In 2010 my life changed dramatically, in what felt like the blink of an eye.

I was diagnosed with Endometriosis.

Endometriosis is a condition that affects women of reproductive age, during menstruation woman experience what’s called a retrograde flow, meaning that instead of the endometrium (lining of the uterus) being shed down and out, some goes back up and into the abdominal cavity. Now this in it’s self is an uncommon thing, as up to as many as 70% of woman have a retrograde menstruation. However, in women who suffer from Endometriosis, the immune system does not properly activate and clean up the retrograde menstruation and instead this endometrium tissue is left to grow.

Biology lesson over.

Now, this causes a great amount of pain and discomfort when the next period begins. Think – excruciating ‘period pain’, heavy flows, pain during intercourse, and really just a horrible existence, if you ask me.

So, this was me. I went to my GP and he sent me off to a Specialist, one of the best in Queensland. A few days later I was under the knife in what turned out to be a 2-hour operation, as the Specialist burnt away all the scar tissue and growths that had taken up residence on my ovaries, on my bowel, and on the internal walls of my abdominal cavity.

And this is how I was diagnosed with this disease.

I was told a few days later of what he had found, the confirmation that it was indeed Endometriosis, and as he showed me photo’s of my procedure, he continued to talk about the risk to my fertility, the freezing of my eggs, IVF options, and the fact there was no cure…..

But I could barely listen. My head was swimming with all this information. There was just one thing that stuck in my head and kept replaying itself: infertility.

I was terrified. The specialist asked me, a young 23-year-old girl, “Do you want children right now?”

“No”, I replied. “I’m not ready yet, but I do want them”.

His answer to that was that I needed to protect the small amount of eggs I had left and to go on the contraceptive pill without talking the sugar ones, so I wouldn’t get a period. This is he assured me was the only option and my best bet at ‘saving’ my fertility.

I was only to willing to adhere to his recommendations and for the next two years I diligently took my pill each and every day. And for awhile I was pain free and my life went back to normal.

That was until almost 2 years to the day, I had the same pain strike me down again and panic set in.

I had done everything the doctor had asked and yet I was in a world of pain again.

So back I went, into another operation. Only this time, not only was there Endometriosis growing again, some of the growths had begun to imbed themselves in the walls of my uterus, a condition which is known as Adenomyosis.

At my post-op catch up, when the doctor told me how my condition had worsened even though I had done EVERYTHING he asked, I begun to lose all hope of ever being able to have a child.

He told me the growths in my uterus would stop me from being able to hold a pregnancy to term, as my body was trying to attack the growths already there and an embryo would be treated the same way.

This crushed my soul in every way possible.

I hated my body for what it was doing. I felt so DEFECTIVE!

Endometriosis is a deeply private and lonely disease.

To look at someone with it, you see nothing wrong. There is no way to know the pain, heart-ache and struggle they go through each and every day.

The scars on my tummy from my laparoscopies are tiny, yet the inside of my body is riddled with scars and reminders, totally unseen by anyone. Only I can feel them.

I felt isolated and alone with my disease. Others tried to pass it off as nothing serious or told me that getting pregnant would solve it as that’s what they had been told by another friend. All well-meaning comments, but very misguided and very hard to listen too when I new the truth.

I slowly slipped into a deep depression, getting out of bed each day felt like climbing Mt Everest.

The struggle was real.

My only saving grace was a Naturopath I had been to see intermittently over the past few years, never really following her advice or instructions very closely. However, this time I needed something to give me hope and someone to help me find my way back to health.

One of the first things I remember her asking me was if I had yet had my hormone levels checked. My WHAT??? NO!!!!!

This was the light bulb moment, menstruating was a hormonal function in my body and yet no one had though to check if my hormones were balanced or not. 

So that’s what we did. She also checked my gut health, as apparently this effected my hormones as well, and which by the way was an absolute mess. Crazy I know!

Then we changed up my diet and eliminated all the inflammatory foods such as grains, dairy, legumes, and refined sugar. I pretty much went full Paleo for those of you who like to put titles on your dietary choices.

And slowly my body begun to come back to normal. I stopped taking the pill and let my bodies own natural rhythms start again for the first time in almost 15 years – yes, I was put on the pill at 14 due to my heavy periods and debilitating period pain. And today I feel the healthiest I have ever felt.

It’s been a long journey and one that hasn’t just been medical, it been spiritual as well. I’ve had to get back in-tune with my body, I’ve had to learn what it is supposed to do and how to ensure I support it to be able to conduct these things such as have a normal period. The food I eat, the products I put on my skin, and the way in which I talk to and think about my body has had to change. I can no longer think of my body as defective, but a miracle machine that does so much for me and was only trying to do the best it could with the tools it had.

Seeing my body as healed was the biggest hurdle I would have to face with my conditions. And to be honest I am still on the path to really accepting that I have healed and that I no longer suffer from these horrible diseases.

My story isn’t unique, more and more women are being diagnosed with this each year.

It’s a deceptive disease, it makes you feel like you are crazy, over-reacting, and like its all in your head. That’s why it takes women so long to go to the doctors to seek help.

Pain before and during a period is not ok. It might be ‘normal’ but its not meant to be. I love my cycle now, it’s a breeze and THAT is what should be normal for every woman.

It been 4 years this year since my last operation and I know in my soul I will never need another one again, as long as I keep looking after myself and put my health at the forefront of all that I do.

 

SA xxx