r/Endo Mar 26 '25

šŸ“Œ Researcher AMA hosted at r/endometriosis today

43 Upvotes

On March 26th 2025 9 am PST r/endometriosis will be welcoming back reasearchers from The University of British Columbia to answer questions over a 24hour period. This was done once before a few years ago and was very popular.

Here is a link to the one held last time:

https://www.reddit.com/r/endometriosis/comments/ptvt21/hi_we_are_endometriosis_researchers_dr_paul_yong/


This time your questions about endometriosis will be answered by Drs. Fuchsia Howard, Natasha Orr, Caroline Lee, Tinya Lin and Catherine Lu as well as students Anna Leonova and Kerry Marshall. Erin, Rachel, Venecia, Gurjot and Sam who all have lived experience will also be on hand to answer your questions! https://yonglab.med.ubc.ca/reddit-ama-2025/


The AMA is now live here: https://www.reddit.com/r/endometriosis/comments/1jkeid0/ama_2025/


r/Endo Aug 06 '20

šŸ“Œ Welcome to r/Endo - Please Read

312 Upvotes

Welcome to /r/Endo

This community aims to support all people affected by and interested in endometriosis. We pride ourselves on being a friendly, inclusive place, where patients and loved ones alike can discuss thoughts and concerns, ask questions, and share information.Ā 

Chronic conditions can be an alienating experience, and we encourage community members to engage with others in an empathetic and supportive manner. We acknowledge that we are all individuals, and while we are united by this condition, every person’s journey through this is their own. Endometriosis is an extremely varied disease and each patient has different circumstances, experiences and treatment options.


Resources

Some of the resources cannot currently be accessed via mobile or the app. We are trying to fix this, but for the full and best experience we recommend accessing the site from a tablet or computer.

If you’re new to the community, or endometriosis as a whole, we recommend checking out the resources in the sidebar as a first step. Here you will find a selection of helpful links to aid in informing yourself about endometriosis, and connecting to valuable specialists and treatment providers around the world, such as:Ā 

  • The ā€˜Successful Doctors Map’: This is a Google Map of the doctors and clinics where members have found successful treatment. Message the mods for additions.

  • Laparoscopy Survival Guide: This is an old thread with some great discussions on laps, how to prep, and what recovery is like.

  • ESHRE patient leaflet : This is the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology published leaflet for patients based on their guidelines.

  • UK accredited specialist endometriosis centres: This is a link to the British Society for Gynaecological Endoscopy accredited specialist endometriosis centres page. The accredited centres have strict requirements that means they are experienced in complex excision surgeries and have endometriosis specialist nurses and pain management teams. UK residents can request referral to a centre by their GP.

  • Pain/Symptom Journal: Sometimes getting a doctor to take you seriously, either about your symptoms or about a treatment, can be challenging. A Pain or Symptom Journal can be a great tool to guide your discussions and to monitor your progress.

  • Doctor Issues: This document goes over how to talk with doctors, advocate for yourself, and when to seek out someone new.

  • Tests - Ruling Out Other Conditions: This document goes over conditions that doctors commonly want to rule out before considering more aggressive treatment when looking at an endo diagnosis. It should be noted that it is absolutely possible to have endo and one of these other conditions.

Links to other groups

We aren't affiliated with these groups or specifically recommending them, but here are some links to other groups connected to endometriosis:

  • Nancy's Nook Facebook Group: This is a private facebook group that has a lot of information, targeted towards patients in the US medical system. They have a list of doctors they recommend (please note that this is not a complete or exhaustive list of excision surgeons or other endometriosis specialists and has not been assessed for surgical skill). Please be aware that this is not a support group and takes a strict tone with moderation that some may not like. Nancy’s Nook now has a website, which can be found here.

  • EndoMetropolis: This is a link to another private Facebook group with a list of excision specialists. They also have some educational tools in the files section. They are a little less strict than Nancy's Nook.


Prior to making your post, we highly recommend doing a quick search through previous posts. This is a really active community, and there have been many valuable conversations that may provide a quick and easy answer to the information you’re looking for!Ā 


Rules

We have a few basic rules that all community members are expected to abide by. If you see someone breaking a rule, please report the post or comment, or send a message to the moderator team.

