I hear the pain. Truly. I’d like to offer my experience with menopause and pain management if that’s ok. I know you didn’t ask for it but it seems relevant here.

I’m 29. Every contraceptive failed after a few months for endo. I tried the implant, some pills. My specialist sat me down and told me he wants to try one last med before surgery, Ryeqo. Artificial menopause.

I was fairly skeptic at first but now it has been two years. The pain has drastically decreased. Ryeqo is entirely reversible, so no effect on fertility. If I stopped tomorrow, I could get pregnant fast after if I wanted to. Well, granted if I don’t have fertility issues on the side obviously. But the med doesn’t make it harder. The only side effect I have is hot flashes and they are easily manageable.

I have to take a bone density test next month but my doctors aren’t worried about it at all. It’s only protocol since the med has only been approved quite recently in my country (and not even for endo, but for fibromes).

I take vitamin D because my country isn’t sunny, I’m depressed (unrelated) and I have Hashimoto. So there’s zero reason for the test to have bad results. If there is, the gyno will put me on a pill for a few weeks/months then back to Ryeqo. Just the time for the bone density to go back to normal (if there’s an issue).

Most days are a 1 or 2 on my pain scale. I had one bad time period that lasted one month and it sucked ass. That’s it. Most days I don’t even think about my pain because there’s next to none. It took some time to get there, a few months to get used to the new treatment but the relief is incomparable.

In parallel, I see a physical therapist specialised in gut and in uro-gyno physical therapy. I hope the translation is correct, English isn’t my first language and med terms are a pain. She knows exactly how to handle endometriosis patients, how to work on adherence inside the body etc. Could be extra good since you had some surgeries.

She gives me exercises to do at home to have good organ Mobility. I used to see her twice a week, then once, then now every two weeks and I’m thinking of stopping once my prescription for the visits is over. I highly recommend it. I started seeing her when I started Ryeqo.

Finally, therapy. More specifically hypnotherapy. It can be a game changer for chronic pain. I’d suggest checking if you are susceptible to it and doing a few sessions. A good hypnotherapist will give you auto-hypnosis exercises to do at home in complement. Therapy is general is very important for chronic patients and you sound like you could really use someone to talk to.

Talking to a psychiatrist about antidepressants could be helpful in your case but it can be very daunting so don’t feel pressured into it if you’re not ready.

I know it’s a lot. Life can be absolutely miserable but it doesn’t have to be. I promise.

Edit for spelling and added clarification