This is really helpful. My daughter has endometriosis. She is only 26, already had two surgeries and is struggling to figure out if she can plan a family with her husband. I worry so much for her health now and in her future.
You are so very welcome. And it is more common to have both of them than it is to have only one of them. The key is to ensure that you get diagnosis and treatment for both.
@ saw my OB/GYN yesterday. I had a hysterectomy a year ago. That’s how I knew I had them. Yes I did have adhesions. I have been surprised by how much better this has made me feel.
Oh, my…the immobilization/stagnation sounds so painful. Then, hearing about the adhesion makes me feel weak in the knees. Yes, you made this lesson very clear about the risk of endometriosis being a low risk for EOC. Great lesson. 💕
This video means alot. I had a radical hysterectomy in 2020 that took two surgeons and almost 7 hours. All of my organs were stuck together like glue and I had "chocolate cysts on my ovaries". Doc said I was one of the worst cases he had ever seen and filmed it for medical students. Before the surgery I was at the point with my endo that I could barely walk. The pain was too intense. No one explained any of this to me in terms that I could easily understand. You are an angel from above. Many Mahalos from Waikiki. 😇❤️🩷💚❤️🩷💚❤️🩷💚🙏🐋🐠🌴🌺
I makes me so angry that nobody explained your situation to you. While I'm glad that you finally understand it, you deserved to know all about it long ago.
@MenopauseTaylor Thank you very much. You are a wonderful teacher and I now understand why so many women recommend you via social media. Women like me seeking answers eventually wind up finding you THANKFULLY. Whew. 💛🧡🩷
Hi Dr Taylor, Thanks for such a thorough video. So, if some women have endometriosis and no/mild symptoms, and since (it’s my understanding that) the symptoms are quite generic anyway, and women often don’t find out unless they try to get pregnant or have pelvic surgery for another issue, then many of us may have endometriosis and don’t know it. Is it possible to diagnose it with an MRI? The reason I’m asking is that way back you taught us that for postmenopausal women trying to decide to go on HRT, it's important to know if they have endometriosis. But how to know? Thanks. Have a great day
Exactly! Endometriosis is extremely under-diagnosed. The problem is that you cannot make the diagnosis of endometriosis by any means other than surgery. An MRI or ultrasound can suggest adenomyosis, but not diagnose it definitely.
Hi Dr Taylor. I was diagnosed with endometriosis in my twenties after many years of “symptoms”. It wasn’t very well understood thirty years ago unfortunately and the treatments were quite rudimentary in comparison to treatments now. It caused havoc throughout my teenage years and the whole of my years prior to actual menopause and then beyond. Severe lower back, hip and pelvic pain, extremely heavy bleeding with large clots, very irregular cycles, IBD as it was always on my bowel, bladder issues as it was on my bladder, adhesions etc etc etc. The overwhelming issue however was pain and that pain continues into my fifties due to all the adhesions and issues caused by thirty plus years of having a menstrual cycle (although far from being a normal cycle with periods of constant bleeding daily for months or up to two years at a time). The IBD caused by the endometriosis has now become diverticulosis in the small bowel and is causing malabsorption and other bowel issues. Despite being fully menopausal and six years after my last period I have calcified fibroids, adhesions everywhere, bowel and bladder issues all emanating from having endometriosis and recurring fibroids throughout my reproductive years of life. I am very glad that future generations of women will have better options for treatment than regular laser treatments and not be treated as though it isn’t a debilitating disease. I’m noticing more research into endometriosis in the last few years and with knowledge comes better understanding and education for all medical staff. This should prevent the dismissive attitude I and others of my generation encountered most of the time. I got a mirena coil fitted the first time less than a year after it was approved for use in Scotland and there was only one doctor in the whole country using them at that time (seems like a long time ago now and I had to fight for it back then). This was before the internet was really a thing and information was from books. I see that endometriosis is now viewed as a risk factor for many gynae cancers and for breast cancer possibly. We can only hope going forward that women who have abnormal menstrual cycles are taken seriously and diagnosed much earlier in life than we were. Treatment can then be initiated earlier and the major or lifelong problems are lessened for them. Best wishes x
You deserved (and still deserve) much more attention to your situation. PLEASE schedule a consultation with me so that you know all your options. I hate the fact that you've suffered so much. This is precisely the kind of thing for which I do one-on-one consultations. You definitely need one. I cannot tailor things specifically to you in a comment box. It requires much more information than you can give me here, and you deserve much more information than I can give you here. No two women are alike, and addressing your situation requires tailoring all the facts specifically to YOU. I do them all via online video conferencing. You can schedule at MenopauseTaylor.ME. I look forward to meeting you and helping you.
