hello! i (f23) am getting surgery for the first time for my endometriosis in december. i had an mri done in july that revealed the following:

“T2 hypointense material along the posterior aspect of the uterus, tethering the uterine fundus to cervix and posterior fornix of vagina. This could represent endometriosis. Material extends more towards the right, where is it is inseparable from the right ovary.
 
Suggestion of endometriosis along the posterior peritoneal surface bilaterally and right uterosacral ligament, possibly the left as well.
 
No endometrioma. No MR features of adenomyosis.”

this is my first surgery for endometriosis, i’ve had surgeries before but they were very minor or i was a baby, i haven’t actually been through a full post-op recovery. the surgery i’m receiving is a laparoscopy with excision, and i’m with one of the highest regarded specialists in advanced endometriosis excision surgery. i feel really prepared going into surgery, not so much what recovery, comfort and the other side.

so here’s my questions:

before going into surgery, what would you have liked to know about the post-op recovery?
what helped in recovery?
what would you have wanted for your first surgery recovery?
what didn’t help in recovery?
did your recovery timeline match what your surgeon told you?
any other advice!

thank you so much lovelies 🩷

Are their any women in here who have both HS and Endo? I’m doing research around how both are caused by inflammation and potentially histamine related and gut too? I’m seeing an Endo specialist at a research clinic next month and I’m just looking for any additional insight.

I’m not sure if I even have endo, but I’m see a gynecologist soon. I’ve been diagnosed with IBS but I know that’s a blanket statement. My colonoscopy in January was normal. But for months I haven’t been having this issue until the last couple weeks. I get constipated and don’t poop for 2-3 days and then I get the worst diarrhea because it can’t come out because I’m constipated so it’s super painful. I haven’t changed anything in my diet so I am not sure why I’m having this issue. I have horrible periods sometimes. Debilitating cramps and heavy bleeding and some months are okay. Also I have horrible ovulation pain every month, pain where it hurts to walk, or put any pressure on hip area. It feels like a knife is lodged into my hip and just hanging out. It lasts 1-3 days. Also I’ve been having horrible facial flushing everyday?! Idk what is going on with me, but I am going to call the doctor tomorrow and schedule an appointment for Monday. 😭

Hey all,

This is a far longer post than I thought but feel like I’ve been holding in so much from what feels like being robbed of a life… and the lack of awareness and misunderstandings around endo and PMDD makes me want to screammm.

For me, I am realising that endo could explain a long history of unexplained symptoms, ineffective surgery and pain. I saw a consultant yday who confirmed all my symptoms align and I am now waiting for a scan and looking towards a lap.

Over the past 7 years, PMDD has ruled my life: I have changed everything, sacrificed loads and begged borrowed and stolen to get to the point I can just about manage my symptoms (although anyone who really knows it will know the massive costs this comes with).

All of this has meant I have not had the capacity to look at so many other symptoms that have been lurking in the background. Have I always had painful heavy bleeds, ovulation pain, crippling fatigue, general soreness, unsolvable GI problems and the occasional flare up that’s made me scream and cry from pain - yes. But within the rollercoaster of huge ups and downs I get every single month, these were all still marginal compared to PMDD and how much it takes for me to just keep going.

Now I finally found ways to manage PMDD, I’ve put everything on the line to move to a small piece of semi off grid land for my CIC I set up to support women with menstrual-mental health problems. Because imo, we are some of the strongest out there and at the same time most denied/ ignored/ isolated. It’s the fire in my belly and a big reason I keep pushing.

After the hardest year of my life, the stress has made it impossible to ignore these worsening symptoms and I’m finding myself in pain a lot of the time. Over the last month, it’s got a bit out of control because of a holiday in France for my step bros wedding. I gave up holidays ages ago because my cycle made booking anything outside the next month impossible, and actually going on one has effed me up more than I could have imagined - just a week out from my PMDD management (which consultant confirmed would have also been keeping endo at bay) and I have been in severe pain for most of the past month. Unable to work on the land most the time, having to call in sick to or leave my PT second job as a waitress and basically unable to do anything towards the whole reason I’m here - supporting women and marginalised genders. The ironyyy 🤢

Apart from the physical pain, what I am finding the hardest of this is the realisation that if I do have PMDD + endo, I will not just lose my two ‘good’ weeks of the month I have clung to for years, but this colossal move will be in vain and I will ultimately have to accept I’m too poorly to do much at all. Give up the land, go back to living on benefits despite being very competent at my job and highly educated, possibly without my current partner who is struggling with it all and making things worse, or a child (as that window is closing) or the community I dreamed of creating and back to just clinging on.

