Hello,

We are kinda in the same boat. I was diagnosed with endometrosis back 2001 after having my first child..I had a cyst that grew along with the baby and when I had it removed that's when they found out. According to the doctor I was not supposed to have kids.. it was way to bad..In the end the doctor said that I had to have my whole left side removed so to have another baby I would need fertility drugs.. I did use fertility drugs but it didn't work and after 25 month I finally was pregnant with my second child.. Now that I have 2, I decided to get an IUD.. and after about 6 or 7 months I had severe back pain that I couldn't get out of bed. Lifting up was unbareable.. I was in the bed for 3 days straight one weekend in September..but it did finally go away.

Now to answer your question.. its hard to say if the endo has anything to do with it.. I didn't realize until weeks later that the back pain is a side effect of the IUD..We both have the same back pain and we both have endo so its a possibility that the endo might make the back pain worse.. I'm almost positive that the IUD is NOT the cause of the endo. Many women have endo that have never had children..I was 22 at the time I found out that I had endo and it was at the worst stage so I had to of had it when I was in high school. Talk to your OB again and demand answers..it might take some time, but you can have another child.. If I could with stage 4 endo and only one tube and ovary..I have faith that you will have another child as well..

GL to you Cece

I needed to respond to you with my experience that I had. I NEVER had any symptoms of endometriosis in my life. Never had any gynecological issues at all. After the birth of my third child, I wanted long term birth control without a tubal, "just in case" we opted to have another. I got the Mirena IUD. Thought it would be a great choice! No thought involved, no periods to mess with (after awhile) and my dr told me it was safe while nursing the baby. I had it for about 6 months and started getting back pain. I didn't connect the two at first, but charted this pain. At the third month of getting it I realized it was a "once a month" occurrence. I had not had any bleeding with the Mirena, so was unsure if that was because of the Mirena or if it was from breastfeeding (which suppresses ovulation in many women). I realized that the baby stopped breastfeeding exclusively at about 6 months, when my back pains started - a sign that maybe I started ovulating. I right away thought that I NEVER had issues with ovulation pains before, so it must be because of the Mirena. I opted to make a visit to my gyno for a consultation on it. I was assured from the office that in no way would the Mirena be causing problems. My dr did an internal exam and found a "hot spot" WAY back....near the utero/sacral area. He said it was "probable endometriosis". By this point I was in SEVERE pain....not being able to stand up right, having trouble with daily activities, lifting the baby, etc. I went for an ultrasound...the office called me and confirmed that I was ovulating and that these pains were normal ovulation pains. I said NO WAY was it from normal ovulation. NEVER in my life did I even FEEL ovulation before. They told me I needed a laparoscopy to diagnose endo. I started researching endo, opted to go for the surgery. Set up the pre-surgery appointment with my dr for 2 weeks later.

My symptoms worsened with those two weeks time. I not only had the excruiating back pain, but I had numbness on the left side of my body, cramping, dizziness, nausea. One fateful afternoon (about 5 days from my appoint) I had bleeding (never did before) and INTENSE cramping - almost like mini-labor pains. I found the strings of the IUD basically hanging out, I slightly pulled and it was in my hand. It EXPELLED!!! The office told me time and time again that my symptoms had NOTHING to do with the IUD. Low and behold after it expelled, my back pain eased up, dizziness went away, nausea, cramping, etc. I bleed the rest of the day, but nothing major. I kept my appointment to let the dr know what happened, and of course to make sure nothing hurt me on it's way out. He checked me, did another internal and the pain that I had felt in that area, was GONE. It's not a bit over a month since the IUD expelled, I've had a period, and a few rough days - I'm associating to the hormones trying to rebalance. But, I am feeling 95% better....I'm more energetic (something that I didn't even blame on the IUD...I thought it was from having a newborn and two active girls!!!). So, my advice, if you think, even the least bit, that your issues may be from the IUD....before doing something that is not needed....get it out, and see what happens. Your dr will tell you that it can't possibly be causing any of your symptoms, because they have tons of women who do well with it, BUT, like my dr told me after the Mirena expelled - about 1% of women do have these symptoms, he's NEVER seen it before, but he guesses that I'm his 1%. ;-) Best wishes!