However, some women do just get really bad period pain unfortunately. It’s just something we have to put up with. My periods are agonising and i experience the same symptoms you described above(yes- much more painful than the multitude of other injuries like a broken leg that i’ve had)- and strong codeine is the only thing that gives me a little relief.

I have had all the usual pelvic checks and scans- there is nothing to explain the painful periods- it’s just one of those things. Few Doctors will prescribe strong painkillers for period pain unfortuantely- which is silly because some women really do get so much pain they can’t move. I get prescriptions for strong co-codamol for another condition (i have interstitial cystitis which is a condition that causes a painful bladder) I take these pain meds for my period pain too.

My advice is to talk to your Dr and get checked out. If your Dr won’t help- find another one! You are probably fine, but at least a Dr might take you seriously if you explain how concerned you are and prescribe some proper pain meds. Good luck honey- hope you’re feeling better soon.

By the way- you sound quite young- there is a good chance you might grow out of the painful periods. Womens cycles often change every few years. I was the opposite, i never had any trouble with my periods when i was younger, but 2 years ago when i turned 24 they became horrible. Hopefully, you’ll be the other way around

Men love it because we cater to them. Just look at ads on TV, magazines, billboards, heck anywhere, that show scantily clad women. Where are the pics of scantily clad men? It’s no surprise that many men think that the only thing women are good for is sex.

Also, is infertility always ’set in stone’ and how about a hysterectomy?
I’m relatively young…
I haven’t been diagnosed.

there are special fertility doctors who can treat endometriosis. They also have knowledge in endocrinology which helps conquer this condition.

However, if you do not have any symptoms you may not need diagnosis and treatment intervention at this point (do you truly not have symptoms? Or do you have nonspecific pain/etc. that you attribute to other things? See http://www.endocenter.org/pdf/2007ScreeningEducationKit.pdf for an exhaustive symptom checklist).

Endo is a leading cause of female infertility, ranging upwards of 40%-60% in patients with the disease. If you are under 35 and have been trying for a year, then see the doc to talk about your family history and possible Endo-related infertility. If you are over 35 and have been trying for 6 mons., see the doc. If the disease does not bother you at all or cause infertility, etc., then there is not necessarily a need to treat it per se.

Some additional helpful links:

Familial Risk Among Patients with Endometriosis
http://www.springerlink.com/index/T322LH58X3445X48.pdf

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/1843962.stm

http://www.centerforendo.com

http://www.endometriosissurgeon.com

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/erc

that is a quote from one such article……my question is, is clomid really worth it if its not treating the root cause of the problem?

What do ya’ll think?

Article:
http://blogs.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2000/11/12/womens-hormones.aspx
I forgot to add….does anyone know if clomid is suggested for those who already ovulate on their own?

Clomid makes me feel horrible… but if thats what it takes for me to have a baby then its worth it.

Even if someone knows of a clinic that does IVF and ICSI at less expensive prices, you would need to factor in travel and lodging as there are numerous appointments for bloodwork and ultrasounds. You can check success rates at:
http://www.sart.org/find_frm.html

If you cannot find insurance coverage here are some other suggestions:

1) Start with the RE - most doctors have a team that can help you with finding ways to pay for your treatment - they are amazing at figuring out your insurance benefits, coming up payment plans and may even be able to recommend medical studies / clinical trials that you may be able to participate in. Here is a link to some clinical trials:
http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/results?term=ivf&recr=Open

2) Grants -there are groups out there that fund raise for fertility treatments - you need to apply and cross your fingers.
http://www.nobabyonboard.com/options.html

3) Loans - banks and credit card companies (my friend used Capital One) offer fertility loans with fair interest rates and payment plans. Maybe see if you can borrow from a family member.

4) Serious budgeting - I also know couples who have taken part time / seasonal jobs to save up for treatments, sold things on ebay etc . . .

