F*ck Monday: Endometriosis

Good Monday Everyone,

My post today is going to be quite personal as I feel that I want to explain why I haven't been blogging as much as I would had like this month. Now if you follow me on twitter (@MissLaceyLoves) you would have seen numerous of tweets about me being a 'poorly bear'.

*Just a quick warning this is going to be a text heavy post. :)*

I have been pretty unwell recently, and it has been a continuous thing which I have been suffering with for almost six years. It has only been recently that I found out my "problems" are pretty common amongst women. Within these six years I have had four hospital submissions, two operation and numerous doctors and gynaecologists. I suffer with endometriosis which 'is womb lining does not leave the body properly during a period and embeds itself onto the organs of the pelvis.' (More information here)

In 2007, I was finishing my A-Level exams and I had been suffering with unusual stomach pains. I went to the doctors and when I explained the pain and what was happening they put it down to stress. Within 4 days my stomach had swollen and I looked 9 months pregnant, I went back to my GP where he sent me straight to A&E after doing a urine sample where I had high levels of blood and protein cells. After being poked and prodded for hours they admitted me. My parents asked why they were keeping me in and they said that they just wanted to keep me under observation. I stayed in hospital for over a week and in my discharge form their conclusion was that they were pretty sure I wasn't pregnant. Now after the MILLION urine samples, blood tests, X-rays and ultra sounds... I would be impressed if a baby could go that easily undetected. Anyway, I felt fine when I left and never thought much of it but felt like what had happened was unexplainable.

It wasn't until a couple of months later I had a bout of chronic stomach pains which lasted nearly two weeks. The doctors tested me for all sorts and couldn't diagnose what it was. Then these long periods of painful cramps became more frequent. Every time they happened it was usual procedure of "Are you pregnant?" "Do you have an STI?" and this patronising talk started to grate with me, I wanted to shout at someone and say just because I am under 25 doesn't necessarily mean that I am another statistic. One doctor even turned around and said, "It's probably, you just having a period." That was incredibly patronising and like most people I know my body and I know what certain pains feel like. 

This went on for around a year, until they decided there it was my pill Microgynon 30 had been the cause. I had been on the same pill since I was 16 and never had any gynae complaints until I was nearly 18. They changed me from the Microgynon 30 to the contraceptive implant as they it had higher levels of oestrogen which would help. The doctors definitely sold it to me when they said that a lot of people never had periods with the implant. That sounded glorious to me. At 19, and not having periods, I thought this was going to be the answer to my problems. As it was getting me down and I began to feel like I was going mad and imagining the pains. 

Bliss lasted for about a two months, until one night the pain was worst than I had ever had before and I was taken by parents to A&E where they told me that it was just my body adjusting to the implant. I wasn't convinced, I had test after test after test. I had things poked and prodded in me and on me. I was pretty fed up and hated how I felt ill and that it was now effecting my mood. Late one night, my Dad was sitting downstairs watching tele. I walked down to see him and just bursted into tears. I explained to him how I couldn't take the pain anymore and that I felt people where not believing me. I was at university and this was dragging me down, I felt that I was being held back. 

A couple of days later, Dad had arrange an appointment with a new gynaecologist, apparently she had been highly recommended. I knew that if she couldn't find anything then it was definitely all happening in my head. Now this doctor was a god send to me and despite the fact that she had bad news for me, finally felt that I was getting some answers. It was just before my 21st birthday when she diagnosed me with Endometriosis. She was disgusted with how this condition had gone unnoticed for so long, particularly because the amount of endometriosis which was in my pelvic area was dangerous to my fertility. The next morning after the consultation, Ms Hanna (my gynae), performed a laparoscopy (a minor operation) where she removed all the endometrial cells. After a weeks recovery, I felt like a whole weight had been lifted off of me. Ms Hanna at the time did explain that Endometriosis does return but that usually takes a few of years. 

About ten months later, I started getting similar complaints again. I was at work in Wimbledon and I doubled over with pain and I said to my manager that I needed to get to a hospital, I was taken to St George's in Tooting where they staff were amazing. Within an hour they had diagnosed that I had an Endometriotic Cyst which was the size of a tennis ball that had formed on my left ovary. They needed to operate again. The operation was complete and again after a weeks recovery, I felt good again. Though I was concerned with how quickly this cyst grew and Ms Hanna said I needed to get my implant removed as that was causing the problem. That was removed put on Cerazette until another doctor told me that I need to be back on Microgynon 30. 


Another year on, the endometriosis is back and has increased. Ms Hanna explained to me that I should had never gone back on Microgynon 30 because it was my body having a period which was causing the endometriosis to form. I'm now back on Cerazette and will need another operation to remove the cells. It is beginning to affect me, I know in comparisons with to a lot of people who are suffering with illness, mine is pretty minor. But I can't help but worry about my fertility - I mean don't get me wrong, there is no way I want a child at this current point in my life but in the next five years, hopefully I will. It's silly to worry about things like this but it is not help by the side effects of endometriosis which is a decrease in energy and low moods. At this moment because it has been bad for the past 2-3 weeks it is dragging me down, hence the lack of posting. I think because the pain also comes and goes it's frustrating. 


Does anyone suffer from Endometriosis? How do you deal with the pain and other symptoms?