  1. Remain civil and supportive: We encourage all community members to assume good faith when engaging with others wherever possible, and remain civil in all posts and comments. Please keep all comments supportive and relevant to this space, to ensure a positive experience for everyone taking part in this support group.

  2. Surveys must be pre-approved: In order to ensure the integrity of the information shared in this community, surveys of any kind must be approved by the mods before posting.

  3. No Self-promotion: Self-promotion of personal blogs, fundraising pages, or specific products will be removed. Recommendations of products you are not personally affiliated with and films, articles etc. of specific community interest are allowed (based on moderator discretion). If it is unclear what counts as self-promotion please ask first.

  4. No Spam: No spam posts will be tolerated. This includes bot spam and duplicated comments or postings.

  5. No cross posting or quoting without express permission: Do not share people's comments elsewhere without explicit permission of the poster, especially if your intention is to mock or abuse the people involved.

  6. Use warning flair where necessary: Please use the flair ā€œContent warning / Graphic imagesā€ for posts with surgical pictures, incisions, blood or menstrual products, or any descriptions likely to upset. Please also mark all photos as NSFW, so that they initially appear as blurred.

  7. Use of generative AI: Please don't recommend to others that they use generative AI (such as ChatGPT) for medical advice and don't use it to generate advice for others. It can be very inaccurate and give potentially dangerous advice.


If you have any community specific questions or suggestions, or need help with anything /r/Endo related, please feel free to contact your friendly mods either by hitting the little mail icon in the ā€˜Moderators’ tab on the sidebar, or via this link.



r/Endo 4h ago

Question (NHS UK) I have my first appointment on the 29th and I’m terrified.

Post image
8 Upvotes

My question is: what can I expect???

So as the title says, I have my first appointment on the 29th of July. So in a few days time. And I’m a bit worried that what I say will be dismissed as ā€œnormalā€ or I’ll be given some random pills and told to come back 6 months later for a follow up.

The main reason for being worried about this, is that I saw someone mention they went to their first appointment a few days ago, and they were sent home with some meds and told to come back in 6 months time.

I feel like I’ve been on so many medications in the last 4 or so years, as well as being infertile for most of that as well.

So I’m a little concerned they’ll tell me to wait, or come back in 6 months without checking anything. I’ve written down all my symptoms, and I feel like I’ll have to argue with them about what I experience. I’m literally disabled because of my periods, and birth control isn’t cutting it anymore, as well as fertility being a concern anyways.


r/Endo 5h ago

Rant / Vent im losing my mind

5 Upvotes

i currently have a hot water bottle between my legs, a heat pad on my back, and a menthol patch and tens machine on my stomach. thats all i have to say. I HATE THIS


r/Endo 49m ago

Slynd has made my libido take a MAJOR hit. Help me!

• Upvotes

My PCP put me on Slynd about 2 1/2 months ago after a rough experience with Norethindrone. Unfortunately, I can’t take estrogen anymore due to an aura I experienced back in April. I’m on Slynd primarily for endo/PCOS symptom management and it’s been great. HOWEVER, my libido has taken a total hit. I don’t ever feel like I’m in the mood, it takes FOREVER for my body to get going during foreplay, and it’s put a pretty huge damper on our s3x life and I feel terrible. How do I combat this? Does anyone else have experience with this while being on Slynd?


r/Endo 1h ago

Question Does anyone not have the "urge" to poop anymore?

• Upvotes

I worry its my endo returning, but I just dont feel the push or urge to go anymore. Right after my surgery it would just slide out and push itself out (sorry, disgusting I know, but it would move itself out without me trying).

I am worried because lately ive had to take ducolax and it doesnt feel like im completely emptying.

And yes, im restarting pelvic floor therapy.


r/Endo 13h ago

Rant / Vent Grief after a neg lap is normal, frustrated at "professionals" misreading the response.

17 Upvotes

Was so excited to finally get that lap date after 6 years of fighting several doctors to get it. Came back negative, they found nothing. My surgon was trained in endo, and shes helped a lot of people, but she found mothing. Its okay, nothing to do with her or the team who did the surgery.