@ thank you but I finally found a really good gynaecologist about a month ago here in Scotland who did listen and I have a plan in place going forward (finally). We’re dependent on the NHS here and whilst having access to healthcare no matter our economic status is amazing, it’s also a lottery as to who we get as our Doctors. My plan going forward is repeating mirena coils with an estrogen patch for life. My calcified fibroid is too close to and probably encasing the nerve to the bladder to remove (meaning that I can’t have a hysterectomy without risking permanent urinary incontinence). My comment was more about giving voice to having had endometriosis all my adult life and my hope that in the future my situation will not be the experience of this newer generation. The description of what endometriosis is doesn’t really describe well how much impact it can have on your whole life. It’s not taken seriously enough within the medical community as a whole and therefore many women encounter dismissal from family doctors and occupational health etc. If you have something wrong with your gastrointestinal tract or your cardiovascular system then it’s ok to be unwell with that, but if you have something wrong with your reproductive system it’s not seen as being at all significant or serious. My last mirena coil was removed about ten years ago by a gynaecologist as I was in full blown perimenopause and I had multiple fibroids at that time. She and I had a difficult consultation and she was probably the second worst doctor I ever had the misfortune to see (the worst I reported to the General Medical Council and my complaint was upheld re incompetence). Importantly I have much more confidence in my new gynaecologist and found her compassionate and effective. She clearly demonstrated the issues on my scans and in discussion we agreed on a plan. I was a Registered Nurse for over twenty years so I am fairly familiar with when a doctor really cares or has a good reputation etc. I think this channel and the personal consultations are an excellent resource for information for many women. Particularly in the US where you’re still licensed to practice and the way healthcare works there. Here in the UK it’s entirely different and we can’t choose who we see. Having information is always powerful and had the internet been around when I was young I would have been all over the information available now. Dry textbooks from the library of varying dates of publication were what I had access to at that time (the nineties 😂). A background of nursing education allowed me to decipher them but it was far from complete information. xx
This is really helpful. My daughter has endometriosis. She is only 26, already had two surgeries and is struggling to figure out if she can plan a family with her husband. I worry so much for her health now and in her future.
The best explanation of endometriosis, finally know why the scar tissue forms! Thank you 🌹
You are so very welcome!
Thank you for answering my question about adenomyosis.i had both endometriosis and adenomyosis that was discovered during surgery.
You are so very welcome. And it is more common to have both of them than it is to have only one of them. The key is to ensure that you get diagnosis and treatment for both.
@ saw my OB/GYN yesterday. I had a hysterectomy a year ago. That’s how I knew I had them. Yes I did have adhesions. I have been surprised by how much better this has made me feel.
Oh, my…the immobilization/stagnation sounds so painful. Then, hearing about the adhesion makes me feel weak in the knees.
Yes, you made this lesson very clear about the risk of endometriosis being a low risk for EOC. Great lesson. 💕
Thank you, my dear!
This video means alot. I had a radical hysterectomy in 2020 that took two surgeons and almost 7 hours. All of my organs were stuck together like glue and I had "chocolate cysts on my ovaries". Doc said I was one of the worst cases he had ever seen and filmed it for medical students. Before the surgery I was at the point with my endo that I could barely walk. The pain was too intense. No one explained any of this to me in terms that I could easily understand. You are an angel from above. Many Mahalos from Waikiki. 😇❤️🩷💚❤️🩷💚❤️🩷💚🙏🐋🐠🌴🌺
I makes me so angry that nobody explained your situation to you. While I'm glad that you finally understand it, you deserved to know all about it long ago.
@MenopauseTaylor Thank you very much. You are a wonderful teacher and I now understand why so many women recommend you via social media. Women like me seeking answers eventually wind up finding you THANKFULLY. Whew. 💛🧡🩷
Hi Dr Taylor, Thanks for such a thorough video.
So, if some women have endometriosis and no/mild symptoms, and since (it’s my understanding that) the symptoms are quite generic anyway, and women often don’t find out unless they try to get pregnant or have pelvic surgery for another issue, then many of us may have endometriosis and don’t know it. Is it possible to diagnose it with an MRI? The reason I’m asking is that way back you taught us that for postmenopausal women trying to decide to go on HRT, it's important to know if they have endometriosis. But how to know? Thanks. Have a great day
Exactly! Endometriosis is extremely under-diagnosed.