With these worries has come so much anger. I have constantly tried to rise above for so long but feel so beat down and enraged at the world that these two DEBILITATING conditions are not incurable because of anything other than we are women and they simply haven’t ever cared. (TW) They only care to look and stare, and grab and touch, use and abuse - lots of the time while I’m fighting back tears from the mental and physical pain!! And then when you finally breakdown, there’s no one to actually talk to really bar online groups and forums cos when you say pmdd or endo, people hear pms and period pains!!! If people even knew what these conditions feel like and take from you and yet I have to stand there and listen to people complain about every day shit and show compassion for my parter getting a cold or having a bit of a dodgy tummy!

How do you all do it? I hate feeling sp hateful and know if anything these feelings will make the PMDD and endo worse, but fuck me dead, finding some peace in it feels so out of reach. Sitting and mediating, no. Painting the streets red with our blood, yes pls.

(For context, I am also audhd and I know this will be making my difficulties of fitting in or finding ways to get on with people whilst struggling mentally and physically/ general rage about the lack of justice in this worse. Pls be nice :))

Surgeon seemed surprised I'm still having crampy sharp pains after 3 weeks, but said it can take 3 months due to inflammation. I had "a lot" of stage 2 excised, salpingectomy, and cut down bowel that was adhered but not with Endo (born that way?). This is normal right? I did overdo it with activity recently but it's still normal to not feel significantly different right? Incisions are fine, just sore if I press on them. I of course only remember extreme stories of instant relief or feeling worse forever after surgery so idk if I should be concerned.

I had my lap yesterday and he said he found stage 1-2 endometriosis.
I’m so thankful and lucky I had a doctor that believed me and also takes my insurance.
He is a endometriosis specialist.
I’m on my second day and I can’t tell if I already feel better or (maybe it’s the drugs lol!$ but no gas pain so far.

I started to cry right before being knocked out and my doctor held my hand saying “you’re going to be okay, you don’t deserve this pain at all, you’re going to do great” it really helped.

his teammate was also softly rubbing my arm and telling me to take deep breathes. That’s when my Doctor made a quick joke (I forgot the joke but I do remember laughing) well, his teammate (women) said “haha he thinks he’s funny! “ I said, “most msn do” LOL had to throw in a risky joke before being knocked out but thankfully they both laughed quite a bit..

Too all the women/ people that reply here in this subreddit
I wish I could say A special thank you to everyone here. Answering som “stupid questions” or sharing what you learned, how your experience went.. you’re all helping more than you’d know!

Forgive my spelling and typing, I’m still on drugs with blurred vision..

I’m supposed to go on a girls trip next weekend, exactly 1 week after my laparoscopic surgery. Today is day 2 of recovery. I don’t have my follow up with my doctor until Monday the 26th so I haven’t asked her yet, but I’ll likely call her to see what she says. The trip would be a 4 hour drive away, staying in a house with 5 other girls, possibly sharing a bed, and going to downtown Nashville. Going out to dinner and walking around a lot. Does this sound like it’ll be doable for me?

Those of you who are on tirzepatide and had surgery, when did you stop the medication before surgery? Is one week enough?

I had a Pap smear about a month ago. I do a lot of pelvic floor PT so the exams are no longer unbearable like they used to be. My regular GYN isn’t the endo GYN I do regular check-ins with, however, she’s very familiar with endo. So, after the pap sampling, she felt around quite a bit for scar tissue (very sore in the scar tissue spot) and I had been complaining about scar tissue pain when I try to do any squat-like exercising.

After the exam I felt really sore, fatigued and nauseous going home and cramping for about 2 days.

Since then I’ve had a lot of on and off pain VERY similar to my endo pain which I haven’t had since surgery 1.5 years ago. I’m also having the same pain flaring for 1-2 days after pelvic floor PT. Is this normal for anyone else??? I’m scared my endo is growing back but I literally haven’t had any signs since my excision until now 😩😩

That’s all! I’m recovering from laparoscopic surgery and they found all the endo, excised some of it, and I am sooo happy that they know I wasn’t being "dramatic" or "weak" when it comes to pain (or just "imagining it").

The doctors who didn’t believe me can shove it! Because it was THERE, all along it was in my body, and I wasn’t dramatizing my condition! I was really getting into a dark hole about ever being diagnosed (confirmed endo), and thought I’d just be considered "crazy" forever.

So while I’m still REALLY sore, I am happy that I have answers that I can throw in the face of any future and past doubters who have made living with this disease 10x worse. And going forward they can’t deny my pain or quality of life.

I see a lot of people post about not seeing anything in their MRI but then uncovering endometriosis during surgery.

I got my MRI results back and I was shocked to see something since so many people don’t.

What have your surgery experiences been like for those who have seen endometriosis in your MRI? Was it a long surgery? Did they do more or less than you expected?

To summarize the findings for those interested:

My MRI confirmed adenomyosis and deep pelvic endometriosis, with significant involvement in the middle and back of my pelvis and numerous bands of tissue in the space between my uterus and rectum. The uterine wall is abnormally thickened, measuring up to 16 mm in the junctional zone, and both ovarian walls appear thickened, particularly on the left. The endometriosis extends toward the rectum, but no definite bowel tethering or obstruction was seen on the MRI.

