My Endometriosis Journey: Diagnosis
Hello, friend! You’re probably here because either you or your loved one has endometriosis (or you think you might have it!). I hope my experience will be helpful to you! This post about my diagnosis is the first post in My Endometriosis Journey, so make sure you check out the posts about my surgery and my laparoscopy recovery, too!
My journey to finding a diagnosis is an all too common story. I spoke to many doctors for many years and was told that the pain I was experiencing was just a normal part of being a woman. Bullshit.
In high school, I was diagnosed with PMDD, prescribed the birth control pill Yaz, and was sent on my way. That helped for a little while, but after a few years on Yaz, I started developing severe side effects from it.
I went off the Yaz for about a year before the pain came creeping back into my life like a crafty ninja. Slowly, my symptoms became more diverse and more debilitating.
By the time I was 28, each period would mean one or two days in bed, writhing in pain, exhausted. My cramps were so bad, they would stop me in my tracks and make me double over. Definitely didn’t make social situations awkward AT ALL.
Bloating became extreme and so uncomfortable. Sweatpants and leggings became a staple in my wardrobe. The nausea that accompanied it was lovely too.
Ick
Probably the worst symptom, though, was the excruciating pain I felt when I had a bowel movement. I never knew when this pain would strike, but when it did, it radiated through my entire body and left me gasping for air.
After a particularly bad period, I decided I had had enough. I started researching my symptoms online and it wasn’t long before I learned about endometriosis.
I had all the symptoms. But if it was so obvious to me that I had this, why hadn’t any of my doctors ever diagnosed me? That’s when I decided to find a new doctor.
I asked all my friends for recommendations and decided to give Dr. Z a shot. If she didn’t believe me, I would move on to the next doctor. And the next doctor.
When I met Dr. Z for the first time, she asked me why I came to see her. I listed all of my symptoms and explained how my period was affecting my life.
And she listened.
She didn’t brush me off and tell me it was just a normal period.
She didn’t tell me I had a low pain tolerance.
She didn’t prescribe me yet another birth control pill.
She told me I probably had endometriosis. And she told me that she could help.
I went for an ultrasound right after my appointment and discovered a large mass on the left side of my uterus. As soon as the ultrasound technician saw it she said, “Wow, that must hurt.” Ya think?
Dr. Z told me that they couldn’t know for sure what the mass was, but that it was probably an endometrioma. She gave me two treatment options:
6 months of Lupron to try to shrink the mass, or
Laparoscopic surgery to remove the mass and any other lesions they could find.
The thought of having some weird lump in my uterus freaked me out. So I decided to go with surgery.
I was very, very lucky to find Dr. Z. It took about 10 years for me to finally have a diagnosis, and that is not unusual. In fact, 1 out of 3 women consulted 3 to 4 doctors before receiving a diagnosis.
Follow my endo journey in my next post, My Endometriosis Journey: Laparoscopy.
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