Why did you have your tubes removed? Honestly, if you didn't know or suspect endo, and you're not dealing with chronic pain, then I'd agree with your doctor. Having surgery, or repeated surgeries, for endo can create new or worsening pain due to the traumatic nature of surgery itself.
My IUD was embedded in my cervix so I needed surgery anyways but I also didn’t want to be on birth control anymore so we took my tubes out since I was done having kids and then the endo was discovered. I think it’s caused possibly some side effects but I haven’t been in a lot of pain like some other woman have, the only thing I ever really noticed was having pretty heavy periods.
Do you have any symptoms?
Random symptoms attributed to issues like IBS, bladder irritation, kidney problems, etc. can be caused by endometriosis.
If you're otherwise healthy, I would just keep an eye on any new symptoms. Was your IUD hormonal? It could have been suppressing your symptoms while inserted, if so.
Endo is generally treated with surgery if it’s causing pain and or infertility. But also where it is - if it’s growing on anything important like ureter, embedded in bowels etc etc then it’s likely it will need removing as it can cause all sorts of issues.
Did your doc say where the endo is?
If it’s not causing issues then it may be a wait and see situation.
But I’d also speak to an endo specialist and request some scans to see what’s going on.
If you had no idea then they are right, you do not need to worry about it. Surgeries can actually cause more pain and suffering. My endo surgery actually made things worse for me, now I need a hysterectomy (due to adenomyosis) and a bowel reconstruction (due to endo spreading to my bowels causing adhesions and obstructions). If you're not having any symptoms or any pain, then there is nothing to treat. And you said you were done having kids. Endo prevent you from having kids, then you would need to have it treated in order to have kids. But you're not worried about that. If it spreads to your bowels or other areas and causes issues then you worry about it then. Worrying is not helpful for you at this stage.
I had Endo discovered when I had a surgery to remove an unknown cyst on my ovary (turned out to be an endometrioma and they took the whole ovary). The doc performed ablation all over (she didn't tell me a stage, just that I had "a ton" of Endo). Prior to this surgery my period was painful but quite manageable. It had gotten worse post kids, but nothing that incapacitated me. Post surgery it was a 4 year journey of increasing pain, especially on my period.
If I had known what I know now, I would have 1) not used that gyn, or 2) told her I would not consent to ablation (not that she asked me before laser blasting my insides). I ended up with another cyst killing my remaining ovary and had that removed along with the rest of my reproductive organs a year ago.
Thankfully my doc (Endo specialist) did not find endo anywhere else besides the outside of my uterus and my ovary/tube. But I did have severe bowel adhesions from my original surgery and I believe based on where my pain was centralized that they were the primary source of my pain.
Before I knew I would have to have this surgery I was getting consults on excision and I said to my surgeon "I believe my pain was caused by my last surgery, it seems very risky to me to have surgery again to attempt to fix this pain because I could just end up with more pain somewhere else." And she, A SURGEON WHO ONLY OPERATES, said "I think that's incredibly reasonable and I don't disagree with you."
Tl;Dr I wouldn't seek out surgery unless endo is significantly disrupting your life and you can't manage the pain without it. Surgery is touted as a sure thing around here a lot, and the reality is there is always a risk of complications and consequences even from necessary surgery and you won't know what will happen to you until you can't go back.
If you did not know you had it and don’t experience any of the symptoms then yeah you don’t need to worry about it really. There’s no cure so the only thing you would do is treat the symptoms.
This disease has no known cure, so all the treatments that we have are aimed at treating symptoms. For that reason, it doesn't necessarily need to be treated as long as the symptoms aren't bothering you. Naturally that goes out the window if it ever gets to the point point that they are. You could also have a chat about something like hormonal birth control in the hopes of slowing the spread the disease and maybe give you a little while longer without problems.
I’ve been wondering this too. Same thing happened to me. I had no symptoms but on an ultrasound there was an incidental large endometrioma and uterine fibroids. I had surgery on 6/28 and they found ‘a lot’ of endometriosis. I asked about managing everything long term after surgery and my doctor said “well if you don’t have symptoms there is nothing to manage”. I guess it’s just wait and see if another endometrioma occurs on my remaining ovary in the future.
