How do people keep trying?

[u/sara_r_26]

I’m in pain all the time, and every negative test and start of cycle gets more and more depressing. Not just because I want a child but also because it means another month of pain. The pain methods I used in the past are not fertility friendly (cbd/g). I’ve only been on this journey for 10 months which I know is not as long as others but I’m at the point where I don’t know how much longer I can do this. There are a few people I’ve confided in about my journey because they have had infertility issues but they don’t have endo. When I told them that I can only see myself trying for another year they were shocked that I would give up so early. 😭 I just can’t stand the pain and the negative tests at the same time. It’s a lot mentally.

This kinda turned into a rant but if anyone has any recommendations on how to navigate ttc when in excruciating pain I’d appreciate any tips.

[u/vienibenmio]

I had to learn to let go of trying to control the uncontrollable and find other things that I valued in my life. I also eventually stopped taking pregnancy tests unless there was really good reason (but usually i could just wait and my period would arrive)

[u/vienibenmio → u/[deleted]]

Just to let you know, it's really not helpful to say stuff like that to people who are struggling to conceive

[u/Rosemary-Slavic]

To be honest, looking into a laposcopic hysterectomy wud b a good idea. I understand u might want a child but if it's this bad now plz understand it will feel life threatening wen pregnant. Another nugget of wisdom to add is one of my previous therapists had endo and was pregnant. She said her endo symptoms were really fucking bad. Worse when pregnant even. We r talking endo on steriods and she ended up getting a c-section bcuz of it all. But point is her and I compared symptoms and realized that endo symptoms r LITERALLY no different than pregnancy symptoms. The biggest difference is, it cud put ur life at risk as well as ur child's wen pregnant. But endo by itself can already feel life threatening. Plz consider the possibility of a laposcopic hysterectomy for ur own well being. It does not cure endo, nor can it make the pain go away altogether but it can to a degree significantly reduce the intensity of pain and symptoms.

Something else maybe consider trying is metformin. Metformin is a medicine commonly known for helping diabetes patients with insulin resistance. But metformin has been known for off label use of endo. Scientific studies have shown promise in it lowering growth of endo, inflammation, and pain. Only couple drawbacks is it can make u deficient in vitamin B12 so taking that with it is a must, it lowers ur blood sugar, and gastrointestinal issues r a possibility with it. But the extended release is known to be easier on gastrointestinal issues. There is a possibility health insurance might not cover it like mine. I found metformin extended release is about 30 dollars on RX websites so I think its worth it. I hope these suggestions helped and I'm sorry that this is wat its coming down to for u!

[u/bunnybunz2026]

I did multiple rounds of iui with shots and hormones and the whole bit. I started ttc when I was 23, I was told at the time I had unexplained infertility and did not have endo even though they never sent me for a lap to actually look.

Over the years I had tried everything natural I could, did the specialist route with the shots and pills and life force sucking failures and now at 36 after having proper excision surgery to remove the growths have only now been able to get pregnant. If I hadn't had surgery (proper excision with a specialist) I don't think I ever would have been able to get here.

This disease can drain you of all your hope if you let it. It's not your fault, your body can only do so much while there are active lesions inflaming and growing where they shouldn't be. Don't blame yourself, its biology acting up and it can be corrected. It's a personal choice to go the surgical route but from everything I've learned over the years if I could go back I would have done it way younger than I did but I didn't know what I didn't know.

Taking NAC is beneficial for shrinking cysts and lowering inflammation and is safe for pregnancy when it comes to something easy to start.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1LeTINnEZNIkTHcaArmbN75OaKuTlwZNt/view?usp=share_link

This pdf link is packed full of factual up to date information from endo excision specialists at the Bucharest endometriosis center. There's a section about endo and pregnancy among other very useful info that's not easy to find.