Yesterday was interesting to say the least.
My fear that they wouldn't find any endo actually came true.
Well, they found 2 tiny spots on my colon but didn't remove them for fear of damaging the healthy tissue. Doc said it just wasn't worth the risk and he is sure its not the cause of my pain.
Thankfully, he didn't stop there. He actually believed me, despite being such a jerk at the pre op appointment, so he took the time to look and see what may be there. He found several blood veins that look almost black and several sections of different organs that were also very very dark.
The reason the veins would be dark is blood has been pooling and not being pushed back to the heart like its supposed to be. The areas of organs that are dark are from a lack of proper blood flow to the area over a long period of time.
The reason for this isn't 100% clear. The only option that is clear is when the the valves in the veins veins aren't positioned properly. They should bend in the direction of blood flow but sometimes they bend backwards causing a space where blood can pool. But the condition can be present without the mal-positioned valves so doctors are still trying to nail down all the reasons.
In general, the condition is called abdomino/pelvic congestive syndrome. It tends to mimic endo symptoms and is actually helped by the same medications used for endo control. So it makes sense that the depo helped as much as it did. The condition is fairly common in women with PCOS, too.
Mom said the doc is working on getting me a referral to a vein specialist. I see my doc on tuesday for my post surgery follow up so I'll be able to actually talk to him then about things and find out when I get to see the new doc.
Sadly, this likely means a bunch more tests and likely another surgery later this year. Hopefully I can push it all off till after my externship and certification test so I can finally be totally finished with school and not worry about it anymore.
Hopefully I'm on the tail end of this 20+ year journey. An answer. A definitive treatment plan. Maybe some pain relief.
Maybe it'll finally be over.