I heard back from Dr. David Redwine today. He is "the man" for endometriosis surgery. I sent my information to him three weeks ago hoping for a response that said something like, "Yes! I'd be happy to remove your endometriosis and save your uterus and ovaries because that is just the kind of guy that I am!" Well...no. That's not exactly what he said. He feels that at least some of my pain is likely coming from the uterus itself and the only way to remedy that is to remove it. He suspects adenomyosis. I'm not totally convinced and I'm struggling with a legitimate concern; why am I so fiercely arguing in my head with a leading endometriosis specialist? What could I possibly know that he doesn't know about my body? Well, I guess it is MY body...so I might know more than I think, but still. Really? Why can't I just agree? I wish I could but I can't right now. I'll give it some time to sink in and see what I think down the road.
He actually believes that I might already be in menopause and that my "periods" (bleeding) may be just due to adenomyosis and that my ovaries may have "already failed." I hate the way that sounds. Failed? Failed at what? They are still doing their job even if that job isn't to make babies. (And clearly they did their job well when they gave me my three babies!) They are still offering a slow trickle of hormones and will for the rest of my life. Those hormones are important to my well-being and offer disease protection which have begun to be studied only recently.
One reason that I disagree with this possible diagnosis is that my periods were like clockwork just a year or so ago. They became that way in perimenopause, and stayed that way for a few years, gradually becoming less predictable. I haven't actually had a period since my surgery (over two months ago) and I have had the hot flashes to prove it. Dr. Redwine suggests that I consider having my estradiol and FSH levels checked and that is a good idea. I have a phone appointment scheduled with my doctor in two days to discuss this.
He assured me that if every bit of endometriosis was removed during laparoscopy, and my uterus and ovaries were removed vaginally, that I would be free to start hormone replacement immediately. My concern with a local surgeon is that they may not be willing to remove all of the endometriosis because they'd have to work hard to find it among the mess of adhesions in my pelvis. If every speck isn't removed thoroughly then hormone replacement will likely cause it to grow and cause more pain.
Dr. Redwine also has concerns about intestinal involvement of endometriosis due to my extensive history with Irritable Bowel Syndrome. Interestingly my IBS symptoms have recently subsided along with my periods. This is highly suggestive of endometriosis in my opinion. All of my pelvic pain has been diminishing lately. Maybe I'll be one of the lucky women and my endometriosis won't be an issue after menopause. Then we can stop all of this silly talk and worry about a very major surgery. I'm game!
