Before I was diagnosed with IC, I was "diagnosed" with endometriosis. I have had painful, long, heavy periods since I started menstruating. I was on the birth control pill at the age of 16 for pain management, went off probably around 18, and was back on some form from age 20-21. I went off the pill because of migraines.
I started having horrifically bad cramps again, along with periods that were abnormally heavy and long, so I went to my doctor. After a pelvic ultrasound, she "diagnosed" me with endometriosis and put me on Seasonique. I have been on this pill for about six months now, meaning that next week I should begin my second on-pill period (fingers crossed that it won't be nearly as awful as the last one).
Now, I keep putting diagnose in quotation marks because I have read that the only way to truly diagnose endometriosis is to do a biopsy, and I have not had one. I mentioned it to my doctor after the first on-pill period went horrifically wrong, and she said that even if we did the biopsy and found proof of endometriosis, the treatment would remain the same, so there was no point in doing a biopsy if the pill was helping (which it has, except for when I spot/right before I'm due for a period/when I am on my period).
But I'm wondering if maybe I don't have both IC and endometriosis. I thought for sure that since the cramps are most severe around my period that it must be endometriosis, especially because I have a completely different type of pain when it comes to urination. But an article I read stated that estrogen can aggravate IC, and that it's important to rule out gynecological syndromes before diagnosing IC, since it's really a diagnosis of exclusion.
I guess what I'm wondering is if I should insist on a biopsy. I don't want to do it, obviously, but I'd rather get this right than be treating myself for something I don't have. I just don't know if it's necessary or not, and my doctor seemed very sure of her diagnosis.
I started having horrifically bad cramps again, along with periods that were abnormally heavy and long, so I went to my doctor. After a pelvic ultrasound, she "diagnosed" me with endometriosis and put me on Seasonique. I have been on this pill for about six months now, meaning that next week I should begin my second on-pill period (fingers crossed that it won't be nearly as awful as the last one).
Now, I keep putting diagnose in quotation marks because I have read that the only way to truly diagnose endometriosis is to do a biopsy, and I have not had one. I mentioned it to my doctor after the first on-pill period went horrifically wrong, and she said that even if we did the biopsy and found proof of endometriosis, the treatment would remain the same, so there was no point in doing a biopsy if the pill was helping (which it has, except for when I spot/right before I'm due for a period/when I am on my period).
But I'm wondering if maybe I don't have both IC and endometriosis. I thought for sure that since the cramps are most severe around my period that it must be endometriosis, especially because I have a completely different type of pain when it comes to urination. But an article I read stated that estrogen can aggravate IC, and that it's important to rule out gynecological syndromes before diagnosing IC, since it's really a diagnosis of exclusion.
I guess what I'm wondering is if I should insist on a biopsy. I don't want to do it, obviously, but I'd rather get this right than be treating myself for something I don't have. I just don't know if it's necessary or not, and my doctor seemed very sure of her diagnosis.
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