THE BIG 3: The Price of Being a Girl
(I'm breaking down into simple terms what is THE BIG 3 and how can you help yourself: ENDOMETRIOSIS, OVARIAN CYSTS, AND FIBROIDS) By: MJ Louis, RN
Endometriosis affects millions of
women yet still remains what
I like to call a phantom disease. Even with all our technological
advances it is
very difficult to diagnose endometriosis without
actually cutting into you. At
the age of 28 I was diagnosed with
endometriosis. But, I suspect that I had been
suffering from
this debilitating disease since my teens. Due to this disease’s
allusive nature,
millions of suffers, including myself, are told
it’s all in your head or it can’t
be as painful as you’re making it
out to be. Endometriosis IS real and can be
as painful as
childbirth. Endometriosis is not a fatal
disease but the
unresolved suffering steaming from its symptoms can lead to
isolation and depression.
What is Endometriosis?
Endometriosis is a medical condition
in which cells from the lining of the uterus (endometrium) appears and grows
outside of the uterine cavity. The most common place where endometriosis is
found is in the abdominal cavity involving the ovaries, bowel, bladder, and pelvic
area. In some less common cases, such as me, the endometrium tissue is found
outside of this region and migrates to other organs and joints. This displaced uterine
tissue still behaves and reacts to hormones as if it was still in the uterus.
In other words, when you are menstruating it menstruates as though it is still
located in the uterus. This irritates the surrounding
tissue causing the intense pain associated with endometriosis.
How the heck did it get there?!
There are several theories
floating around as to the cause of endometriosis but none have been proven to
be the definitive answer. One of the main hypotheses is called retrograde
menstruation. In retrograde menstruation, menstrual blood flows back through the
fallopian tubes and into the pelvic cavity instead of out of the body. There is
also thought to be a genetic component to endometriosis. You are ten times more
likely to develop endometriosis if your mother or sister suffers from it (I
guess that’s explains why my mother, sisters, and daughter all suffer from
endometriosis). Hormonal imbalance also plays a crucial part.
PLACES WHERE ENDOMETRIOSIS CAN BE FOUND
Signs and Symptoms
The number one symptom of endometriosis is reoccurring
pelvic pain especially but not limited to prior, during, and post menses. The
intensity of the pain is not indicative of the extent of the endometriosis.
Other common signs and symptoms include: Pain with intercourse, pain with bowel
movements or urination, heavy periods or bleeding between periods, infertility,
fatigue, diarrhea, constipation, bloating, and nausea.
How do I know if I have endometriosis?
Positively diagnosing endometriosis
can be a tricky and grueling task. My symptoms reared their ugly head when I
was only 15 years old but a positive diagnosis didn't come until I was 28.
Currently, a doctor uses your signs and symptoms in combination with a pelvic
exam, and/or a vaginal ultrasound to give you
his best educated guess as to what ails you. A positive diagnosis can only be
made by looking inside your abdominal cavity with a Laparoscope which
is done under general anesthesia.
Help it hurts... Make it stop!
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but there is NO
CURE for endometriosis... Usher in the depression. It is a chronic illness. The
conventional route of symptom management is with anti-inflammatory pain
medications such as @ibuprofen, @Advil, and @Motrin (600mg 3 times a day when
in crisis has worked very well for me); and hormonal
therapies such as birth control pills, Depo-Provera, and Lupron (dramatically decreases estrogen levels in a very short period of time).
(FYI: DO NOT ALLOW ANYONE TO INJECT YOU WITH LUPRON UNTIL YOU KNOW ALL OF THE FACTS!!!! Check out No T No Shade review on Lupron and Vitex)
As a last resort some women opt for surgery. The least
radical route is conservative surgery involving the removal of the endometrial tissues
leaving the reproductive organs intact. After the hell I suffered due to the
Lupron surgery didn't sound so bad so at first I opted for the conservative surgery.
Thanks to the skilled hands of my new GYN, I experienced 2 symptom free years. Unfortunately,
the endometriosis returned with a vengeance bringing along its ugly cousins
adenomyosis and ovarian cysts. This time around I wanted to just get it over
with so I had a partial hysterectomy. Due to my age, a total hysterectomy was not
offered to me.
By all means, I am not cured
and pain free but I got my life back thanks to a skilled and honest doctor and
natural remedies such as @Vitex, vitamin E, and fish oil.