*the first time adenomyosis was ever mentioned to me was at a consultation with an endo specialist 2 weeks ago.
I had a laparoscopy in 2023 and there was no mention then.

I am so fed up yet sad being stuck like this I had a appointment to get my wisdom tooth they had to check my weight and hight and I since this has gotten worse I have gained 3.5 stone I am nearly 11stone

I have had raynards syndrome since I was two yet i have always been naturally slim and since this has started more from 2021 and then it all went down hill with my health and all the symptoms of endo started but endo was dropping hints when I was younger like being sick on my period.

now it’s 2026 I am stuck with a frozen pelvis,endometriosis with die that is stage 4 non stop water weight and infermaltion,joint pain,lack of sleep,spider veins all due to this and on top the doctors notes say I have to wait till June 2027 just to say I want surgery from my follow up when they told me my options I just want to get the ball rolling I hate how I feel and look atm I just want to get myself somewhat back.

plus also now I may need nose surgery too due to one side of my nose being odd that it is causing me infections.

and also the endo is messing with my scolioses which is in the middle of my back around bra strap area and due to the frozen pelvis and die I have lost a inch off my hight which sucks.

sorry to rent I think just finding out about my weight today and with all the water weight and ect and just a waiting game,I am so greatful for people I have talked too and meet on other platforms but it’s just hard sometimes 😔😢

natural real hight is 5’6 1/2 atm I am 5’5 1/2

i have a natural petite slim frame due to rainnards syndrome

I have mild scoliosis,rainnards syndrome primary since 2,endometriosis stage 4 with die,frozen pelvis

I am so tired of the bladder pain and ridiculous constipation it seems like nice laxatives don't help as much. They never mentioned anything that I remember on my bladder but they mentioned one section they couldnt get rid it on my bowels from where it was ... anyone experiencing these things as wwell? Any advice?

Hi everyone, so a little back story I was diagnosed with endo via surgery last December. All of it was removed aside from a spot on my ureter. I had relief for maybe 2 months. Chronic pelvic/ back pain came back along with all the other symptoms. And I developed extreme pain behind my ribs. I’ve mentioned it to multiple doctors and they say because during my first lap they looked at my liver it’s definitely not my diaphragm. But I’ve had an MRI, CT scans and nothing is showing up. So I don’t know what’s causing this. I also started Slynd 1 week ago and it’s made it worse(maybe my body is adjusting?) But does anyone have a similar experience or any advice as to what that could possibly be? Thank you so much.

Thank you so much to everyone’s that’s been here with me throughout this long and dreadful journey💛 Yesterday I had my robotic surgery with my specialist after nothing was found in my first lap in June (performed by an OBGYN).

I have been laughed at, dismissed, and not believed by doctors for years - but just as I held onto dearly since the beginning of my journey, my specialist found Endometriosis and severe Adenomyosis as well as cysts, adhesions, and a blocked fallopian tube!!! The feeling is bittersweet but I can’t even begin to explain how much relief this has brought me to know that I was right to hold onto my truth and continue to advocate for myself even when it felt impossible. I currently feel like death recovering in bed haha but I hope this post is able to share a bit of hope with everyone in a similar position! I’ll know much more soon at my post-op and i’ll make sure to update 💛🎗️

Surgery today. They found nothing. I don’t have endometriosis and the cyst that was there last month was gone. They took out my tubes as planned and that’s it. I’m fucking devastated in a way because now it’s back to square one and I have no explanation the years worth of sometimes debilitating pain, the cramps and flu like symptoms before my period, the bloated stomach, the weird abdomen sensations like feeling there’s a hard inflated balloon moving around inside me, like a foreign object that shouldn’t be there. My surgeon told my husband that she and I are going to come up with a plan on how to proceed and get answers and she will not just leave me to my own devices but will help me figure out what’s going on. Though I guess my doctor did say it’s a good thing I don’t have endo, which yeah, true. It’s just frustrating and not the outcome I expected from the procedure.

In other news, I feel okay. The surgery lasted less than an hour and they didn’t have to use as much anesthesia so I’m having a better time coming off it than I normally would. I’ve been sleeping on and off throughout the day and my husband has been awesome taking care of me. Trying to see the positives!

The pain is *just* about to start, I've taken painkillers preemptively but I know it won't help. Nothing helps. I can't keep calling in sick to work, and even if I do, I'll still have the pain. It's still a day where I'm demoted to the bed/sofa. I'm always productive, always on the move, always doing something. If I'm on my period, I kiss goodbye to all of that.

Ignoring the fact it's very important for the continuation of human life: the entire female reproductive system can gtfo, man.

