Nothing worked
I can remember it so clearly. Being in middle school and finding out I got my period. The pain and the
bleeding are what I remember the most. The pain was excruciating, and I would bleed for a month
straight. I thought this can’t be it I don’t remember anyone preparing me for all this. I would be out of
school for weeks at a time because I could not function. I would throw up, get headaches and the PAIN
was unimaginable. My mom would give me Tylenol and a heating pad, but nothing worked.
Treatments
I went to see a doctor and I remember getting a pap smear for the first time (imagine being a kid and
getting a pap smear). Yeah that wasn’t what I was expecting either. The doctor put me on this red iron
pill since I was bleeding so much (the biggest pill I’d ever seen). Eventually, after taking the iron pill my
period started to regulate and it would last 7 days instead of a month. However, the pain well yeah it
never went away. I had seen the doctor so many times and they wanted my mom to agree to putting me
on birth control pills. At first, she was like NO!!! But after I got to High School, we finally agreed to give it
a try. The pills made me sick, but it did help to make the pain somewhat manageable.
I still missed a lot of school but not as much. I remember being in High School and my period came while I was there. I ended up in the principal’s office on her floor crying. She was trying to console me but there was
nothing anyone could do. She called my mom to pick me up, but her car was down. It was so bad that
the principal ended up driving me home. How embarrassing that was for me.
More Treatments
The birth control worked but then again not really. The next thing my doctor recommended was for me
to have a surgery called a laparoscopy. Laparoscopy is an operation performed in the abdomen or pelvis
using small incisions with the aid of a camera. The laparoscope aids diagnosis or therapeutic
interventions with a few cuts in the abdomen. The surgery was the only way to tell what was going on.
My mom and I were apprehensive of course because I was so young, and surgery is a big thing.
Recovery form the surgery is about 2 weeks and you can expect to have pain, feel tired and sick to your
stomach. The surgery confirmed their suspension that I had Endometriosis. After the surgery I had to get
a shot monthly for 6 months which put me in a menopausal state. I will let you imagine how that made
me feel. Just so you know I had this surgery twice and the Endometriosis cells always came back.
Therefore, I refused to have the surgery again. Also, to note the endometriosis was present not just in
the pelvic area but also the bowel area and that part was inoperable. I was told that if you have kids that
could help with the Endo. Of course, I wasn’t just going to have kids to cure a disease that I have. It’s
also, hard to conceive when you have Endo so I wasn’t even sure that I could get pregnant. Let’s just say I
learned to live with Endo and premedicate to function through the pain.
Marriage and Kids
Fast forward to me getting married and about a year later I found out I was pregnant. I was so happy as
I’ve always wanted children. Honestly, I had no idea I was even pregnant as I just thought I was having another BAD period. I had my beautiful daughter in September 2012 and….the Endo came back not too long after. Three years later in May 2015 I was blessed with my son. Before having my children, I found out that the birth control pills caused some lesions on my liver which they had to biopsy (Thank God they were benign) and so I had to stop taking them. Back to dealing with all the pain with no help.
Learning My Triggers
After having my son my doctor recommended me getting something called Mirena. It was different then
the pills and would not affect my liver. So, I went with this option as the pain was just unbearable.
Mirena was pure hell for about 6 months. There were many times I considered getting it removed.
However, my doctor wanted me to give it a chance for my body to adjust which could take up to a year.
I never really liked it even after my body “adjusted” to it. My son is 6 ½ years old now and I finally decided
to take control of my life (after doing some research) and I got the Mirena removed on February 1, 2022.
The reason I chose to do this was because it started to do things to my body that I did not like, and my
pain came back so it was like what’s the point. The Mirena gave me acne, migraines, pain, and it also
affected my sex drive to just name a few of the ways it had a negative effect on my life.
I’m currently trying to figure out how to live life without it. During my research I found certain triggers that can make
the endometriosis flare up. Some of those triggers are red meat, wheat, and dairy which I’m in the
process of giving up.
The Fit Mommi challenge helps me because exercise is great for the body and can help relieve stress. I also have a bunch of women that help to keep my spirits high when I feel like giving up. We motivate each other at our lowest points and pray for each other.
I hope by writing this blog it helps to let other women know they are not alone if they also are afflicted with Endometriosis. As I felt alone for most of my life and would never want other women to feel the way I have.
Wish me luck, as this has been an extremely long journey and it’s not over yet.
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