5) Move to one of the 15 states that do mandate coverage and find a job there . . . Massachusetts has wonderful coverage - my medications and procedures were all covered with just my co-pays. I had 6 unsuccessful IUI cycles - 3 with clomid and 3 with injectibles and finally a successful IVF cycle. I would have had coverage for up to 6 attempts at IVF. Easier to do if you are neighboring one of the states that require coverage

6) See if your employer has a a medical flexible spending account - you contribute your money pre-tax (which helps a little) and you can use it towards anything medical related including IVF

Good luck!

Female circumcision is a custom among the Sabiny in Eastern Uganda.

The practice involves the removal of the woman’s pleasure producing parts. The surgeons are basically traditional women who believe that it is a spiritual cultural call for them to perform this operation.

The 2002 enumeration results of FGC in Kapchorwa district conducted by the Family Planning Association of Uganda (FPAU) show that in-laws and husbands are playing a significant role in the decision to have married women circumcised.

In the past, girls between the age of 13 to 20 were the main participants. Today the age bracket has widened to 48 years of age.

"This is partly because women who were not circumcised in their adolescent stages are going in for the knife upon marriage," says Patrick Kitiyo, a youth counsellor with FPAU-Kapchorwa, and one of the people who took part in the enumeration exercise.

Kitiyo says harassment, intimidation, peer pressure and cultural beliefs are some of the reasons married women are going in for the knife.

"These conditions apply more to women living deep in the villages. Here it is a taboo for uncircumcised women to climb into their own granaries, preside over cultural ceremonies and to collect cow dug from one’s kraal," he said.

Kitiyo says it is also considered a taboo for uncircumcised woman to fetch water ahead of the circumcised women.

"They are referred to as ‘girls’ and elders look at them as people who have nothing developmental to contribute to any debate and because society has also deemed it a taboo for them to climb into granaries or even collect cow dug, these women have been forced to undertake
circumcision to avoid harassment," he explains.

As a result, the range of married women undergoing FGC is widening. Out of the 647 women who were circumcised last year, 436 (67.4%) were married.

The sub-counties of Benet, Bukwo, Swum, Kwanyi and Kaprorom registered the highest number of married females who under went circumcision.
Enumeration results also show that 344 of the FGC cases were from Kongasis County while Kween and Tingey registered 244 and 68 cases respectively.

Besides pressure from the husbands and in-laws, inadequate anti-FGC campaigns and low school enrolment for girls are other reasons responsible for the high cases of FGC.

However, Beatrice Chelangat, the Programme Manager for the Reproductive, Educative And Community Health (REACH) programme based in Kapchorwa says even with the new developments, circumcision will be no more by 2006 and history in Uganda by 2015. REACH is an advocacy programme geared towards the total elimination of FGC among the Sabiny.

"But while we are doing our best in eliminating the practice, girls we have saved from the knife in their adolescent stages are now falling victims upon marriage," she adds.

"However, we have laid a new plan and starting next year we will be targeting newly married couples. We want them to denounce FGC in the same way they did while in their adolescent stages," she says.

Women undergoing circumcision also vary according to fertility experience. While some are circumcised before giving birth, others are circumcised after.

FGC is associated with a lot of festivities. These involve feasting, family reunion and merry making by the community.

"After circumcision, the candidates are bestowed upon the status of womanhood. This is one of the factors that make the practice cherished," says Kitiyo.

Besides being a harmful practice, one associated with shock, painful scares labial adherences, clitoral cysts and chronic urinary infection, the Sabiny — especially the elders — still regard FGC as a sacred ritual that is sanctioned by their ancestors.

Their cultural belief is that a woman cannot be considered to be an adult until she has undergone this procedure.

The Sabiny elders believe that female circumcision is as old as the Sabiny people. The real history surrounding FGC remains a mystery. Two beliefs however try to explain the origin of FGC in Kapchorwa.

One such belief is of a young girl who fell sick for a long time. When the elders decided to consult the ancestors, the ancestors demanded that some blood from the girl’s private parts must be shed for her to cure.

