Endometriosis

I found out I had Endometriosis in 1999 and never heard of it before, but now I know so many women who do have it. You can have no symptoms at all, to very mild, all the way to very severe. I was somewhere in the fairly high category. On an almost daily basis I had pain mostly on my right side, sometimes left, and when it came time to my periods, my cramps were so intense, it would just drain so much energy out of me. My periods would last 7 days, and over time it became 2 weeks.  I was constantly tired, which was because I was anemic (low iron), plus my body was constantly fighting off endometriosis. My iron was down to 2, when a women should be at 50 or higher. So explained why I could sleep 10 hours and still be really tired.

Now, I'm doing a lot better. I did go for a hysterectomy when I was 30 years old. It's a hard decision to make, I mean your losing a lot of female parts, but it was the best decision for me. The day I went in for surgery was scary, but all went well. After surgery, my doctor came to see me, and he told me that my endometriosis (endo) was really bad. The bottom of my lungs were covered in endometrial tissue, and he went and removed my appendix, because it was also completely covered, which also caused my appendix to be deformed, so took that out, and he said my fallopian tubes and ovaries were covered as well, so he removed everything except one of my ovaries, so that I don't have to worry about hormone pills. He did remove the worse one, and removed as much endometrial tissue from the other, but he couldn't get it all. I do still suffer from endo, but so much less than before.

If you are suffering with endo, I do recommend this book:  Endometriosis: A Key to healing through nutrition by Michael Vernon. It's a really great read on knowing more what endo is, and how you can diminish your pain. Through my journey, before surgery, I ended up going to see a naturopath, and she helped me find out what foods triggered my pain, and most women have the same triggers. For me it was meat (except sea food), dairy, and wheat. So with taking those out of my diet, I no longer suffered on an almost daily basis. Another suggestion is to find an endo group. It really helps to talk to others, as well as share information on what can help diminish pain, and increase energy.

Endo is a very hard thing to live with, but you are not alone, and there are ways in helping with the pain, you just have to find what's right for you. There are so many medications, and more natural ways to help. I have tried some medications, and some I refused to even try, but I'm glad to be on a healthier journey, because medications are more of a band aid, then a cure.

I have read and learned so much about endo through the years, and I will be sharing more information in other posts. Till then if you do have endo, and would like to talk, I'm here, and I will help in any way that I can.