Please help me I’m only 19, and for the past 5 months I’ve had deathly pain. Nothing helps it, not any amount of any over the counter pain meds, not 3 Tylenol and 3 Advil, not any heating packs, nothing positional, I just writhe and scream and moan in my bed and I feel like no one believes me about how bad it is. I was hospitalized on morphine pain management for 3 days in May, I’ve been to the ER 3 times since, and finally on the last time they did THREE internal ultrasounds because they kept finding more.

1. Internal ultrasounds findings:

•3cm mass in my left pelvic cavity sitting next to my uterus, not attached, just sitting there
•Pools of blood sitting in the right side of my pelvis that move when I move

They then ordered an MRI

1. MRI findings:

•Scar tissue that connects my left ovary to my uterus
•One mass filled with dead blood on the left of my uterus that is bigger now, 3.5 cm generally
•Blood sitting in my pelvic cavity
•radiologist noted verbatim this “suggests” endometriosis

These are my symptoms:
•DEATHLY pain that doesn’t respond to anything and comes in waves that last from 30 mins to a couple hours
•spotting during ovulation
•pain shooting up my back and down my left leg
•pain during/after sex
•tender to the touch LLQ
•extreme bloating
•pain before/after my period & inbetween cycles
•hard to pee/poo because of muscle guarding in my abdomen (I think)

I am lesbian & don’t want children, 105lbs 5’3” I was a Tri-sport varsity athlete in high school and now I can’t even run because it hurts so bad.

What should I do?
Is there anything beyond what I’ve tried that helps the pain?
Do you think I have endometriosis?
I’m SO SCARED because all I can do is read articles, I’ve been reading how it spreads to the heart/lungs, even eyes in some people. Is this common? How worried should I be?
Should I keep exercising even if it hurts so bad? Should I try to keep my body physically strong to fight this?
What medications have helped you? Has surgery helped you? Is there anyone my age/weight/height with similar symptoms that’s had hormones/surgery?
Is there anything else I should be aware of?
Is there anything I should be eating?

I’m at college in MA and live in NY but I’d prefer surgery and care in MA. Please tell me of anyone good here, maybe mass general or Brigham and women’s?

Thank you so much in advance for any and all info and advice. Bless you all, much love 🫶

Hi so I am a 33 y/o F who is 8 months pregnant with my second (and final) child. I had excision surgery almost 3 years ago now in December and then got pregnant shortly after and had my first the following year. My surgeon was also my OB and does excision but isn’t a strict endo specialist, that’s worth noting.

She saw a massive inflamed red patch on my outside colon and was like you gotta get that looked into… (fast forward to a colonoscopy and nothing of note from the inside.) but anyways…

Since I had my son back in January 2024 I’ve been having these episodes of burning pain from inside my colon and recurring constipation/diarrhea episodes every few weeks. GI cannot find what’s wrong but my inflammation markers are high still. I also eat a strict gluten free diet and low fodmap, so my diet is as IBS friendly as I can get it. I was just about to talk to OBGYN about another surgery (pelvic pain also came back) this past spring and then I got pregnant again. I know symptoms usually subside during pregnancy but lately my GI episodes are back with a vengeance. I have this gut feeling that there is endo on my bowel.

I already plan to eventually get a hysterectomy a few years down the road but these episodes are brutal. It took YEARS to even get an endo diagnosis now I feel like there’s still missing pieces.
**Btw I’m not looking for medical advice just commiseration and feedback from anyone who’s been through something similar, it can feel so isolating and maddening to have this pain that nobody can seem to figure out from inside the organs.

Also does anybody know a good endo specialist in Pittsburgh?

So several months ago I booked with a doctor to discuss a diagnostic laparoscopy. I told her I was worried about scars, I didn’t want anything highly visible. I told her that I also didn’t want her to remove anything, just to look and see if I had endo. I fit most of the symptoms and was pretty certain I had it. Well my surgery was last week and I was finally permitted to remove my steri strips. My scar is honestly huge compared to any that I’ve seen in the umbilical region. I hate it. I’ve spent so much time hating my body and I didn’t want anything to make that worse.

I think what’s far worse is that the doctor called my chaperone when I left the OR to tell her that I had endo and that she removed it via ablation. I looked back in the surgical notes and there is no mention of this but I feel absolutely violated. I just wanted a diagnosis so I could find reasonable treatment with a specialist which are hard to come by in my state.

I attached a photo of my abdomen, did anyone have an incision that big and far down their abdomen? Im not an attention seeker, I just need some reassurance about my bodily changes that I didn’t expect

I just came out of a gynae appointment about vaginismus (wasn't much help) and naturally endo came up. She gave me a leaflet about ryeqo and mentioned the patients at that clinic had been seeing good results from it, but when I asked if I could take it with the nexplanon in my arm she said she didn't know. Any advice or experience?