I'm sorry to hear that, that must have been terrifying & traumatizing. 😰 I can totally understand your fear about doing another surgery, although I will say that there are endometriosis specialists out there who are so skilled that they can remove endo from any location in the pelvic, abdominal or thoracic cavity.

Top specialists like the surgeons at the Center for Endometriosis Care in Georgia, Dr. Seckin & Dr. Vidali in NY, Dr. Fogelson in the Pacific Northwest, Dr. Nezhat & both the Orbuch drs in CA, & Dr. Janik in the midwest all treat severe, complex cases. They're all extremely experienced with severe bowel disease, & I know that at least the Center for Endometriosis Care, Dr. Fogelson & Dr Seckin can even remove endo on the diaphragm, in the lungs, or in the tissues surrounding the heart. So if it does continue to get worse there are options, but I totally understand your fear & hesitation 💜

And yes, breastfeeding less could also affect pain levels. Breastfeeding keeps estrogen at lower levels, they will start to rise once the baby starts to breastfeed less & estrogen fuels the growth of endometriosis. A low estrogen, anti-inflammatory diet could help & there are supplements like DIM that help your liver metabolize estrogen into less harmful forms instead of estradiol, & there's a lot of supplements for inflammation like ginger, turmeric, quercetin, pycnogenol, decaffeinated green tea extract, & NAC. But you'd have to talk to your Dr about whether you can take any of those while breastfeeding.

Thanks for your response! I think surgery is an extreme last resort at this point. It terrifies me. I almost died from being septic because the dr made a hole in my intestine and it wasnt fixed properly before closing me up. Ended up with a colostomy for 8 weeks. I also have endo in places they believe are too dangerous to try and remove 😔

Unfortunately hormonal suppression doesn't stop endometriosis from progressing. It often helps with pain at first but becomes less effective over time because the endo tissue continues to grow. That's why the gold standard of treatment is a thorough excision surgery with an endometriosis specialist. Is another surgery an option for you or is it too risky due to the complications you had with the last one?