by The Wannabe Mom
On cycle days one and two–each and every month—I. am. in. pain.
I can always tell she’s coming. “She” being mother-nature with my monthly gift.
I cramp. I bloat. I medicate.
I swallow two Extra-Strength Tylenol every four hours for at least 48 hours. Sometimes I use a heating pad to relax my lady-parts. I can function those days of the month, but my cramps are a real pain in the abdomen.
Last month, I saw Padma Lakshmi from Bravo’s “Top Chef” discussing endometriosis on the Today Show. She suffers from the disease and founded the Endometriosis Foundation of America. Her foundation “seeks to provide hope to women suffering from the debilitating effects of endometriosis and associated diseases.”
On her morning show segment she explained if you have the disease, instead of shedding your uterine lining during menstruation, your menstrual fluids flow back up into your body into areas outside your uterus.
Lovely.
These fluids accumulate on your bladder, bowels, top of your vagina or other nearby organs, leading to the development of scarring and fibroids. This causes symptoms that vary from severe cramping to chronic pelvic pain, severe painful periods, infertility, pain with sex, painful bowel movements and rectal pain.
Cramps. Infertility. Ba-da-bingo.
When we weren’t able to conceive for twelve cycles, my doctor ordered all kinds of tests. Hormone blood tests, sperm counts and motility/mobility tests, pelvic and vaginal sonograms and a HSG. We passed all of them with flying colors.
I never had laparoscopic surgery to check for endometriosis though. My doctor never suggested it, and I never thought twice about it. I just figured cramps and bloat were part of being a woman. Turns out, they were symptoms of something more serious.
After my recent miscarriage, I asked my doctor if we should check for endometriosis. She agreed it wouldn’t be a bad idea.
Two weeks ago I went under. I wasn’t excited about having to be put to sleep. I wasn’t excited about having to be intubated. I wasn’t excited about having my abdomen inflated with gas—gas that tried to escape upward and outward and resulted in a few days of severe shoulder and back pain.
But I was excited about having some possible explanation for my unexplained infertility and our recent miscarriage.
During the procedure, my doctor diagnosed me with Stage 2 Endometriosis. She gave us pictures of my ovaries, my fallopian tubes and my uterus she’d taken during the surgery. She explained I’m lucky because the scaring wasn’t too terribly severe and it was limited to the outside of my uterus. She told us we have six to nine months to “get-to-the-baby-making” before the endometriosis comes back.
We’ll go in soon for a follow-up appointment. We’ll discuss our plan of action for the next few months. All signs point towards try-try-trying to conceive once again.
Keep your fingers crossed for us.
Anyone reading this not let endometriosis cramp their style?Have any of you had endometriosis and still conceived, carried and delivered a healthy baby? I’d love to hear some success stories.