My endometriosis battle

I remember when I got my first period, I was home from school feeling unwell with a stomach ache. I. was 11 years old and it was quite possibly the most overwhelming thing to happen to me. I knew it was coming at some point because most of my friends had theirs and I seemed to be a late bloomer.

Everything started off okay, my first few periods were really normal and easy and I thought ‘this whole period thing isn’t too bad’. I remember roughly three or four cycles in I was at school (year 7), I got my period during my art class. I went to the bathroom and it had leaked quite obviously onto my pants… I rang my mum and went home full of embarrassment.

I guess that I didn’t think that thoroughly about what could be behind getting heavy and irregular periods, I thought it was normal and that was what growing up was all about.

When I turned 14, I went on the pill. I went to the doctors, requested I go on the pill to control my heavy periods and wasn’t asked any other questions. Looking back now I wish I never started taking the pill. It masked the symptoms that I should have been questioning and should have been trying to find answers for.

In 2016 I started experiencing really bad cramps. These were unrelated to my period and came in waves. I went to doctor after doctor trying to find out why I was experiencing these issues. Thus began the emergency department trips, I experienced such terrible and unexplained cramping and I had no answers.

Each visit I got a different answer and a different list of medication to take home.

If you were wondering what these capable doctors said, here’s a small list of what it may have been, because the doctors didn’t have a clue:

- Food intolerances

- Stomach ulcers

- ‘Just’ period cramps

- Appendicitis

- Ovarian cysts (I did have one rupture)

- Ectopic pregnancy

- Kidney Infection

On my second visit (I was admitted into a ward) I sat in a hospital bed and had roughly 6 different doctors and specialists stand around me and give me a list of what ‘might’ be wrong with me.

Trip number 3 I was admitted again, three days later I had my appendix removed. This was an unnecessary surgery; they thought my appendix may have been the issue but it wasn’t. They did an unnecessary surgery because there were no other answers.

In 2017 I was still experiencing the same issues. By this time, I had given up on finding an answer but after yet another day off work due to being in pain I went to see a different doctor. I had FINALLY found a doctor who listened to me. He went through my history from beginning to the stage I was currently at. This doctor sent me off to get an ultrasound and here he found I have a bicornuate uterus (the easiest way to explain this is that my uterus is heart shaped, so I have extra tissue separating my uterus into two parts. I'm lucky that its only partial).

He was also at a loss on an answer but referred me to two seperate specialists for two separate things. One of those specialists was a gynaecologist.

In the first ten minutes of my gynaecologist appointment the specialist had me in her examination room performing an ultrasound. She looked at me, told me she had found endometrial tissue and that was that. I opted to have a laparoscopy and I was booked in to have surgery four weeks later.

I had so many questions about what was happening with my body. Can I have kids? What were the treatment options? Will it come back? I googled my life away and wound up in a deep dark negative hole. It’s a very scary thought having two conditions that can prevent me from having children but that’s a bridge I will cross when I come to it.

Four weeks later I had my surgery. It went well and as previously discussed with my specialist we opted to insert a Mirena and this was going to be used as the best hormonal contraceptive method to help combat the endometriosis symptoms. The idea was to stop my periods, therefore slowing the growth of endometrial tissue. After roughly seven days I ended up back in the hospital, I couldn’t breathe without doubling over in pain. Drugged up to the eyeballs on pain medication the doctors once again told me there was nothing wrong, I was just healing after the surgery. They sent me home with more medication, again.

I gave the Mirena three very, very long months. This method of contraception didn’t agree with my body, I got consistent break through bleeding and cramps, sex was painful too. I went back to the specialist and we decided to take it out, I went straight back on the pill.

After another two months I began to get severely depressed. I was emotional all the time and the only factor that had changed was the hormone method I was using. I decided to come off of the pill cold turkey and less than a month later my head was clear and I felt so much better.

At this point of time I was in a serious relationship and believed that I needed contraception because there is no way I wanted a baby at 20 years old. The specialist also had me believing that the only way to combat my endometriosis symptoms was to be using a hormone method. On the recommendation of my mums’ friend I went to see a new, female doctor. She decided that my next best option would be to get the bar inserted into my arm. It was the same story; I became depressed and experienced the same break through bleeding and my endometriosis symptoms actually became worse. I decided to get it out and that was it, I haven’t been using any hormonal contraceptives for nearly a year.

I feel HAPPY, I feel healthy and I feel the best I ever have.

I have friends and clients with horror stories relating to the pill/other contraceptive methods that make me disappointed, disappointed that young girls get told they need to be on the pill before learning about other ways to track their periods or even better HAVE SAFE SEX.

Since coming off of the pill I still have a lot of issues with my endometriosis, but I truly think my symptoms are better than when I was on these synthetic hormones.

If something isn’t right with your body, then you need to ask questions. You need to question why you’re feeling this way because it is not normal to have constant pain and it is not fair to feel depressed or to have anxiety. This is not okay.

If you know something isn't right, push for an answer!