My Life With Endometriosis: Part 1
The number of times I have written, deleted, scheduled and unscheduled this post is indicative of the stigma associated with talking about your period.
*DISCLAIMER: I am not looking for pitty or for people to feel bad for me. I am looking to spread awareness for this invisible disease.*
My Endometriosis is something i don’t often share with people because many do not understand. When I explain my symptoms, I get a lot of “oh, my period is bad too, I get it” or “did you try taking Advil?” or my favorite “you’re too young for that kind of pain.” It’s not just about having a “bad” period or taking enough Advil or my age. This is a genetic invisible disease and it causes chronic pain in 1 in 10 women.
I’ve been struggling with my Endo for as long as i can remember— around 11 years old. I was told by countless doctors that this is what periods were like, welcome to womanhood. no doctors took my pain seriously until finally, at 16 I broke down and sobbed at a doctors appointment because she, the doctor, wouldn’t give me more of an answer beyond a double-dose of Advil. I finally put my foot down and told her I needed something else; I needed her to go in surgically and figure out what was going on with me. She hesitantly agreed and I came out of surgery 3 ovarian cysts and 1 appendix lighter. After that, I thought my pain would disappear— I was wrong.
This lead to roughly three years of trying to find answers— what the heck was wrong with me?! We ruled out cancer, we ruled out GI issues, we even ruled out endometriosis because I was “too young” to experience that. But, then I found a doctor who believed me. He stared right at me after hearing my symptoms and said “oh, you have Endometriosis.” That sentence changed me life.
Fast forward 5 years post-diagnosis and I am still struggling— more and more as the months go by. I lost time away from school, work, socialization, peaceful alone time, everything. I stayed with my diagnosing doctor and tried all sorts of medications to get my Endo under control. I even saw a wack-job “specialist” who told me that if nothing worked this far, nothing ever would and to just stop taking medication to try and regulate my cycle naturally...now you see why specialist was in quotes. However, I finally found a doctor just this month who specializes in Endometriosis and is willing and fully capable of helping me.
So, what’s the next step? For me it’s surgery. It will be about a 2 hour out-patient procedure dedicated to getting out the endometriosis that has formed inside of me. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous— because I totally am— but I have the BEST support system behind me possible to walk through it all with.
I’m happy to share more of my story and my road to recovery with you all. But, again, let me be clear: this is NOT a pitty post. One in ten women suffer with Endo; I’m just using my blog to get the word out and support others going through the same thing.
I am an open book so please feel free to message me at any time if you want to talk about Endo. I am no expert but I can tell you what I’ve experienced and how this has changed my life.