Endometriosis Made Simple, It Sucks
Warning: I don't really hold any female stuff back here, and it is damn long!
So they, the docs, are 99% sure I have endometriosis (endo). Some of the tissue that lines my uterus is not in my uterus, but somewhere where it shouldn't be (in my right ovary). This causes excruciating pain during my period. I'm talking on the floor, sweating, quick & shallow breathing, throwing up - yes, very unpleasant. Thank you J* for caring for me on your bathroom floor that one month!
They don't know 100% until they remove some of the tissue. But I'm not going to do surgery until I decide I want to have a kid. Such a big question that I don't really want to decide on right now, even though my clock is ticking. (I just don't seem to notice it's tick tock to much.) Then again, endo might screw up my chances for a baby from my body anyway.
They, medical researchers, don't know what causes endo. Isn't that a fun? It is rumored to be an educated white woman’s disease. Red meat might be a cause or at least makes it worse. There is no cure. It could disappear, and it could worsen forever. The later is more likely.
I got off birth control in December '04 after being on it for a while. Then, in June '05 I tried the patch (which I hated - ugly & sticky). My period after the patch was horribly painful. The gyno thought I had a uterine infection so I went on antibiotics. I switched to the nuvaring - I was very suspicious of the patch, even though it shouldn't have caused the pain.
The next month I went to the gyno in pain they said take large amounts of Advil, then the next month they had me try naproxin (stronger Alieve). The next month I took Codine, which made me nauseous, then Vicodin, which made me depressed. Codine and Vicodin were self-prescribed to get me though the pain. Now I'm on Ponstel, which has done pretty good for me.
In August I got an ultrasound, and in November I got a second one. This involved an inside one and outside one. Damn, I hate having to go pee that badly. They make you drink a bunch of water for the outside one because your bladder is over your uterus. The water allows the ultrasound to "see through" the bladder to the uterus. Then you have to pee for the inside one, which is a moment of joy before you get a dildo looking thing inserted about 4 - 6 inches inside of you. The tech moves it around quite a bit - sometimes uncomfortable, but bearable. The joy of being a woman!
They found a cyst on my right ovary. It may have enlarged a bit between ultrasounds. So they send me for an MRI for 45 minutes, then an injection and another 15 minutes of MRI. Whaw, whaw, whaw, thack, thack, thack, over and over again. I started to fall asleep. It was actually kind of interesting to think that the small particles that make up my body were being manipulated with a big magnet & RF pulses all outside of my body to give a picture of what is inside. (Well, I'm kind of nerdy too so this stuff is interesting to me.)
So I've been on the ring up until now, January '06, and I just got my period. I'm doing pretty damn well with just a little pain. I've been taking Advil, and waiting to see if I need the Ponstel. I'm hoping each month to be a little better, and I think it is looking good.
Now what? I just go off the ring when I want to get preggers. I might not have pain, but I probably will. Getting preggers puts a pause on it since you aren't having a period.
I guess this is just a slice of life that I'm trying to eat and not let it eat me.
So they, the docs, are 99% sure I have endometriosis (endo). Some of the tissue that lines my uterus is not in my uterus, but somewhere where it shouldn't be (in my right ovary). This causes excruciating pain during my period. I'm talking on the floor, sweating, quick & shallow breathing, throwing up - yes, very unpleasant. Thank you J* for caring for me on your bathroom floor that one month!
They don't know 100% until they remove some of the tissue. But I'm not going to do surgery until I decide I want to have a kid. Such a big question that I don't really want to decide on right now, even though my clock is ticking. (I just don't seem to notice it's tick tock to much.) Then again, endo might screw up my chances for a baby from my body anyway.
They, medical researchers, don't know what causes endo. Isn't that a fun? It is rumored to be an educated white woman’s disease. Red meat might be a cause or at least makes it worse. There is no cure. It could disappear, and it could worsen forever. The later is more likely.
I got off birth control in December '04 after being on it for a while. Then, in June '05 I tried the patch (which I hated - ugly & sticky). My period after the patch was horribly painful. The gyno thought I had a uterine infection so I went on antibiotics. I switched to the nuvaring - I was very suspicious of the patch, even though it shouldn't have caused the pain.
The next month I went to the gyno in pain they said take large amounts of Advil, then the next month they had me try naproxin (stronger Alieve). The next month I took Codine, which made me nauseous, then Vicodin, which made me depressed. Codine and Vicodin were self-prescribed to get me though the pain. Now I'm on Ponstel, which has done pretty good for me.
In August I got an ultrasound, and in November I got a second one. This involved an inside one and outside one. Damn, I hate having to go pee that badly. They make you drink a bunch of water for the outside one because your bladder is over your uterus. The water allows the ultrasound to "see through" the bladder to the uterus. Then you have to pee for the inside one, which is a moment of joy before you get a dildo looking thing inserted about 4 - 6 inches inside of you. The tech moves it around quite a bit - sometimes uncomfortable, but bearable. The joy of being a woman!
They found a cyst on my right ovary. It may have enlarged a bit between ultrasounds. So they send me for an MRI for 45 minutes, then an injection and another 15 minutes of MRI. Whaw, whaw, whaw, thack, thack, thack, over and over again. I started to fall asleep. It was actually kind of interesting to think that the small particles that make up my body were being manipulated with a big magnet & RF pulses all outside of my body to give a picture of what is inside. (Well, I'm kind of nerdy too so this stuff is interesting to me.)
So I've been on the ring up until now, January '06, and I just got my period. I'm doing pretty damn well with just a little pain. I've been taking Advil, and waiting to see if I need the Ponstel. I'm hoping each month to be a little better, and I think it is looking good.
Now what? I just go off the ring when I want to get preggers. I might not have pain, but I probably will. Getting preggers puts a pause on it since you aren't having a period.
I guess this is just a slice of life that I'm trying to eat and not let it eat me.
posted by erinbb at 7:02 PM
2 comments