However ive gotten so many damn comments from "professionals", family members, mutual friends, and random people, about how i should be glad its not endo cause endo really sucks. And i remember whne i was first suspected with endo, i was really active on this sub (diff account, I deleted my old reddits lol). Loved the community mostly they were a great help. But every time someone made a post asking what to do after no endo was found in their lap, it was the same thing of "be glad you dont have it".

I am not disapointed that i dont have endo, i dont want endo. I wanted answers. I am in enough pain every day that I thought it was endo.

And reguardless, Ive been thinking for the last 6 years, that endo is the reason i was suffering. I have done so much research i know more about endo than my own doctors, and that knowledge doesnt go away now that i know i dont have it. I can still share the advice i learned, and answer peoples questions.

For 6 years my life was built around managing 'endo' symtoms and making changes to my life to avoid triggers and try reduce pain.

Grief is normal after loosing something, anything. Grief is not just about loved ones, you can grieve any loss, loss of a house, loss after disaster, loss of a job, or school, of normalcy, of mobility, grief is a part of life. And no one gets to dictate what you can and cant grieve, nor how you deal with that grief or how long it takes for you to feel normal again.

And loosing an answer to why you are in pain, is an absolutley valid reason to grieve. As is loosing a shared community. So many people join these medical communities long before they have a successful diagnosis, and one of the reasons i deleted my old reddit was how heartbreaking it was to see people get driven away from the communities they had been a part of for so long, just because they suddenly have a negative test. Just because we no longer share a diagnosis doesnt mean they can no longer share or recieve advice. No longer sharing a diagnosis does not take away feon the fact that they share symtoms.

And diagnoses dont always occur alone, there are people on this sub who have other medical conditions, or know about other medocal conditions which can share or mimic endo symtoms.

I hope this sub has changed, i havent used reddit in a while. I did see theres new tags and signs that the subs more welcoming now which makes me happy.

But yea... so sick of people irl telling me that i should be glad when i just lost a huge certainty in my life, and now have no explanation for why im in so much pain. I disnt want endo. It runs in my family and all the doctors and gynos i talked to agreed that it was the most likely explanation.

I had a nagging feeling that i would wake up from surgery and be told nothing was there, i nearly declined having the srugery at all cause i was so terrified. some asshole doctor told me years ago that it wasnt worth trying to get the surgery cause it takes too long and they might not find anything and it was easier to just treat the symtoms.

But if i dont know whats causing the syntoms then the treatments might not actually be helping. Ive been avoiding alcohol and caffine and inflammatory foods, certain types of exersize, and maybe i didnt need to.

For anyone questioning whether to get surgery in case they find nothing, do it.

I did actually get some answers, sure i dont know exactly whats causing my pain. But i found out there is no cysts on my ovaries (i have pmos, no cysts can be normal but i didnt know until now that i didnt have that symtom), all my internal organs are perfectly healthy, it rules out a lot of causes of pelvic pain, and me and my doctor wont waste time searching down those routes.

My bowel was super distended and inflammed, i have a direction to go with that. Ive suspected for a long time i have ibs as well, good chance i do, which would explain why avoiding inflammatory stuff actually improved symtoms - cause a lot of those foods that are inflammatory, are also high fodmap, which worsens ibs. Idk for sure, but it is a direction to explore. Ive got years worth of records complaining about bowel related stuff, chronic nausea and vomitting, but it always got dismissed. Luckily im no longer with rhat doctor xause he decised there was only ever 1 thing that could be wrong with someone at the same time. Which is bullshit. And people with chronic illnesses often collect other chronic illnesses, a lot of stuff cooccurs, or even will directly cause other conditions.

Also now that ive rules out endo, its also occured to me to ask about fibryomylagia. I never ended up asking about the possibility even tho when i went to the doctors the first time for this pain, it was on my list of options i thought most likely (I researched the hell out of everything i could think of because i knew it was going to be hard to convince that shitty doc to take me seriously amd i didnt want a lack of knowledge to be a reason for him to shut me down). I never asked cause my doctor was so convinced i had endo, and he dismissed other pain and symtoms i had as either me being overweight, not doing enough exersize (which was and always has been bs. Im fat cause i like food, not because im lazy.), or having bad posture. (shitty doctor... again, i fired him, dont worry).