The problem is that you cannot make the diagnosis of endometriosis by any means other than surgery.
An MRI or ultrasound can suggest adenomyosis, but not diagnose it definitely.
Hi Dr Taylor. I was diagnosed with endometriosis in my twenties after many years of “symptoms”. It wasn’t very well understood thirty years ago unfortunately and the treatments were quite rudimentary in comparison to treatments now. It caused havoc throughout my teenage years and the whole of my years prior to actual menopause and then beyond. Severe lower back, hip and pelvic pain, extremely heavy bleeding with large clots, very irregular cycles, IBD as it was always on my bowel, bladder issues as it was on my bladder, adhesions etc etc etc. The overwhelming issue however was pain and that pain continues into my fifties due to all the adhesions and issues caused by thirty plus years of having a menstrual cycle (although far from being a normal cycle with periods of constant bleeding daily for months or up to two years at a time). The IBD caused by the endometriosis has now become diverticulosis in the small bowel and is causing malabsorption and other bowel issues. Despite being fully menopausal and six years after my last period I have calcified fibroids, adhesions everywhere, bowel and bladder issues all emanating from having endometriosis and recurring fibroids throughout my reproductive years of life. I am very glad that future generations of women will have better options for treatment than regular laser treatments and not be treated as though it isn’t a debilitating disease. I’m noticing more research into endometriosis in the last few years and with knowledge comes better understanding and education for all medical staff. This should prevent the dismissive attitude I and others of my generation encountered most of the time. I got a mirena coil fitted the first time less than a year after it was approved for use in Scotland and there was only one doctor in the whole country using them at that time (seems like a long time ago now and I had to fight for it back then). This was before the internet was really a thing and information was from books.
I see that endometriosis is now viewed as a risk factor for many gynae cancers and for breast cancer possibly. We can only hope going forward that women who have abnormal menstrual cycles are taken seriously and diagnosed much earlier in life than we were. Treatment can then be initiated earlier and the major or lifelong problems are lessened for them. Best wishes x
You deserved (and still deserve) much more attention to your situation. PLEASE schedule a consultation with me so that you know all your options. I hate the fact that you've suffered so much.
This is precisely the kind of thing for which I do one-on-one consultations. You definitely need one. I cannot tailor things specifically to you in a comment box. It requires much more information than you can give me here, and you deserve much more information than I can give you here. No two women are alike, and addressing your situation requires tailoring all the facts specifically to YOU. I do them all via online video conferencing. You can schedule at MenopauseTaylor.ME. I look forward to meeting you and helping you.
@ thank you but I finally found a really good gynaecologist about a month ago here in Scotland who did listen and I have a plan in place going forward (finally). We’re dependent on the NHS here and whilst having access to healthcare no matter our economic status is amazing, it’s also a lottery as to who we get as our Doctors. My plan going forward is repeating mirena coils with an estrogen patch for life. My calcified fibroid is too close to and probably encasing the nerve to the bladder to remove (meaning that I can’t have a hysterectomy without risking permanent urinary incontinence). My comment was more about giving voice to having had endometriosis all my adult life and my hope that in the future my situation will not be the experience of this newer generation. The description of what endometriosis is doesn’t really describe well how much impact it can have on your whole life. It’s not taken seriously enough within the medical community as a whole and therefore many women encounter dismissal from family doctors and occupational health etc. If you have something wrong with your gastrointestinal tract or your cardiovascular system then it’s ok to be unwell with that, but if you have something wrong with your reproductive system it’s not seen as being at all significant or serious.
My last mirena coil was removed about ten years ago by a gynaecologist as I was in full blown perimenopause and I had multiple fibroids at that time. She and I had a difficult consultation and she was probably the second worst doctor I ever had the misfortune to see (the worst I reported to the General Medical Council and my complaint was upheld re incompetence).
Importantly I have much more confidence in my new gynaecologist and found her compassionate and effective. She clearly demonstrated the issues on my scans and in discussion we agreed on a plan. I was a Registered Nurse for over twenty years so I am fairly familiar with when a doctor really cares or has a good reputation etc.
I think this channel and the personal consultations are an excellent resource for information for many women. Particularly in the US where you’re still licensed to practice and the way healthcare works there. Here in the UK it’s entirely different and we can’t choose who we see. Having information is always powerful and had the internet been around when I was young I would have been all over the information available now. Dry textbooks from the library of varying dates of publication were what I had access to at that time (the nineties 😂). A background of nursing education allowed me to decipher them but it was far from complete information. xx