Julia was diagnosed with Endometriosis when she was 15 years old.  Now 17, she shares her Journey with us and a few great words of advice.

Julia’s Journey:   At 14, my periods suddenly became extremely painful, to the point where I was vomiting with them because the pain was so bad. I was put on birth control, but that only made things worse as the pain began to affect me everyday and my entire life was altered. Because of that, my gynecologist at the time did a laparoscopy, but found NOTHING. She did not have the training or tools to detect endo in someone as young as me. Feeling defeated and knowing that something was indeed wrong with me, I pursued all of the medical opinions I could with the help of my parents and family. A colonoscopy, endoscopy, multiple ultrasounds, countless medications, and much frustration later, I finally found a pediatric fertility specialist who performed my second laparoscopy and definitively diagnosed me with Stage I Endometriosis. I was so, so, so relieved! However, I had no idea what was in store for me once I received a diagnosis. Now two years later, I am still in pain everyday and battle endo every step of the way as I try to live a semi-normal life. However, I have learned to manage endo to enough of a degree that I can enjoy things and live the life I know I deserve.

Words of Advice:  That being said, don’t ever, ever, ever be afraid to get a second opinion. I can’t tell you how many doctors I’ve seen throughout my endo journey. The number is honestly probably above twenty. However, this has helped me immensely because it led me to official diagnosis and a lot of different treatment for endo. If I had not pursued opinion after opinion, I would not be where I am today.

Julia writes her own blog, The Endo Girl Blog. It’s full of wonderful tips on dealing with Endometriosis, her own experiences, and a lot of fun ideas for Endo girls.

I want to send a special Thank You out to Julia for being brave enough to share her journey with us today!!  Wishing you the best in your medical care and I’ll be following you   ❤ Yours, Lisa.

And if YOU would like to share your story, I wold love to share it!.  The best part about this disease is the strong network of love and support from our fellow EndoSisters, and our friends and family, too.

Yours, Lisa.