Cyntelle was diagnosed with Endometriosis when she was 29 years old. Now 32 and living in Savannah, GA, Cyntelle is the mother of a beautiful son. She loves dancing and music, and has recently begun a blog of her own. Cyntelle’s Endo journey is quite a bumpy one…
Cyntelle’s Journey: After I had my son (October 2008), I was still vomiting and had terrible abdominal pain. My belly was swollen to the point that people were asking if I was pregnant again (impossible). December 2008 I went to the ER. The ER doc said I had a kidney infection and possibly an STD. I was a single, black, young mother so of course I had an STD? Right? Wrong. No STD was found and I was 25. Not as young as the high school age they thought I was. I digress. :)They performed lots of tests, I had an ultrasound, everything. The PA suggested I had a small cyst on my left ovary. ER doc stuck with kidney infection. What do I know? I’m no doctor.
Fast forward to January 2010. Symptoms returned. This time I had no insurance. I went to the ER. Different hospital, different city. Doctor says I probably have an STD (insert eyeroll) and orders me to get an ultrasound. I don’t have insurance so I take the pain meds and the antibiotics and suffer.
October 2010, back to the ER I go. Different city, different hospital, still uninsured. Went in for the ultrasound. The tech told me to urinate before the ultrasound. Did the transvaginal thing. She says, “did you urinate before the ultrasound?”. I did. Turns out there’s a cyst the size of a full bladder on my left side. I have to have surgery. I applied for Medicaid, what a nightmare. Heard nothing from Medicaid for months.
Went back to the ER January 2011. They scheduled surgery. Cyst & left ovary removed. By this time the cyst was the size of a 6 lb newborn. When I went to the ER, the doc told me I was 6 months pregnant on-site.
In April 2011 during my checkup, I told the doctor I was still in pain. She told me that this was normal 3 months after surgery. I didn’t believe her.
In June of 2011 I changed doctors and got insurance (yay!). My new doctor tried different things to relieve the pain.
By March 2012, I had surgery again. This tone it was exploratory. Time to find out why I was still hurting. This is when I got my endometriosis diagnosis. I felt pretty good for over a year after the surgery.
About March 2013, I was in pain again. I was on Depo-Provera for birth control. My doctor put me on low dose birth control pills as well to stop my period altogether. This worked for a few months but in September 2013, my period came.
October 2013, surgery #3. This is when I found out that in addition to Endometriosis, I also have pelvic congestion syndrome. Ugh. September 2014, pain was persistent but not debilitating. Then my right side started to hurt. Previously, all of my complaints were about the left side so I immediately scheduled an appointment.
Had my 4th surgery in December 2014. There was loads of Endometriosis and a swollen uterus. I really want more children and that’s the only thing stopping me from getting a hysterectomy. 2 days after returning to work from my surgical leave, I woke up at 3 am with sharp pains in my pelvis. That is what PCS does to me. My doctor put me back on the low dose birth control pills but they are making me physically ill. I have morning sickness that I didn’t have when I was pregnant.
I’m about to call the office now to see what our next step is. I’m actually researching embolization so if anyone has any experiences with it, please share.
Words of Advice for Us: Go to your doctor for anything, no matter how small. It could be bigger than you think.
The Last Word: This is a very rough draft. Please excuse any mistakes and ask questions if you’re not clear on something.
If you wish to contact Cyntelle, you can either contact her by email or follow her blog.
I want to send a special Thank You out to Cyntelle for being brave enough to share her personal story, struggle, and victories with us today. You are a beautiful, brave, and strong woman. Thank you!!! I also want to congratulate Cyntelle on her perseverance in her medical treatment. Many others may have given up in your situation. But you didn’t! I am very proud of you. Best of luck at your upcoming appointments, and I hope you and your physician can find a treatment that agrees with your body a bit better. Yours, Lisa.
And if YOU would like to share your story, please let me know. The best part about this disease is the strong network of love and support from our fellow EndoWarriors, and our friends and family, too.
Yours, Lisa.
Bloomin' Uterus 