Dear L.,
I'm so sorry you're going through this. I suffered for so many years.
I didn't start my period until I was 15 and it was all down hill from there. And not in a good way. I was in so much pain that I could barely walk and my mother was not at all understanding about it. She never had a cramp in her life, my little sister started before me and never had a cramp. My mother thought I was being completely and unnecessarily dramatic. There was zero sympathy there. She found out the hard way what a mess I was inside when I landed in the hospital at 19 and had to give permission for them to do a hysterectomy. Thankfully they were able to spare my uterus, part of an ovary and a poor spindly little tube, but my troubles were far from over. I had so many surgeries, I've literally lost count, but I wanted a baby so badly. Believe it or not, I got two! A year after my last baby was born, I was back in the hospital and my doctor said, "That's it. I can't let you go like this any longer".
I had tried every tea, every herb, every tincture, I had tried birth control pills, I had the endo spots burned off. Nothing worked for me. But, I have to say that after my hysterectomy, I felt so great that I was up and dressed and went to the grocery store with my mom 2 days after getting home from the hospital. It changed my life. I was 34.
I'm so glad I have my children, don't get me wrong, but I have said that if I'd known that one procedure would have ended all the pain, I'd have done it years before when they wanted to.
I know you don't want surgery, but laparoscopies aren't that bad. I've had them numerous times and really it's the only way to take a look and see what's going on inside so you know exactly what you're dealing with.
You're doctors may be pretty sure it's endometriosis, but they can't make a definitive diagnosis without looking. Take it from me, endometriosis can be very mild and cause severe pain, or you can be completely covered with it and not realize how bad it is. And, it can attach itself to other organs. It's my opinion, because of my own history, that the pain you're describing to the point you can barely take care of your kids means it's time to assess the situation and go from there.
I see you've received other responses and I just hope that something suggested can help you because I so understand the misery of hurting that badly. I do really feel for you.
Oh...P.S.
My mom called me one day to ask my advice. She, of all people, had started having terrible pain with her periods and excessive bleeding. She said she had tried to ignore it because she just thought it was menopause but she hurt so bad she couldn't stand up and she didn't know what to do. I said, "What you're going to do is go straight to the doctor". Her little butt got chucked in the hospital. She had 14 uterine fibroids.
Definitely try other remedies and see if they help, but don't put off letting someone make sure exactly what's causing your pain.
I wish you the very best. Please let us know what happens.