I have suspected endometriosis (I still need surgery to confirm it), and my pain has become debilitating. My doctor wants to try hormonal treatment options before considering anything surgical.
I’m honestly terrified of this option because I’m on multiple mood stabilizers for bipolar 2 disorder and have been stable for 5 years. I brought up my concerns, but I feel like they were brushed off. She basically told me that if one hormonal option doesn’t work, we’ll just move on to something even… read more
Hello! I’m so sorry you’re experiencing this, you’re not alone!
Something that has helped me without hormonal birth control are Pepcid and Allegra (antihistamines). I take them daily during the luteal phase, and while not a perfect or long-term solution, it has improved my overall mood.
I found that the right birth control actually stabalized my mood more than my psych meds did. I had a hysterectomy and came off birth control thinking it would solve it and the hormonal fluctuations affecting my mood are really bad now despite being on the same psych meds that have stabalized me for years. I know how hard psych med changes are. I missed so much work when they were trying to stabalize my psych meds in the early days. The good news is that the birth control med changea are far less disruptive as they have far less chance of alergic reactions and severe debilitating side effects like the psych meds. I felt releif from both mood and pelvix pain for many years on a good birth control. If the doctor is willing to keep trying new options with you until you find one that works they may be more willing to help than it seemed at first but also trust your gut. It is important to feel like you will be herd if something isn't working. I did have to check in my my psychiatrist a lot because I take Lamictal which does get supressed by estrogen. It worked out such that in the withdrawl week of the pill the Lamictal worked stronger and the weels where the hormones were stable that helped manage the mood. I hope you find a good solution that works for you.
First of all, five years of stability is a huge achievement, and it makes complete sense to want to protect that. Your concerns are completely valid, and it's really frustrating when they feel dismissed.
You're definitely not alone in this. Many MyEndometriosisTeam members navigate the intersection of mental health and Show Full Answer