Considering endometrial ablation for severe dysmenorrhea and menorrhagia. Any thoughts?
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l'm 22 years old, never been sexually active, and have been having dysfunctional periods since I first started getting them at 11, and they've only gotten worse as I've gotten older despite being told that they'll get better as I age. I've been officially diagnosed by multiple GYNs with severe dysmenorrhea and menorrhagia. My periods have gotten so painful that I am in tears and nearly vomiting from the pain, and they're so heavy that I have to change pads every hour (despite using the heavest ones you can buy) and it's gotten to the point where I have gone to the emergency room to receive IV fluids because I get so dehydrated and passed out from blood loss. My last few periods lasted between 15 - 20 days, and right now I'm on day 27. I have occassional painful ovarian cysts but do not meet the criteria for PCOS.
I'm unable to take estrogen-containing pills due to chronic migraines with aura and a family history of blood clots, so my GYN has had me try pretty much all available progesterone pills (Ayegestin, Micro-Nor, etc), all of which didn't help my periods and gave me unbearable side effects (nausea, vomiting, dizziness, extreme mood swings). I've had a normal pap smear, as well as normal blood tests and uterine ultrasound (so no endometriosis or PCOS). I've also tried the Mirena IUD which gave me similar side effects to the pills and had to be removed. I have a strong family history of GYN problems (my grandmother had hysterectomy due to menorrhagia, fibroids, ovarian cysts, and migraines, my mother had menorrhagia followed by early menopause as well as cervical cancer, and my aunt had ablation due to menorrhagia and ovarian cysts).
I am at my wit's end. I cannot go on like this, so I've been looking into the endometrial ablation as a potential solution. I mentioned this to my previous GYN who became infuriated that I would even suggest it (as it destroys one' ability to become pregnant and have a child) and told me that I would "just have to suffer" because she's not removing my childbearing ability (I switched GYN shortly after this due to moving out of state). I am well aware that this procedure will prevent me from becoming pregnant, which is just fine because I do not ever wish to have children. I have been in a serious committed relationship with my boyfriend for 2 years and we have discussed and agreed upon that should we ever get married that neither of us want children.
I am wondering if anyone has any advice or experience with the ablation procedure, particularly at a young age such as myself. I have a follow-up with my GYN soon to discuss what the next plan should be since nothing has been successful so far, and am planning to see what her thoughts are on this. Most of my research on this procedure took me to reviews written by women much older than me (35+) so I wanted to know if anyone had any info they could share with me regarding this procedure in younger women.
Thank you!
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el60591 KayEmCee11
Posted
I am 46 and suffer from heavy blood loss during my period. i had a D&C but that didn't help in my case... so now i am due to have a hysteroscopy for removal of fibroids. Hopefully this will stop the heavy blood loss!!
i am not a doctor but why don't you try D&C first? Then perhaps go for a procedure that will still enable you to have a pregnancy if you change your mind at a later date.
Good luck and let me know how it goes....
tricia51298 el60591
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KayEmCee11 el60591
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KayEmCee11 tricia51298
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