Adenomyosis and UP

Hi Susan

Christine will hopefully respond.

In the meantime I am wondering how old you are, if you have given birth, whether the doctor indicated the presence or not of endometriosis, and whether you have had any scans to confirm the diagnosis and the extent of it?

I think in your situation I would be finding out as much as I could about how the condition was affecting my body and the extent of it. I would also be asking the doctor how he knows your painful periods are caused by adenomyosis and not something else. I would be trying non-invasive and localized methods first, even if involves hormone treatment (Mirena?), then systemic hormone treatment, looking at other possible causes of your heavy and painful periods (including psychological factors as described in Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom (1998) by Dr Christiane Northrup) which may be worsening the inflammation and cramps, and only then, if you are still suffering really badly, investigate the surgical options, leaving hysterectomy as your final option.

Should you reach the point of having hysterectomy as your only option you can go ahead with it, knowing you have exhausted all other options for dealing with the pain. From my brief reading about it, adenomyosis does resolve at menopause, but that may be a long way down the track for you. Having a hysterectomy may ultimately be the course you take, but hopefully you will find that you can get relief from your pain and heavy bleeding by another method that will cause less damage to your body's function.

Cheers

Louise

Susan, I'll leave it to Christine to have some input. It sounds as if the Dr is pretty sure, doesn't it. I would still be finding out as much as I could. Not having Endo as well has to be some sort of blessing.

You are probably still getting used to the idea but when you are ready you will probably find a Forum for Adenomyosis sufferers where you will be able to converse with others and hear about what works or not for them. Sorry to hear about the back injury and miscarriages. Life hands out some tough hands sometimes. It doesn't seem fair. You might gain some insight by exploring these things with the help of a capable professional.

Christiane Northrup has quite a bit to say about the effects of painful experiences in our lives on our health, and she has some amazing stories to tell about recovery from physical diseases as a result of examining the stuff below the surface of our lives.

Cheers

Louise

I cannot tell you not to take your doctor’s advice.

I can say adenomysis - the first or second leading indication for hysterectomy - is one of the primary ways surgeons remove a healthy uterus. And the condition itself is largely iatrogenic - or medically caused. If you’ve had five miscarriages you’ve probably also had five D&Cs. This procedure causes the endometrium to become intermixed with the muscle layer, or myometrium, of the uterus. The result is heavy, painful menstruation.

I’m quite certain I had this condition as well - although it can only be diagnosed when the uterus is splayed open in a pathology lab. I lived with a lot of discomfort and bleeding throughout my forties, but got through it with various herbal treatments and acupuncture. Red clover tincture is purported to be good for decreasing the thickness of the endometrial layer.

I experienced what I believe to have been the sudden (over the course of about 2 hours) shedding of an adenomysic uterus, which was very shocking and intense, leading me to write the first edition of STWW. I was under the care of an herbalist at the time and also doing a lot to bring my body back to health, including belly dancing, major stress reduction, fruit and leaf fasting, and also - for lack of a better way to put it - psychic exploration. I believe the uterus has within it the capability to purge itself, but how to make it do that is not explicit. Afterward my uterus was small, healthy, and pulled higher into my pelvis. I had another episode - not nearly as intense - a year later and moved into menopause a couple of years after that.

My uterus has been through so much, and my experience tells me it is an incredibly strong, sound, and necessary organ. The uterus is capable of growing all sorts of bumps and barbs and thorns. And some of them are deadly. But an overwhelming majority are completely benign and should be left to female instinct how best to calm her body. Now my vulva has been through the mill and I have great hope it will also naturalize in time. We come from the earth and sea, something gynecology refuses to recognize, even though real science flies squarely in the face of many of their horrendously injurious practices.

The human female spirit never dies, however. I talked to the dearest young woman the other day who has been no less than eviscerated by this barbarous system. I cannot relay her horror here, but suffice it to say it is some of the most brutal I have heard in all these years. She moves through her pain and overwhelming sadness by playing the flute and rollerblading.

Godspeed, Susan.

Christine