I'm new, have endometriosis

[Guest guest]

Hello,

I just found your board today. My name is Amy and I'm 23.

I first began having unusual abdominal pain in January 06. By the

begining of August it was constant. After several trips to the ER

and one hospital admission I had a diagnostic laparoscopy in

October. I was diagnosed with Endometriosis and the growths found

were cauterized. My pain level is better now since surgery, but I

still haven't had a pain free day yet. At my last dr appt, I was

told that it wasn't going to go away and to just focus on pain

management.

I know I'm just a newbie at this whole life-long pain journey thing.

So I'm happy to have found your board. Maybe I can learn from those

of you who've been dealing with chronic pain much longer than I have.

I don't like how the rest of me feels when I'm on my pain meds (and

they don't make the pain go away anyway, just keep it manageable). So

my current strategy is to not take my pain meds unless absolutely

necessary. This means my first stop is lots of Advil, next level is

Ultram, then Vicoden, beyond that I have to go the hospital.

I'm trying to get a handle on my life so I can manage the pain. So

any tips from y'all would be great. I'm working on stress relief,

exercise when I'm able, and improving my nutrition.

Amy