"To drop this blood, the girl was circumcised and eventually the practice was picked on by the other women," says Kitiyo.

The second belief is based on the Sabiny pastoral life style. Being herdsmen, the Sabiny men are said to have been so mobile. They were often away either busy looking after their cattle or hunting. But on their return home, the men would find their wives pregnant. The alternative was to circumcise them. Although FGC is deeply rooted in the culture and traditions of the communities that practice it, there are clear indications that once the appropriate strategies and approaches to the practice are designed, FGC is likely to be abandoned like it has been with other cultural
practices: knocking out teeth and tattooing inclusive.

I live in the west, I think it is totally barbaric. I’ve never been to the places where this is practiced, impossible or hard to comments on their customs and traditions. But if its for me, I’d totall eradicate this mutilation.

Here is a link to a site which can help you learn more of your body’s signals that you are ovulating, which may help you plan your sexual activity more effectively.

http://www.ovulation-calculator.com/fertility-signs.htm

Also, 50% of fertility problems are with the man. Make sure that your husband gets checked out, and that he is taking a daily vitamin to make his sperm healthier.

Good luck!

The last two times Sam got pregnant and including this time, she told her husband the news and he was upset. Her husband has now fathered 7 children (2 others were before the 2 stepkids). Her husband refuses to get a vasectomy because he says it’s all the women’s doing in all of them whom he inpregnated.

Sam’s sister Alisha accused Sam of being "stupid and irresponsible" for getting pregnant again. Alisha has only one daughter and has struggled with fertility issues. In other words, her own sister did not offer supportive words — only scolded her.

My friend Sam is upset that she is bringing another child into the family and feels that she’s the only one who truly loves her children. Sam says that her husband is sometimes loving to the children but is not a supporting husband, especially during her last two pregnancies. Sam says she wants to get on an antidepressant and very depressed with the thought of going another pregnancy and birth.

I encouraged my friend to talk about the possibility of getting on a very low dose SSRI antidepressant. She doesn’t feel like hurting herself or anyone else; she merely feels sad, sleepless and like there is endless family-mom slavery ahead for her. Sam always wanted a big family, but not now in her 40s.

Personally, I think she’ll be happy about the baby when it’s born. WHAT can I do or say to help my friend through this situation? Mind you, she lives in another state so I can’t see her often. I also realize this in not my problem to solve, but I still want to be a source of support for her.

Thanks for any helpful ideas to this situational question.

I would say it’s important for you to remember that even though you have an idea of what the smart thing to do would be (perhaps leaving him), what Sam really needs right now is someone to stand by her, no matter what she choose, no matter what the consequences.

She’s NOT getting that from her sister, and I would suspect that her own family is not that supportive in general. But we’ve lived with our families of origin so long, we have no idea that they aren’t supportive when they act like her sister. All we know is that it hurts. The result is that we can’t form a rational plan like, "Don’t take this stuff to my family of origin." In addition to the current stress, it probably triggered a bunch of old wounds with the sister/family as well.

Since I know you, KK, I know that one of your greatest skills is that you are a good listener. I don’t just mean that you will be quiet while someone else talks. I mean that you have the ability to discern Sam’s "chief complaint" in the moment and to reassure her that her feelings are appropriate.

A lot of people try to make friends’ hurt feelings (sadness, anger, blame) go away. Maybe because they don’t like to see their friend suffer. Maybe because that suffering hits too close to home and make the helper uncomfortable.

But I’ve come to believe that what we really need is to know that we’re doing okay—and feeling sad or angry or frustrated or tired is the PROPER response in this situation.

None of that will make Sam less tired or solve the problems in her relationship. But it might be just enough fuel to keep her going a little longer. If the stars align just right, she may find some radical solutions herself. If not, well, that’s when life pushes us to the edge and we find the radical solutions because we have no choice.

Well, that’s kind of a rambling answer. I have more coherent thoughts on the subject, but it’s late, and my Tylenol PM is kicking in. I’ll share more later.

Good luck!