Monday 2 March 2015

Young(ish), Wombless, and Rather Pale.

Last year, nearly a whole year ago (18th March), I lost my uterus. How careless! I have a beautiful 5-inch-long scar on my belly. Hooray! It is my favourite of my dozen or so scars, not least because I think it vindicates what I said for about 20 years.

My pelvis is still being an idiot, continuing, as it always bloody does, in giving me the pains and aches it always has (since I was 12). Only my left ovary remains of my reproductive system, messed up as it was. GOOD BLOODY RIDDANCE. Not so bloody anymore. HA-HA. IN YOUR FACE, WOMB.

I have to keep my ovary because my team of quite super doctors and I don't adore the prospect of having crumbly bones, thanks to osteoporosis.

This is endometriosis for me. This week is Endometriosis Awareness Week. This month (in some places on our glorious and wonderful planet) is Endometriosis Awareness Month.

Please, don't suffer.

Please, change doctors if your current one belittles your reality.

Please, don't be scared to ask for a referral.

Please, talk about your pains.

Please, ask for help.

Please, don't be ashamed of what you can or can't do.

Talking about periods and vaginas and wombs and fallopian tubes isn't dirty, it isn't weird, and it isn't disgusting. You are not dirty, or weird, or disgusting if you want to talk to someone about your pains and periods and fears. I'm one of millions of women told, for years, it's all perfectly normal. It wasn't. It isn't. And I'm one of many millions of women who don't know what painfree means any longer.

Talk about your bits! VAGINAS! FALLOPIAN TUBES! OVARIES! BOWELS! POO! DYSCHEZIA! Open your bowels and talk about endo.

3 comments:

  1. I've been having problems since I was twelve too. With heavy anti conception meds the pain and the blooding was manageable. Too bad my body decided to give me multiple pulmonary embolisms, which have prevented me from taking anti conception meds for 7 years now. 4 years ago my problems got so severe that I had to have a mirena IUD. At first it was, again, manageable. But now I'm back to having major problems with pain and very low HB levels. Next Thursday I'm having an appointment with a gynaecologist. I'll try to get a novasure procedure done. Is that something you've encountered before?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Nightmare times for you, too. Horrible. I had the Novasure done when I had my right ovary and tube out, in August 2013. I hoped so, so much that it would help. It didn't, since what I wanted and needed was to not have periods at all; I had them, and they were lighter, shorter, and less painful than before but still exhausting and, for 3 days, took over, no matter how hard I tried to be "positive". And, because of my age at the time (31), the lining seemed to be growing back and the periods would likely have returned to pre-Novasure levels in a couple of years. But that's just me. It didn't help me. But it might help you. And it might lead to other, better (but maybe more internally/physically harsh) treatments. I don't know.

      It was, unfortunately, another of those things I had to go through to get to the "I BEG YOU, TAKE IT OUT" stage. It felt like I had to suffer more, just so that it said on my records that, yes she did try this and that, and then those, and then these, and she still felt dreadful. I'm not painfree now, but I don't have periods, and I do have more of a sense of control about me. Which is nice.

      Will you let me know how you get on on Thursday? If you want to email, please do, if you don't want to share on here or twitter.

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  2. Well, here's the update. It's most likely I'll have an Essure done within a couple of weeks/months. At the same time they'll fit a new Mirena as it helped with the bleeding in the first year. Then, after 3 months, I'll be having a Novasure procedure done. If that doesn't help (enough), the gynaecologist told me he'd be happy to remove my womb completely.
    He told me that if I don't want to try the Essure and Novasure he needs to get my file into the team to see if they are willing to remove the womb entirely before the logical steps.
    Hoping this makes sense, as I'm a bit upset, very relieved and Dutch...

    ReplyDelete

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