Have you been diagnosed with endometriosis?

Have you been diagnosed with endometriosis?

Do you have constant, daily abdominal pain?

Do you take Advil, Tylenol or opioids to help with your pain?

Are you severely depressed due to the amount of pain you are in?

Has abdominal pain prevented you from going to work/school/having a social life?

Do you have awful periods with prolonged, heavy bleeding?

My daughter started with all the above at age 13. She has been on many types of birth control to suppress her bleeding and try to help with her pain including; depo provera, daily bcp omitting the placebo week, and an iud. Nothing helped. With depo and a daily bcp the bleeding has diminished significantly, but nothing has helped to relieve her pain.

At 15 she underwent a 5 hour surgery to remove any endometriosis they found. Pathology results showed stage 3 endometriosis- which typically you see in a 60 year old woman!! Surgery did not help.

We tried everything. Our only two options left were Lupron and a hysterectomy. Yes. We talked about giving my 16 year old a hysterectomy due to her chronic pain. She misses school and has no social life. She has become a recluse. My daughter wrote me a letter saying she couldn't take the pain any more, and that she wanted to die. I can't even begin to tell you what that does to a mother. We got her help right away. She is under the care of a pediatrician, two obgyns (one pediatric specialist and one local), a hematologist, a psychiatrist, a counselor, and a pain management dr.

Last semester she had to drop out of her school and enroll at an alternative learning school. This was a blessing, and took much stress off her shoulders. We have also been trying weekly acupuncture since last October.

I hated giving my daughter Vicodin or norco for severe pain. She popped Advil and Tylenol on a daily basis, multiple times a day. Even the strong opioids didn't always help her pain. So I asked her pain dr for something different. He began with a tens unit. It helped. Then he did a nerve conduction study on her. After this he suggested a spine injection.

Two weeks ago we had a breakthrough we have been waiting more than two years for. Her pain dr have her a Superior Hypogastric Plexus block into her lower spine. It has been a miracle for her. Her pain level is down to a 2. She's smiling again. She's happy again. I cannot stop raving about this injection.

The pain dr said its still quite rare in some places, but it treats a huge range of abdominal conditions. The list is huge!!

The dr described it like putting out a forest fire. The abdominal nerves are super sensitive and the inj immediately begins to calm the nerves. It can start to work right away or it can take a few days. It took a few days for my girl. The forest fire is doused, but there can still be hot spots and embers that require a second, or third injection. They build upon each other so more and more relief is achieved. Sometimes it can reset the whole nervous system in the abdomen and one injection is all a person needs.

It has been a miracle for us, and I wanted to share our story and ask that anyone having abdominal pain to look this injection up and talk to your doctor about it. Our insurance paid for it completely. I had a $20 copay. Sometimes you may need to get the procedure authorized, but only a few insurances require that. Please, please, please, check it out if you have pain. I cannot begin to tell you how different the past two weeks have been for my daughter. I could literally shout from the rooftops. And of course, I now love her pain dr more than anyone in the world! I do hope our story helps someone/anyone out there.

Blessings to you all xx

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