and has no symptoms of that..I just don't get it?
My mom went to get a 2nd opinion from out OB and he doesn't seem to think its endo...He thinks her bowel pains and problems are GI and that its just a cyst. Her CBC blood test came back with something not right and she's got a lot of the symptoms. We thought we were taking steps forward now something just made us take a step back... He wants to still do that lapro...procedure to get rid of the cyst...but hes thinking about a procedure that starts with an M...and it may stop her periods. My mom's only 41 years old so she's almost too young for menopause and has no symptoms of that..I just don't get it?
i found this- hope it helps!! ill be thinking of you and your mom!
Endometriosis is a problem affecting a woman's uterus - the place where a baby grows when she's pregnant. Endometriosis is when the kind of tissue that normally lines the uterus grows somewhere else. It can grow on the ovaries, behind the uterus or on the bowels or bladder. Rarely, it grows in other parts of the body.
This "misplaced" tissue can cause pain, infertility and very heavy periods. The pain is usually in the abdomen, lower back or pelvic areas. Some women have no symptoms at all. Having trouble getting pregnant may be the first sign.
The cause of endometriosis is not known. Pain medicines and hormones often help. Severe cases may need surgery. There are also treatments to improve fertility in women with endometriosis.
another site i saw said it can be treated with hormone therapy, pain killers surgery or even nutritional therapy (changing the diet)
good luck to your mom!!
Endometriosis is a problem affecting a woman's uterus - the place where a baby grows when she's pregnant. Endometriosis is when the kind of tissue that normally lines the uterus grows somewhere else. It can grow on the ovaries, behind the uterus or on the bowels or bladder. Rarely, it grows in other parts of the body.
This "misplaced" tissue can cause pain, infertility and very heavy periods. The pain is usually in the abdomen, lower back or pelvic areas. Some women have no symptoms at all. Having trouble getting pregnant may be the first sign.
The cause of endometriosis is not known. Pain medicines and hormones often help. Severe cases may need surgery. There are also treatments to improve fertility in women with endometriosis.
another site i saw said it can be treated with hormone therapy, pain killers surgery or even nutritional therapy (changing the diet)
good luck to your mom!!
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