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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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Have Endometriosis, Had Hysterectomy, Could Not Take Last Zoldex Shot. Worried

I had a hysterectomy five years ago and an ovary and stem were left behind. I developed stage 4 endometrosis within 6 monthes. I have had two cycles (6mo.s each) of zoldex. I am sick of hormones and how I feel my quality of life is waning and I feel horrible most of the time. Three monthes ago I lost my health insurance and could not afford to pay for my hormones and could not take the last zoldex shot. I surprisingly feel much, much better. I have started exercising again, I walk 90 minutes everyday, low light weight training with my 13 yr.old son, and I only have to take one Ibprophen before I walk for my knees. I am still concerned about my endo and have been reading alot endovan and how effective it is. Any comments? Also, is there something that I can take without a prescription to help rid my body of the ovary and stem I still have. My ob refused to do another surgery because I had had seven prior surgeries with colon cancer and have so much scar tissue .
Wed, 21 Oct 2015
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OBGYN 's  Response
Hello, and I hope I can help you today.

Endometriosis is a chronic condition that will unfortunately be something you will have to deal with until your natural menopause.

If it is physically impossible to remove the rest of your ovary because of adhesions (which are internal scars like rubber bands scattered in your pelvis) the only way to trast your endometriosis is with hormonal treatments. The scar tissue is permanent unless you have surgery for lysis of adhesions, but all surgery creates more scars, and so at some point it is not really helpful to have surgery anymore.

However, treatment with medications like Zoldex, Lupron and the like, can give patients pain and symptom relief for up to 2 years or more after a 1 year course of treatment.

So the fact that you feel great is wonderful!!! If you feel good now, there is no reason to be on any medication at all!!! I would just live your life until you start to have pain again and only then consider another treatment.

Regarding Endovan, it is a supplement so it does not require the same standards for testing and advertising as drugs. That means that it, and any supplement, may not do anything it says it does, at all. This is why the fine print on all supplements in the US is require to state "This product is not meant to diagnose, cure or treat any disease". Their website contains statements that the active ingredient was studied at the University of Chicago but I could find no medical or scientific articles in any journal that actually mention this product or its ingredient. The supplement industry worldwide is a billion dollar enterprise. Most consumers will pay much more for supplements than they ever would for prescription drugs, even with health insurance.

So in summary- if you feel great, wonderful! The year you used Zoldex likely helped you and I hope your pain stays in remission as long as possible. I recommend you continue healthy lifestyle habits and exercise and hopefully you will remain symptom free for a long time. When you naturally go through menopause you will never have to deal with endometriosis again. So I don't know how old you are, but I hope that time in your life is not far away. And in the meantime, if you feel good, please do not waste your money on Endovan or similar "supplements". If any of them actually worked, doctors would recommend and prescribe them all the time, as we do really want our patients to get better.

I hope this information was helpful to you and answered your question adequately. I hope you continue to feel well and please re-consult with an OBGYN when and if your symptoms return.

Best wishes, DR. Brown
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Have Endometriosis, Had Hysterectomy, Could Not Take Last Zoldex Shot. Worried

Hello, and I hope I can help you today. Endometriosis is a chronic condition that will unfortunately be something you will have to deal with until your natural menopause. If it is physically impossible to remove the rest of your ovary because of adhesions (which are internal scars like rubber bands scattered in your pelvis) the only way to trast your endometriosis is with hormonal treatments. The scar tissue is permanent unless you have surgery for lysis of adhesions, but all surgery creates more scars, and so at some point it is not really helpful to have surgery anymore. However, treatment with medications like Zoldex, Lupron and the like, can give patients pain and symptom relief for up to 2 years or more after a 1 year course of treatment. So the fact that you feel great is wonderful!!! If you feel good now, there is no reason to be on any medication at all!!! I would just live your life until you start to have pain again and only then consider another treatment. Regarding Endovan, it is a supplement so it does not require the same standards for testing and advertising as drugs. That means that it, and any supplement, may not do anything it says it does, at all. This is why the fine print on all supplements in the US is require to state This product is not meant to diagnose, cure or treat any disease . Their website contains statements that the active ingredient was studied at the University of Chicago but I could find no medical or scientific articles in any journal that actually mention this product or its ingredient. The supplement industry worldwide is a billion dollar enterprise. Most consumers will pay much more for supplements than they ever would for prescription drugs, even with health insurance. So in summary- if you feel great, wonderful! The year you used Zoldex likely helped you and I hope your pain stays in remission as long as possible. I recommend you continue healthy lifestyle habits and exercise and hopefully you will remain symptom free for a long time. When you naturally go through menopause you will never have to deal with endometriosis again. So I don t know how old you are, but I hope that time in your life is not far away. And in the meantime, if you feel good, please do not waste your money on Endovan or similar supplements . If any of them actually worked, doctors would recommend and prescribe them all the time, as we do really want our patients to get better. I hope this information was helpful to you and answered your question adequately. I hope you continue to feel well and please re-consult with an OBGYN when and if your symptoms return. Best wishes, DR. Brown