#endowarriors

[kissthatlifeaway]

I go through this daily for over 20 years and I'm still struggling. Don't ignore the symptoms. Please get checked out by your doctor and see an excision doctor for surgery. Take care of yourself.

[endosupportunited]

Adolescents with endometriosis are some of the most vulnerable people. Mental health becomes severely impaired, school work falls behind, friendships end and families become torn. Endometriosis affects every aspect of the persons life and the lives closest to them, yet it is barely acknowledged in the medical profession.

[endometriosisaustralia]

Sometimes we need a reminder to acknowledge our achievements and be kind to ourselves. 💛 #endowarriors #endometriosisaustralia #endometriosis #endoawareness #endostrong https://www.instagram.com/p/B_Wq1mvja2V/?igshid=1gz2f5d2c0o4m

[femestella]

Two years ago, I was forced to quit not one, but two jobs, because I was in so much pain caused by a neat little gift endometriosis gave me: Interstitial Cystitis.

Read it here

[theyellowribbonstuff-blog]

I am 1 in 10. I have endometriosis & I'm an #endowarrior ➿💙

[chronicallyinspiredx-blog]

how it all started...

I started my period around age 13, and from my very first period, it lasted around 9 days and it was heavy, i remember having to change every 2/3 hours during school, and i also even leaked through during PE which was extremely embarrassing. My periods used to make me nauseous, and i felt faint and lightheaded, back then i didn’t understand any of it, I just thought i was being a drama queen, because it was all new to me. And my Mam always used to say to me “Come on, every girl in the entire world has a period, you can’t have days off school every month” So i dismissed everything I felt, it was normal... apparently.  By age 16, I remember one period in particular, i was in AGONY. Sweating up, so dizzy i could barely walk, and this went on for 3 or so days at the very start of my period. I was so heavy i was bleeding through a pad and tampon every hour and a half. At the time i did have a boyfriend, young i know... but I was sexually active. And my Mam scared me half to death saying it seemed like i was having an ectopic pregnancy, and started saying how id need surgery, id be super ill in hospital. Spent days sobbing in excruciating pain thinking i was pregnant and going to die, but the pain started to fade out, and the bleeding got lighter, i eventually came off my period.  So then i realised, well it would have been impossible to be an ectopic pregnancy so what could it be. I never ever thought anything of it. From then on i got the Depo Injection, and my periods disappeared, it was GREAT. 

Fast forward to age 18, still on the depo injection. I gained a whole lot of weight on it, around 8 stone to be precise, and the doctors said it wasn’t possible for the injection to make me gain that much weight. But i wasn’t eating any different, and i was doing the same amount of exercise, if not more... I played basketball at university level, i trained twice a day, some times 3, yet i had gone from 14 stone to 22. I decided to come off the injection due to the weight gain, it also hadn’t helped very much with my mental health. I had suffered low mood/depression since age 14/15 and it had progressively got worse this time. I had suicidal thoughts, i self harmed, i just genuinely did not see a purpose for me, there was no reason for me to be alive anymore.  Age 19, i had been off the injection for around a year now, and lucky me!! Still no period. I began wondering, when would my periods come back. About 2 weeks after it had hit the year mark, i began bleeding, medium flow. I was changing around every 4 hours, it was manageable, i had cramps but nothing i couldn’t manage. I would take paracetamol and it would take the pains away.  Fast forward 9 months, 2 weeks... still bleeding, over the months it got heavier and heavier. There wasn’t one single day i hadn’t bled. I definitely needed shares in Tampax by this point! Over this time i had been to A&E on 3 occasions with abnormally heavy bleeding, but all they ever did was check my blood count, i wasn’t suffering from Anemia so they told me to wait it out, see if the bleeding stopped on its own. It was called ‘Breakthrough Bleeding’ and this was due to me missing all those periods on the injection. The lining of my womb had started shedding and didn’t know how to stop itself. The bleeding got heavier again, i went to my local walk in centre, and the nurse timed 7 minutes, for me to bleed through a super tampon and a night pad... 7 minutes!! I was also passing clots the size of my hand... Something was up! I got sent straight to A&E again, expecting to be told to go home. I got admitted that night, i spent 4 nights/5 days in hospital. They put it down to a burst cyst, I found out that day i had PCOS, i was told the severity of the cysts on both ovaries would make it very hard for me to conceive children without medical assistance, i was heart broken. I was sent home with tablets called Tranexemic Acid to stop the bleeding, and Norethisterone which stopped and started your periods as and when you took them. After 5 days on those pills, the bleeding stopped. However i was so badly Anaemic, I had no energy at all to even be excited by this. I was on Norethisterone for 3 weeks, then a break for my period. In this time i had searched up something called Endometriosis. EVERY SINGLE SYMPTOM i had matched this. I thought this is great, all i have to do is bring this up next time i see my GP... If only it was that easy. I came off the Norethisterone and found the pain getting worse and worse, the bleeding heavier and heavier. All over again. I couldn’t cope with this, back to A&E. I was sent home instantly... told to come back if the pain got any worse. By 27 hours later, i was barely conscious, the pain had drained me. I went back to A&E and i was admitted again, to get the pain under control... Morphine was my life saver that night. 2 gynaecologist doctors came to see me on that morning, they said there was no reason for me to be in this much pain, maybe i just have a low pain threshold... i was gobsmacked... i brought up my worries about Endometriosis due to my Mams recent hysterectomy, she’d unknowingly had Endo the whole time without realising or having any symptoms. The doctor burst into fits of laughter, nudging the other doctor and she continued to laugh with him. “You’re far too young to have Endometriosis, thats a ridiculous suggestion, you have been using the internet too much. People who are 30+ get endometriosis” then the lady doctor chips in “Why don’t you get pregnant and have a baby, then you wont have periods and you wont have this mystery pain you’re getting” I asked them to leave and i burst into tears. Not only because i was so embarrassed for myself, but i was on a ward with 7 other people, who all heard the conversation. Humiliated with an audience...  From then i had 8 more appointments with Gynae, 4 more hospital admissions. A whole lot of crying and begging for a diagnostic laparoscopy. Until one caring and empathetic consultant finally gave in and signed consent for me to have it. I was put on a waiting list for surgery hopefully within 6 months, 

[eating4endo]

Roasted Vegetables Ingredients: 4 carrots, cut into thick slices 1 beet, cubed 2 cups cubed butternut squash 2 cups cubed rutabaga 2 tbsp ghee To make: 1. Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C) 2. Combine all veggies in a casserole dish 3. Dot with ghee 4. Cover with foil 5. Bake for 20 minutes 6. Remove foil and stir 7. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes or until all veggies are fork-tender Goes great with roasted chicken!

[lucifurfluffypants]

Since Mom’s surgery is tomorrow and March is Endometriosis Awareness Month, we’ll be sharing daily endometriosis facts on Facebook along with some of our favorite photos from over the years. We’re pre-scheduling posts on our Facebook page for the next week or so while Mom recovers, but we'll give you an update on her condition when we can. In the meantime, we'd appreciate your prayers, well-wishes, good thoughts, etc for a safe and successful surgery. Mom likely has disease in some dangerous areas, so we are really hoping the surgeon has the skill to cut it all out. Thanks for your support! #fluffypantsdaily #endometriosis #endowarriors #cat #persian #catsofinstagram