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Friday 1 May 2015

Personal Post-Endometriosis

Today I am going to share with you a painful journey that I have been on for what must be nearly 6 years now. A few weeks ago I had an operation which was the last piece in the puzzle to confirming my diagnosis that had been suspected but first I want to tell you about my journey to today, because I expect, there are so many girls and women that put up with their symptoms and try and ignore them, just as I did for a while. I hope that if you are one of those people that maybe you consider going to see someone after reading this.



My story begins back when I was about 15, I had always suffered horrendous period pains which resorted to me being unable to go to school as I was being sick and couldn't walk due to the pain I was feeling in my female regions, everything ached and it was a week each month that I could guarantee life wouldn't be happy. After seeing the doctor I was prescribed with mefenamic acid
 that did take the edge of the pain away. It allowed me to go to school but it only eased the problem, it didn't solve it.

Once I turned 16 I was put on the pill. Lots of people say that the pill will help ease period pains but although I tried 3 different pills nothing seemed that effective for very long and as time went by my period would start to hurt more again, I was still always taking the mefenamic acid but it didn't cause much of a dent.

Just after I turned 19 I saw my specialist again, after 3 years I was fed up of feeling like crap when on my period and I would often have break through bleeding at random points even though I was on the pill. After 2 return visits and 2 examinations, they decided that it would be best to have the mirena coil fitted, which is another form of birth control. They were worried that I may end up with endometriosis but the mirena is proven to help prevent this from happening and also remove period pains and other such problems and so I agreed.

Endometriosis can be found in many different places! I am lucky that mine is only in the vagina, but that doesn't mean in the future it wont be elsewhere!

Having the coil fitted was probably the most painful experience of my life, I have never been so close to passing out due to pain. Where they place the myrena inside, is in the womb which is fine if you have had children, because that region has been stretched but if you haven't, it is exceptionally painful. I remember that evening I didn't sleep at all due to being in such agony, I slept in my mums bed and we had to ask for the strongest painkillers from the doctors and they only reduced the pain. After 3 weeks the pain had eased and I was able to have sex and although I did bleed a little each month after 6 months I was hardly bleeding at all and the period pains had reduced to just a bad cramp. I was back being able to do everything I needed and wanted which was brilliant.

Sadly though, bliss didn't seem to last long for me and that summer I started to have slight twinges whilst having sex. It didn't happen every time and so for 5 months I ignored it, but as time went on these twinges started to become more painful and when I did have a period it really hurt again, I would often have stomach cramps that were out of no where and left me trying not to cry.

So I headed back to the doctor, and they began the long journey of specialists. I saw my first doctor about this December 2013, after having an ultrasound and swabs taken she agreed to send me to a specialist who I saw in March 2014 where it was thought endometriosis was the most likely option for my symptoms. I was transferred to the hospital, and in July last year, after another examination it was agreed that was the best way to confirm if I had endomeriosis.

Now my operation was originally meant to be in mid September but that got cancelled and as I was going to South Africa for 3 months as part of my placement year, I had to be taken of the list and start the process again, which has to be one of the most frustrating parts of my process.

So..
On December 23rd 2014 I saw a new specialist back at home and he, like the others agreed that the operation was required. After what feels like an eternity I had my laproscopy operation on the 1st April in which it was confirmed that I did have endometriosis. Thankfully they found no sign of endometrial cells on my fallopian tubes or ovaries but it was on the muscles in my cervix leading up to my womb.



Over the past year the pain did get a lot worse, sex hasn't been a real option since I came home from Africa, I tried and it hurt alot. I experienced the most painful period I have had in a few years in January where I was in agony and felt so sick. Since February I have been in a really dark place. Every time I looked in the mirror I hated what I saw, the idea of being sexy made me feel sick, because, feeling sexy may mean my boyfriend would be attracted to me and so leading to a painful experience. I was in a downward spiral that although my mum tried to understand she couldn't. admitting it to my boyfriend was the hardest thing and I'm sure I tried to avoid friends as they are far to good at telling if something is wrong with me.

Overall the entire experience has been draining physically and emotionally but that's why I wanted to tell you about it.

Endometriosis isn't something to be ignored, people used to think that you only got it later in life, but that isn't true, some people get it from their first periods, other develop it over time. I'm not sure about me, maybe I had it all along when I was younger but it just developed, my story did begin 6 years ago but it is a disease that effects 1 in 10 women and something that people need to know about, if its severe it can lead to infertility and can also be found else where in the body causing chronic pain.


So this is my story, I know its long winded but it feels good to tell it, to know that the pain I had wasn't imaginary and that the operation removed the endometrial cells that shouldn't be there and thus, now I have recovered I am no longer in pain, even during sex. The likelihood of it coming back is high but for the time being I am just happy for it to be gone and that maybe I can start to look in the mirror and feel good about myself.

Do you suffer from Endometriosis? Do you know anyone that does?

Love




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