Living with Endometriosis

Hi my name is Arlee and I am 37. I started my cycle when I was 9 and was taking 800mg of Ibuprofen by time I was 10 due to severe cramping. As I approached 30 I begin to have worst symptoms and by my 32nd birthday I was in ER monthly because my pain was so severe I would vomit if I moved, so naturally I would be dehydrated. Long story short, I had gone through several physicians and although “Endometriosis” came up as a possible diagnosis, no one really wanted to take it seriously. I finally changed insurance and took all of my medical records with me, when I went to have my annual pap I showed my records to the OB/GYN after reviewing the records he asked if I wanted surgery. Of course I said, “YES”.

The findings on my first surgery were so severe the physician stopped the surgery because the endometriosis had fused my bladder and colon together and he could not find my uterus due to the webbing. He had to re-schedule me for open surgery with a general physician. The second surgery went well, they were able to remove the scar tissue the endometriosis had caused, as well as, had to remove my appendix due to the scarring. I started hormone treatment 1 1/2 months later to prolong the time before I had a cycle. I am now on Seasonique until I am ready to try to get pregnant.

The point of this story, don’t allow the doctors to talk you out of what you know you feel, you live with endometriosis so you know the pain you feel is real. Don’t wait until fertility testing is requested. Most of us want a child, but prefer to be pain free first. Make sure that the doctors know your health is first and having a baby is secondary and stick to it.

There is a rainbow waiting at the end