if it's endo you need hormone control or surgery nothing else will work. the ovaries still produce hormones and that drives the lesions inside you to breakdown and bleed, spreading the lesions even more. did the doc's try seasonale/jolessa? it is the lowest BC pill, i have a strong breast cancer background and this is the only pill i can take because it has such low estrogen. you need to be EXTREMELY careful when exercising if you have endo. the lesions cause your insides to attach to each other and stretching, lifting etc...can cause internal injuries. there is a pro dancer on DWS who found out she had endo after a dance workout, can't remember her name but she also is into singing now. she hurt her rightside and it turned out to be endo had caused her appendix to get twisted up and was attached to something else. if you had endo on the bowels and intestines you know what kind of damage that does internally. i have a really bad area in my left hip, it's so painful i almost have a slight drag on that leg when walking. those lesions could be anywhere from the lungs down, thou most likely on the hip ligaments. my docs warned me to not do much stretching, yoga or tai chi (all exercise classes i take) on that leg because i may have intestines, an ovary, ligaments or veins entangled causing pain. i too do not want to take pain meds. i do not metabilize script pain meds well, they affect me much more than they should, so i stick to ibuprophen 800mg doses. but until last summer when i had a period, i was totally off everything for 2 yrs straight cuz i had the hormones completely suppressed. i had to laugh when you mentioned applying heat. i used to use 1-2 of those stick on therma care heat things a day, i used to say i should own their stock i spent sooo much $$ on their product :-( you might check your library for books on endo i have several, i even joined the endo society to get info and into support groups manys yrs ago when i was first diagnosed. definitely call the doc...i'll be thinking about you ~ liz

firemanswife--- OH BOY! It caught my eye whe I read you are going to see someone in Vegas. I had back surgery in July. I couldn't even get out of bed to go pee the pain was so excrutiating. I'm from NC and was stuck in a Vegas hospital for 5 days before I had a nerve block so I could fly home. Who is your MD that you will be seeing? I had 2 top-notch ones see me at the hospital. I loved them. I will try to find their names in my paperwork from last summer (still getting bills, ya know!). Anyway, if they'd have been here in NC, I would not have hesitated to have had either of them perform my surgery. Let me say, you need to see a neurologist if you haven't already and have MRI's taken. The x-rays are fine but you need to see more of the affected area and an x-ray doesn't cut it. You definitely have a pinched nerve (sciatica). That is why you have pain radiating to your hip(s). I ended up having damage to my sciatic nerve and my left leg is still numb all the way down to my toes. All I feel is my big toe but it's slowly returning. OK, Vegas MD's I absolutely recommend: Abdul Sami Siddiqui, MD Satish Sharma, MD (did my nerve block- I was wide awake and there was instant relief. Felt very little. Awesome hands!) Aurangzeb N. Nagy, neurologist at Las Vegas Neurosurgery and Spine (I would have had him do my surgery if I could not have traveled home). I wish you luck. Have been there. Get to a neurologist quickly if you have not done so, and even for a 2nd and 3rd opinion! They will recommend an MRI and then go from there. Pills are ok if needed but they are a bandage. Let me know if I can help you in answering any questions. Orie

Acupuncture cured Ma's frozen shoulder and my aunt's sciatica. Papa's an MD in Acupuncture, and I preferred the needles to painkillers when my headaches got too bad LOL No change in diet, no herbs. Dad says it takes multiple sittings to be able to notice a difference, but some of his clients reported improvement after the first sitting itself. He stressed the importance of continuing the treatment even if you feel good after the first sitting or a few sittings. Ma's shoulder felt better after the first 3 sittings so she stopped ... and a couple of weeks later took fifteen more sittings. At an acupuncture clinic, I saw low-frequency current being applied to the needles for gentle stimulation (but nobody was screaming in pain LOL). But that I'd never be able to take, LOL. I've heard of acupuncture being used during childbirth for pain-free delivery - no idea if it works.

It was just an urgent care doctor. I've gone to several doctors but they only give me pills and tell me to lose weight/exercise. I have not had imaging done. I usually just ride this out since it doesn't happen too often and I find doctors won't order an MRI when it doesn't hurt. The doctor said it was a muscle problem because a spinal problem would have further pain down the legs and this is a very small pain location (about a 4 inch circle right on my spine in my lower back). I'm not sure if I agree with that so I'd like to get an MRI. I know if it's a spinal issue, that each of these flare-ups is causing some permenent scarring and damage and I'm only 35 so I worry what my back will be like in 30-40 years. Rita, it's amazing how such small movements can do this! I was carrying around my 10 pound cat on Tuesday and leaned back slightly when adjusting her in my arms and felt a stabbing pain and I think that is what set off this episode. Thanks for everyone's advice and sympathy!