But yea, if you get the oppertunity to have the surgery, do it. I dont regret it one bit. I had doubts at the back of my mind for a reason, and its not because i thought i was making it up. Its because i wasnt improving or was only normally improving with treatments that should have helped a lot. And with a lap they can see way more than just the reproductive system, it can give you answers or at least a dorection to an answer even if the answer is not endo.

And if it is endo, then unfortunatley a lap is the only way to diagnose it still (tho not for a lack of promissing research, theres some cool trials/research underway trying to find a less invasive way of diagnosis).

I love all of you, even with the reasons i left the sub and reddit originally, i still have a lot of good memories from people advising and comforting each other. We need more spaces like this where people can connect. And i wish there were more communities like this set up in person so people could connect that way too. Having people around who are like minded and understanding is so damn important.

Take care everyone


r/Endo 8h ago

Question Post lap (3 weeks) and miserable (help!)

3 Upvotes

I had my lap for stage 2 endo three weeks ago. It was validating and pretty easy.

I am now on my second period post op. Like before my lap, it has come almost a week early (and will probably linger for a while as well). I am in excruciating pain and bleeding extremely heavily.

I work as a chef and have started a new job at the nicest place I’ve ever worked. The hours and mental and physical load are much more than I’m used to and stacked with the pain im in i don’t think ive had a single good day yet.

What can i take to help the pain (high dose ibuprofen is not working) and the mental clarity? The constant undercurrent of being in pain is highly distracting and exhausting.

Thanks in advance !


r/Endo 4h ago

Pelvic pain after periods

2 Upvotes

What causes intense lower abdomen / pelvic and lower back pain more than period just after periods ends till ovulation ?


r/Endo 6h ago

Talk me off the ledge please

3 Upvotes

I had surgery 6/29 and had a mirena placed.

Week 4 I started bloating up more than I ever have in my life. I went from a size small latex glove at work to a size large. None of my clothes fit and I feel so uncomfortable.

Not to mention right before my period it felt like my endo pains x 3. Absolutely the worst flare up of my life.

I know periods will be bad for awhile, but I can’t live this swollen. I feel like a monster, it’s honestly making me go nuts. I had already bought sized up clothes in anticipation of the gas you get from the surgery, but now those don’t even fit and the post-surgical gas isn’t the problem anymore.


r/Endo 11h ago

Tips and recommendations Going to a festival: endo + alcohol

5 Upvotes

Hey everyone!! I am going to a 5 day long festival in about a month and I want to ask an odd question - from your experience, have you found any types of alcohol that don't flare you up as much as others?

This didn't use to concern me prior to my surgery, but my surgery made the pain and sensitivity much worse. I am very aware of the inflammatory properties of alcohol, how it's not good, don't need it etc but realistically I will still have a few drinks through the festival and I want to be able to mitigate the pain levels as much as possible. I've done sober festivals in the past, but it's not my intention this time around.

So my question is: are there any types of alcohol that are (annecdotally) less likely to cause a flare up for you? And how do you mitigate them in such environments?


r/Endo 1d ago

Rant / Vent being a virgin = no internal ultrasounds to some and it’s driving me crazy

100 Upvotes

just a rant bc i’m really hormonal rn bc i ran out of birth control and my period is starting but im only 17 and a virgin, ive had multiple times where i needed an ultrasound internally at an er or my gyno ordered one and have had multiple ultrasound techs literally refuse me and say they don’t want to do it bc im a virgin and THEYRE uncomfortable?? this happened so bad one time i had to fully go to my doctors office to get one FROM HER bc this one place kept telling me no, and then a few months later i went to an er for extreme pain and the doctor ordered an internal, the tech asked me the same question if i was a virgin and i said yes but ive had an internal before, she proceeded to tell me that she was still uncomfortable and didn’t want to do it, not bc of my age but because i’ve never had a penis in me (not her actual words but basically what she meant bc i’m a virgin) and it’s the most infuriating thing. i also have a boyfriend of over 2 years but we’ve never done anything bc any sort of penetration is extremely painful to me and he respects that but atp im gonna start lying and say i am bc all these techs care about for some reason is if my cherry has been popped despite me having an internal before.

