I went to my doctor and she said that I was likely dealing with endometriosis or a thyroid issue, right away. I had no idea what endometriosis was, remembered hearing my mom discussing thyroids when I was a younger, and nodded my head at the doctor like I understood exactly what she was saying to me. I googled everything the moment I left her office. I was sent for blood work and an ultrasound (which turned out to be a transvaginal ultrasound at the technicians request).
My blood work came back perfect (the words my GP used), but my ultrasounds came back with a cyst on one of my ovaries. My doctor explained that cysts are 'normal' to develop on ovaries, but that I should be sent for more blood work to rule out cancer (which came back negative), and a follow-up ultrasound in a few months to see if the cyst went away on its own. I asked if the pain and its location could be explained by the cyst and its location, and then was referred to a gynecologist because the two could be, but didn't seem to be related.
I went through much the same process with the gynecologist as I did with my GP, but he told me that there was also a polyp on my left ovary and not just the cyst. He seemed unconcerned and assured me not to worry. The gyne gave me 3 options/solutions as he also believed that I was dealing with endometriosis: an IUD that would slow-release progesterone; Visanne which is a newer drug specifically developed for endometriosis (the only one available); or surgery (laparoscopy and hysteroscopy). He said that he wanted to see me in a month after another round of ultrasounds, but that I should think about how I wanted to move forward.
Over the next few weeks, I did a vigorous amount of research. Some of which took me down a dark rabbit hole, but most of which told me one thing: the pelvic and menstrual pain that I was experiencing was not normal. It is not normal to be doubled over in pain, and debilitating menstrual cramps aren't anything to try and push through. I don't know what I've been thinking for these past few years, but having someone tell me that the pain I was feeling was not okay and had a cause beyond my menstrual cycle was like a weight lifted. I don't know how many years I was taking more than the recommended dosage of Advil and/or Motrin because I thought I simply had painful menstrual cycles, and that it was normal to have more pain as I got older, and without ever being pregnant.
Now, I know better. They estimate that about 10% of women suffer from endometriosis and that it typically takes about 10 years to seek help for it because the symptoms are normalized - exactly what I did.
I opted for surgery because it is the only way to conclusively diagnose or rule out endometriosis, and I've had not great experiences with progesterone hormones. I'm about 5 weeks post-suregry now, and that change in my life has been dramatic.
I'm hoping that by writing this, anyone who may also have some sort of chronic pelvic pain, has to take more over the counter meds just to make it through your menstrual cycle, or is staying home "sick" when you're really in a tonne of pain that you not write it off as normal, and go see your doctor and if they say "some women experience more pain than others," push your doctor to figure it out with you.
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| In the recovery room, shortly after waking up from anesthesia. |
