Seeking Advise on Endometrial Ablation

Hi N.
I am 39 now and I had two laparoscopies done fro Endometriosis. One when I was 32 and the second one when I was 34. Both times were before having a baby.
I used to have severe cramps which went away after the operation. 5 years later I have no complaints.

HI N.,
I do not want to discourage you on this procedure. It was exactly what I needed to have done. Unfortunatly, I was that 1% that didn't work. I had the procedure a few years ago. I bled for 8 weeks, and he had to put me back on the pill. So here I was a woman who not only had a tubal, then this novasure procedure, then put on the pill! I was very disappointed. My periods are still horrible. I went off the pill in 06 because I developed breast issues,& I felt the pill caused the lumps that needed to be removed.You hear alot of that with horemone replacement pills, so I didn't want to chance it.
I do know of 2 other woman who had it done, and they thankfully did very well with it. I just wanted to give you my take on it. Just think it through, and remember I was the "exception to the rules" The odds are in YOUR favor.
Good Luck to you, If you have any other questions, I would gladly answer them.

Alittle about me:
I am,41, a stay at home mom to 2 boys, 13 and 7. Married to the love of my life for alomost 16 years.

I had my ablation done 12/2/08 ... things did not stop for 5 or 6 weeks (which is normal) and have had NOTHING since. Went from having period about every 2 weeks for about 10 days straight to NOTHING!!! It is wonderful! I highly recommend having this procedure done. I had HTA, not Novasure, but I also had the ESSURE procedure done before the HTA so that limited the choices of ablation therapy available to me. But so-far-so-good and I'm happy with the outcome at this point. Waiting to see what happens in the next 2 weeks, hopefully NOTHING! :)
Good luck!

Hi N.. I had an ablation done when I was around 35, 36 (can't even remember!) Anyway, It didn't really work as well as I wanted it to. First, I bled for at least as long as you bleed after having a baby, if not more, then I went without periods for maybe 2 to three months and then, bamm!! Back we go! They were irregular and some were really heavy, and then about a year later, I would go 5 - 6 months without one . It was crazy. Now, I"m 40 and have pretty regular light periods that maybe last two days at the most. I was just really dissappointed in the doctor who did not really explain to me that because of my age and the fact that I wasn't close to menapause yet, that I would eventually go back to having periods. Please note though, I had the ablation done because medication I was on left me bleeding for 9 months straight!! (Topomax - bad stuff!!) So I can say that the procedure wasn't in vain. I just want you to know that your period probably won't go "away", but probably will indeed become alot shorter and lighter. Good Luck!!

N.,

I'm having Novasure done tomorrow (1/28). If you email me your email address, I can let you know in a few days how I made out. I'm very excited to know that I'll feel better soon and that I won't have my period anymore (yippy!!!), but I'm having a hard time accepting no more babies. Right now, my health is more important and I have been blessed with a boy and a girl. So, I'll deal with it and maybe rush my sister into having a baby (haha).

I'll talk to you soon,
J.
____@____.com

Hi N.,

I didn't have the endometrial ablation but went straight to a partial hysterectomy. I was 40 at the time (46 now) and it was the best decision I ever made. I had sever periods all my life and the only time that I wasn't having a period was when I was pregnant with my daughter (now is 17 yrs). My GYN and I went back and forth for a while over what was the best course of action. He did have me do a 30 day schedule on my period. I used a small calendar and kept track daily of what was happening. A small red dot was just spotting, half the square colored in was a "light" day, and full square covered was a really heavy day. Needless to say, there was something happening almost every day of the month. So just as an example out of 30 days, there might have been 5 that were not colored in any way. But those were not consecutive. I felt that since I was not going to have any more kids, why should I have to deal with a monthly period. I still have my ovaries, so I don't have to take any replacement drugs and my life is just "peachy". No more worrying with whether or not I was gonna get "caught out" without proper protection...which happened on numerous occasions.
Good luck to you on whatever you decide.
K.

Hi N.
Sorry about all your trouble.
I am assuming that the OB/GYN is recommending this procedure. Have you gotten a second opinion? Have you had GYN problems your whole life and using the same GYN you have always used?
I choose no elective surgery. There are no guarantees. Unless of course GYN is saying "you must" and you are putting GYN off. Friend had ablation and she says "oh it helped some but not like I thought" Be sure you know why GYN is doing it, and what results he expects.
I had some GYN issues, at 40, and GYN wanted to do D&C. Found out I was having twins. Since the twins, and they are 18 yo, I have bled, not heavy just by now we are all in agreement that this should stop. Hey, guess what? My last endometrian strip scope is normal, and he says the monthly bleeding will stop within the year.
They figure when I stopped for 6 months at 45 or so it was stress(the twins were 5), but everyone assumed it was menopause. OOooops, finally it is menopause at 58. Estrogen levels have been low normal all the time, so they made assumptions, but my estrogen levels were low normal at 18, if they had told me I would have told them. Of course we have moved many times in the intervening 40 years.
God bless you and give you wisdom
K. -- SAHM married 38 years === adult children 37, coach; 32, lawyer; and the twins are in college this year after homeschooling.

I spoke with my doctor about this just yesterday! She said that the procedure helps but doesn't always last (could be only 5 years)and then if the periods come back, you would need it done again, creating too much scar tissue. One of her patients needed polyps removed but had this procedure and scar tissue made it difficut to remove the polyps.
Anyhow, she suggested I get an IUD with a hormone release or go on the pill. I opted for the pill. She gave me Loesterol. Haven't started yet but will next month. Hate to be on it as I got my tubes tied so i wouldn't need them but need to control the periods.
FYI - my doctor originally told me to take 800 mg ibuprofen during my period to control the bleeding and believe it or not it worked but I seem to have developed and allergy to it and break out in hives when taking such high doses of that so i had to stop.Good luch with whatever you choose.
J.

I suffered with very severe bleeding also. I had the ablation done by Dr. Lester in W. Islip and I am completely satisfied. I had it done in Oct. 2005 and haven't had a period since. I stain a couple of drops for 1 day. That is it. I think you are doing the right thing because I had embarrassing moments of staining my clothes and I became quite anemic. Do not hesitate. You'll be much freer and happier.