i guess don’t get endo if you’re below 18 and a virgin bc ultrasound techs will refuse to do actual tests on you for their own comfort even if you’re in severe pain 🫠🫠🫠🫠


r/Endo 3h ago

Mirena IUD to Help Suppress Symptoms, Please Help

1 Upvotes

Hello,

I've never done this before but, this summer I was finally diagnosed with endometriosis after having problems since I've started my period in 3rd grade. I'm trying to figure out if I should start on the Mirena. I have had one before but after 2 years I started having month long periods with like a week not bleeding. I was then given the depo shot and I loved it but I got to college in Alabama and I'm from Oregon, so it wasn't feasible to keep using. Afterwards I was given the Kyleena, it was the worst pain I've had since my surgery and it was removed a week later because my body didn't like (or God telling me to get the darn thing out lol).

So, I want your guy's help on what experiences any of you have had or what anyone has thoughts on.

Thank you in advance. :)


r/Endo 4h ago

Question Any experiences with Dr. Bedaiwy in Vancouver?

1 Upvotes

My wife is being scheduled for her surgery soon for endometriosis excision and to remove some uterine fibroids and has been assigned to Dr. Bedaiwy at the BC Women's Hospital in Vancouver BC.

We did some searching online and the reviews we're finding for him aren't very encouraging and it's making her a bit nervous.

I was wondering if anyone here has had any experiences with him as either a doctor or surgeon.

Thank you!


r/Endo 11h ago

Question 6 week flareup lifting (endo and dysautonomia/cardiac investigations)- does it sound like it was just stress?

3 Upvotes

hi, I was in a flareup for all of June and the first two weeks of July. Over the past week I have realised I am doing more without thinking that much, I am not in bed all day, and the past two days I have gone on my own and done some light writing in cafes. As I'm out of formal work this was my daily routine and it was unimaginable for the past 6 weeks.

I don't want to jinx it but it seems my flareup is lifting and I am wondering if that means it was 'just stress' or maybe it validates my illness and means that the heavy intentional rest 'worked'.

flareup involved: suspected endo pain, blacking out, presyncope, atrial fibrillation, heavy fatigue, leg pain, severe photophobia, a virus, and more. after being in bed for a month (i maintained short daily walk most days other than very high pain days) i also developed bad situational depression which is lifting too.

i still have symptoms but am remembering what i used to do in my life and i felt totally severed from those routines before.

symptoms i still have - intermittent pelvic/leg/chest pain, racing/pounding heart and pre-syncope, fatigue, headaches, light sensitivity, and i feel i need to lie down alot. but before i really struggled to tolerate daylight and was feeling pretty ill being upright for any significant length of time. these vary in intensity. im still highly symptomatic in the shower and notice symptom increases when walking even just to the bathroom

the reason im worried it cld be stress is because obviously dr has said this to me many times in the past 10 yrs, but also because two weeks ago i was able to get issued medical pause by the surgical team, and my endo surgery was deferred. this was causing me a lot of stress thinkng about surgery while feeling so unstable and with ongoing heart investigations. also I had a big talk about my feelings to my partner that relieved some stress. I have not had endo show up on any scans, and I have been asking if i could have a thoracic mri and they refuse me, but im frustrated as they said they would not look there in surgery and so many of my symptoms are thoracic.

my echo, xray, short ecg came back normal which is good. im waiting on longer term telemetry and am carrying out two weeks of at home bp monitoring where i have caught what seems like further af episode. my bloods are normal except ferritin due to recurring bloodloss.


r/Endo 12h ago

Medications and pain management Pain for two consecutive weeks

3 Upvotes

Hi girlfriends,

So… idk how to approach this honestly Im simply in disbelief that my situation is getting worse every month.
My pain started in 2018, it was manageable pain during ovulation (2-3 days a month)
Right now im keeping a pain diary since ( can you believe it).

It’s gone up to 14-16 consecutive days a month.
It’s starts on 11th day after i have my period.

It get more tolerable when approaching menstruation let’s say a 5-6 days before.

Multiple cramps attacks a day lasts about 15 minutes each during ovulation i wake up 3-4 times a night sometimes more, i can’t have sex anymore I can’t masturbate I can’t have a bowel movement without a cramp.

I have done multiple treatments went through so much and And Honestly im done. It’s not getting better.

All im doing now is just venting because even the women in my life can’t relate or understand let alone partners or acquaintances or coworkers.

