I am 21 years old, and have been
diagnosed with endometriosis.
My story begins in March of 1997...
I was having a normal day at work, I had slight menstrual cramps, but aside from that, everything was fine. Around lunch time I began experiencing severe cramping ( way more severe than ever before). They came on very suddenly, I had never been in so much pain! As I walked to the break area to sit down, I started getting tunnel vision, and I couldn't hear. I knew that I was becoming faint. A few minutes later, I left for the day (I can't believe when I look back that I actually drove myself home!)
Upon arriving home, I managed to crawl into bed with a hot-water bottle, and slept from 12:00PM until 3:00PM. When I woke, I came to the horrifying realization that the pain had not subsided. To add to my worries, I had three mid-term exams the next day!
That evening my mother drove me to the doctor's office where I was examined and later, sent over to the Emergency Room. What an ordeal! I was in a ob/gyn exam room in ER from 6:00PM until 3:00AM, when I was finally admitted. In the mean time, I was poked and prodded for hours by numerous doctors. They were checking for appendictitis, and anything else that might have been causing my abdominal pain. A sonogram at 2:00AM revealed two large cysts, one on each ovary. The larger of the two was 9 cm. That's roughly the size of a softball! I was admitted at 3:00 AM and was put on the emergency surgery waiting list. (As painfull as it was, it wasn't a life-threatening situation)
24 hours later, I was in surgery. The surgeon explained to me that because my cysts were so large, they might not be able to remove them via laparascopy, and that there was a definite possibility that a C-section would be performed. Well, the laparascopy was unsuccessfull, and a C-section was done.
I was told that the cysts were endometriomas ("chocolate cysts"), and that this was a form of endometriosis.
Great, that's all I need! Not only did I miss my Mid-term exams, but I'd have to be on bed rest for 4-6 weeks (there goes the rest of the semester!) And on top of all that, I was then told that this is a condition that has a high reoccurrence rate! So, should I expect more operations?!
My surgeon put me on a low dose birth control pill called Desogen-28. This inhibits ovulation, and has been proven beneficial in preventing cystic ovaries. "Let's hope so..."
Read my journal
christinegregory@hotmail.com
Whether you have endometriosis, or you know
someone that does, I would love to hear your story. You can send
me an e-mail, if you prefer for your story to be a private
message, or , if you'd like to share your story with others, just
sign my Dreambook...
Would you like to learn more about Endometriosis?
Links to other Endometriosis related pages:
Sarah's Endometriosis Awareness
Page
Atlanta Reproductive Health Care
Dr. Cook's Home Page
Sapient Health Network
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