From the time a girl is supposed to start seeing a gynecologist, I have been. Year after year, I diligently went to either a gynecologist, my general practitioner, or a nurse practitioner for my checkup and always left with a clean bill of health. My pap smears always came back “normal”.
In 2007, at the ripe old age of 31, I went to a “Fertility Specialist” for that year’s gynecological visit because at about five minutes from our then-house, she was the closest doctor covered by my insurance. The idea of not having to deal with traffic in Los Angeles is pretty much the main motivation behind everything decision you make.
During that visit I found out NUMEROUS things about my “womanhood” that I had never been told before. Why did it take a fertility specialist to notice simple things that any doctor, upon further speculation, could have concluded? Just as we were wrapping things up she asked me what type of contraception my husband and I were using. I shrugged and responded the pull-out method, assuring her that “it worked just fine” {meaning I’d never had a pregnancy scare} and she furrowed her brow.
From that itty-bitty bit of information, she went into overdrive and immediately pulled out a long instrument, covered it with a condom, and told me she was giving me an inner sonogram to investigate further. The next few minutes changed my life.
Not only did I have Endometriosis, which would make getting pregnant more difficult, she told me I had cysts on my ovaries that would have to be surgically removed. As she whipped the condom off of the long instrument and tossed it in the trash, my lip trembled as I held back tears. I didn’t know how or where to even begin to figure out how to process all this information at once. And though it wasn’t as extreme a case as many others or even a death sentence, it was like my whole world shattered and suddenly there was “something wrong with me” and a chance I wouldn’t have children.
What I did know though, was that after years and years and years of ridiculously painful periods, random & unexplained fatigue, plus a myriad of other horrendous PMS symptoms that would last sometimes 3 weeks of each month, I finally had an answer, a reason as to why my periods seemed to be worse than everybody else’s and that reason wasn’t that I was inept at dealing with pain.
What if I had never seen a specialist?
Sometimes just knowing helps ease the pain a little. However, there are no cures for Endometriosis. There are no meds to help either. There is only pregnancy or the pill {that makes your body think you’re pregnant} that somehow keeps Endometriosis from spreading and/or Laparascopic surgery to remove it.
Through the years I’ve found that Evening Primrose Oil helps tremendously with the emotional and hormonal side of PMS and more recently, that ClaryCalm Essential Oils used topically eases abdomen and lower back pain as well. Walking, hiking, and yoga certainly help and it seems that certain foods can worsen symptoms and others can lessen them, but otherwise, you just have to live with it.
Though I’ve shared my Endometriosis story before as well as my infertility journey with you over the years, when I saw this #UnSelfie #GivingTuesday on EFA Facebook recently, I thought it was a great way to bring more awareness to this awful disease and maybe even help a few young girls discover the reason behind their killer periods.
The Endometriosis Foundation of America is a non-profit organization that strives to increase disease recognition, provide advocacy, facilitate expert surgical training, and fund landmark endometriosis research. Engaged in a robust campaign to inform both the medical community and the public, the EFA places particular emphasis on the critical importance of early diagnosis and effective intervention while simultaneously providing education to the next generation of medical professionals and their patients.
Maybe someday they will find a cure.
Between now and December 2nd, upload YOUR #UNselfie and show your support for the Endometriosis Foundation of America and share why you are supporting the EFA and endometriosis research. And if you think something is going on inside of you that doesn’t feel normal, see a specialist.
Show your #UNSelfie for the EFA and #GivingTuesday!
To participate in the #UNselfie for endometriosis campaign:
- Take a “selfie” with a caption (or have it on a card in the picture) explaining why you are supporting the Endometriosis Foundation of America and endometriosis research. All you have to do is print the template and write in the reason why you support the EFA. Download: EFA UNselfie Template
- Use the hashtags #UNselfie, #GivingTuesday, and #GivingTuesdayEFA. Don’t forget to mention our website — www.endofound.org
- Post it to Instagram, Facebook and/or Twitter to share and encourage your friends to do the same! If posting on Twitter, be sure to tweet us @Endofound.
Resources:
* Fashionista Fundraiser for Endometriosis Awareness
* The Endometriosis Foundation of America
* Endometriosis disease, symptoms
If you have unexplained pain and general weirdness associated with your period, go to a specialist to get and inside look ASAP.