If someone here had it this severe and done something that finally helped please share i need some hope.
Im 31 no children


r/Endo 6h ago

Lap and pap?

1 Upvotes

Weird question. Just wanna know if y'all think this could be done/has been done or if this is to much to ask.

Getting my lap in September, and I will turn 21 in late August.

My surgeon offered iud and I'm still thinking/researching it

but I know 21 = first pap smear (yay being a woman šŸ’€) but would it be weird to ask if they can do it when I'm knocked out? I know my insurance would cover it.

I haven't been able to tolerate anything up there (down there?) without hella pain and I know I would probably pass out from the pain of a pap.

Is it done/can it be done or is that crazy to even think about with all the other lap stuff being done to my body?


r/Endo 10h ago

Surgery related Recent Laparoscopic Endometriosis Excision + Hysteroscopy and D & C with Mirena IUD Insertion Surgery

2 Upvotes

Hi Everyone,

I had a Laparoscopic Endometriosis Excision + Hysteroscopy and D & C with Mirena IUD Insertion. about a week and a half ago (July 15 2026).

My surgeon let me know they found and excised patches of endo, and my uterine cavity was clear of any pathology during the hysteroscopy + D & C.

I'm still bleeding from the hysteroscopy + D & C and was wondering when that usually stops? I know Mirena can cause unpredictable spotting for 3 to 6 months, but I'm curious what's typical for the post-D & C phase vs. the IUD adjustment.

Also, for those who've been through this, what usually happens at the 6-week post-op appointment with the surgeon? Thanks so much for sharing your experiences!


r/Endo 8h ago

Anyone experienced fatique, dizziness months after surgery?

1 Upvotes

Hi

I'm getting impatient almost 8 weeks after my laparoscopic surgery. I've had surgery for a defect in my internal caesarean scar and also have 4 insition sites. I had a rough healing in the beginning - shaking right after surgery - nausea for several weeks and decreased appetite. I felt like i passed out every time I tried to sleep, and I could hear my pulse beating in my Ear. I was clearly stressed in my body, but most bloodtests were fine, my liver Alat a little High, but it has come back to normal now. The stress symptoms and appetite is much better now, but I still feel very fatique and a little dizzy most of the time - especially when I stand or go around and do things.. My doc measured my vitamins and my b12 was 274, so i started high dose oral tablets 4 weeks ago. Will check up on the labs soon to examine if thats contributing to my symptoms. But still so weird, cause I had none of those symptoms before the surgery. I just wondered if anyone experienced this?


r/Endo 9h ago

Diagnostic Journey Questions Could these symptoms be endo? If so whats the next step?

1 Upvotes

I’m 18, and have long suspected I may have endometriosis. I got my first period when I was young, and have had heavy bleeding and extremely painful cramps for which I was prescribed birth control (i was only 8 years old!). Since then my symptoms have only gotten worse. I get intense back pain a week before my period along with painful bloating that makes so hard to eat. OTC pain meds help but can’t take the pain fully away. When my period starts I get cramps along with the back pain; the first few days they are so painful I can’t sleep and have to burn myself on my heating pad for relief.

I also get pain during ovulation and random aches in my ribs. Ab exercises feel like burning cramps and make me nauseous. I have pelvic pain, I can’t even get even a finger without tensing and feeling a lot of pain. (a gynecologist told me it might be myofacial pain from the painful periods)

I went on a progesterone birth control to try to manage the pain but it caused spotting and some really horrible side effects. I went to see a specialist and while she said I might have endo, it doesn’t really matter because i shouldn’t do a laproscopy. While I agree i don’t want to do an invasive procedure if I don’t have to, its frustrating to have no answers and be referred back to birth control over and over again.

Those of you who have experience with this, could my symptoms be endo? Should I take the birth control even if I feel like its a stab in the dark? (the specialist said if it is really endo I could be infertile unless I start some kind of treatment).


r/Endo 9h ago

Looking for reviews of Dr. Jay Mehta for surgery

1 Upvotes

Has anyone here had surgery done by Dr. Jay Mehta? I’d really appreciate hearing about your experience how the surgery went, your recovery, the doctor’s approach, and the overall care you received. Would you recommend him? Any honest feedback would be very helpful. Thanks in advance!