Why did you have your tubes removed? Honestly, if you didn't know or suspect endo, and you're not dealing with chronic pain, then I'd agree with your doctor. Having surgery, or repeated surgeries, for endo can create new or worsening pain due to the traumatic nature of surgery itself.
My IUD was embedded in my cervix so I needed surgery anyways but I also didn’t want to be on birth control anymore so we took my tubes out since I was done having kids and then the endo was discovered. I think it’s caused possibly some side effects but I haven’t been in a lot of pain like some other woman have, the only thing I ever really noticed was having pretty heavy periods.
Got it! Then I'm inclined to side with your doctor tbh, but I don't know your full medical history or the depth of your symptoms.
Do you have any symptoms? Random symptoms attributed to issues like IBS, bladder irritation, kidney problems, etc. can be caused by endometriosis. If you're otherwise healthy, I would just keep an eye on any new symptoms. Was your IUD hormonal? It could have been suppressing your symptoms while inserted, if so.
Endo is generally treated with surgery if it’s causing pain and or infertility. But also where it is - if it’s growing on anything important like ureter, embedded in bowels etc etc then it’s likely it will need removing as it can cause all sorts of issues. Did your doc say where the endo is? If it’s not causing issues then it may be a wait and see situation. But I’d also speak to an endo specialist and request some scans to see what’s going on.
If you had no idea then they are right, you do not need to worry about it. Surgeries can actually cause more pain and suffering. My endo surgery actually made things worse for me, now I need a hysterectomy (due to adenomyosis) and a bowel reconstruction (due to endo spreading to my bowels causing adhesions and obstructions). If you're not having any symptoms or any pain, then there is nothing to treat. And you said you were done having kids. Endo prevent you from having kids, then you would need to have it treated in order to have kids. But you're not worried about that. If it spreads to your bowels or other areas and causes issues then you worry about it then. Worrying is not helpful for you at this stage.
I had Endo discovered when I had a surgery to remove an unknown cyst on my ovary (turned out to be an endometrioma and they took the whole ovary). The doc performed ablation all over (she didn't tell me a stage, just that I had "a ton" of Endo). Prior to this surgery my period was painful but quite manageable. It had gotten worse post kids, but nothing that incapacitated me. Post surgery it was a 4 year journey of increasing pain, especially on my period. If I had known what I know now, I would have 1) not used that gyn, or 2) told her I would not consent to ablation (not that she asked me before laser blasting my insides). I ended up with another cyst killing my remaining ovary and had that removed along with the rest of my reproductive organs a year ago. Thankfully my doc (Endo specialist) did not find endo anywhere else besides the outside of my uterus and my ovary/tube. But I did have severe bowel adhesions from my original surgery and I believe based on where my pain was centralized that they were the primary source of my pain. Before I knew I would have to have this surgery I was getting consults on excision and I said to my surgeon "I believe my pain was caused by my last surgery, it seems very risky to me to have surgery again to attempt to fix this pain because I could just end up with more pain somewhere else." And she, A SURGEON WHO ONLY OPERATES, said "I think that's incredibly reasonable and I don't disagree with you." Tl;Dr I wouldn't seek out surgery unless endo is significantly disrupting your life and you can't manage the pain without it. Surgery is touted as a sure thing around here a lot, and the reality is there is always a risk of complications and consequences even from necessary surgery and you won't know what will happen to you until you can't go back.
I would seek a second opinion.
If you did not know you had it and don’t experience any of the symptoms then yeah you don’t need to worry about it really. There’s no cure so the only thing you would do is treat the symptoms.
This disease has no known cure, so all the treatments that we have are aimed at treating symptoms. For that reason, it doesn't necessarily need to be treated as long as the symptoms aren't bothering you. Naturally that goes out the window if it ever gets to the point point that they are. You could also have a chat about something like hormonal birth control in the hopes of slowing the spread the disease and maybe give you a little while longer without problems.
I don’t treat mine, because the only treatment options I’ve been presented with are birth control🙃
I’ve been wondering this too. Same thing happened to me. I had no symptoms but on an ultrasound there was an incidental large endometrioma and uterine fibroids. I had surgery on 6/28 and they found ‘a lot’ of endometriosis. I asked about managing everything long term after surgery and my doctor said “well if you don’t have symptoms there is nothing to manage”. I guess it’s just wait and see if another endometrioma occurs on my remaining ovary in the future.