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oh, what's that?

Catching up with friends, and sharing my health situation with them (again didn't think I would be writing this on my mostly travel blog but you know, it is my story) and many have looked at me quizzically and say "oh, what's that then?".

So for the purposes of clarity I thought I would help educate my readers on Endometriosis. (Feel free to revert to Everest, The Royal Wedding or the perils of travelling solo here if you prefer my usual subject matter) something that I have discovered is widespread issue for women and goes massively undiagnosed.

According to Endometriosis UK it is "a gynaecological condition where tissue similar to the lining of the womb, grows in other areas of the body, most commonly in the pelvic region. This tissue responds to hormones in the same way as the lining of the womb but with no outlet it can cause inflammation, scarring and adhesion's, leading to severe pain and many other symptoms."

And when they say pain, despite medication, I spend hours in what can only be described as agony. My tummy literally feels like I am carrying a fighting child who likes to unceremoniously pinch and punch my innards and isolate nerves in my legs, cause me to have nausea and plays havoc with my digestive system. And yet like the other 1.5m women in the UK alone that suffer from this condition I have to go to work, like to see my friends and family and even fancy a run from time to time when I get a break or grow too bored of my pain and fancy a fight with my body.

Now when you think of period pain you can usually plan your diary around a 28 day cycle, but with this Mother Trucker of an infliction, it can strike at any given moment of the hour/day/week/year. With little regard to where I am (Walking to Everest Base Camp) or what I am doing (a half Marathon in St Albans) or taking my coins to the bank (and discovering they are a cashless bank!) and literally strike you down mid-course to remind you that your body is king no matter how much your mind begs to differ.

Over these years I have discovered a few things about my body - I tune really (really) easily to girls. Its totally true what they say. Whither its the dominant females at work or my flatmate my body with swing into the sound of their beating drum just to screw with me a little more. And that dairy is not good for me (more cramps), and stopping really is not a bad idea. My (Nurse) Mum was advocate of the no sick day policy, so I'm finally over being a good little girl. Taking time to breath can really focus the mind and body to work better (this has taken me years to figure out!).

The treatment  has been 16 years on Naproxen (a pain medication) and only once at aged 17 being put on the pill to help stabilise my hormones. I found the prospect of being on hormone treatment long term frightfully annoying. After constantly changing meds (the Pill) just to get one that gave me any relief (and no ghastly side effects) seemed fruitless I gave up.

I am now awaiting Keyhole surgery. This should take away the tissue in my pelvis but not the cyst that has also cropped up to join the pity party. This is to burst naturally to cause less scar tissue. And according to my Surgeon "wont hurt more than normal", hoorah! My recovery from the surgery is billed to take at least 2 weeks, where I have been told there will be little bending and stairs are out of the question - awesome on my 3rd floor, with no lift flat.

Many of my girlfriends, family and colleagues, I have now discovered have undergone this treatment. Like a silent witness in all our lives this is not something people feel comfortable talking about. Its not a condition that I have caused myself, but because its in my lady parts I get the sense people don't want to talk about it. But hells bells, I can't wait for treatment. I'm hoping its the miracle everyone says it can be. I can't begin to tell you how excited I am with the prospect of not having to cancel on friends, not waking up in the night with pain, not having to worry about being late for work cos I can't feel my legs to get off the bus or actually being able to train consistently for a running event. And as it comes closer to my surgery date do anything other than getting to and from work and my weekly supermarket shop.

Roll on October 3rd for my day surgery.  

Comments

  1. Jooooooo! How did it go?
    Well I hope. Look forward to catching up very soon.
    Ax

    ReplyDelete

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