Share Your Story: Leidy

A woman standing in front of a grassy lawn wearing a pink sweater, gray hat, and sunglasses

Leidy lives in Germany and was 35 years old when she was told she had Endometriosis. Now 42, she would like to share her story with everyone cares to read it. A battle which literally spans the globe in search of answers, a series of numerous misdiagnoses, and Leidy is one hell of a Warrior.

Leidy’s Journey:   I am now 42 years old but since my first period, I have had problems. 

My main problem is in my bowels. Which misled my specialists to find the correct diagnosis. The only issue I had, related to my period, was irregular bleeding. 

Each month I bled during my ovulation. My period lasts sometimes more than a week. And I bled during sexual intercourse. The pain during the period was not severe and Ibuprofen usually was enough to alleviate the pain.

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Share Your Story: L. George

Text that reads "I am not sure what to do next."

L. George was diagnosed when they were 25 years old. Today, at 52, they share their arduous journey with us.

L.’s Journey:   This is really tough to tell, as I have suffered with this awful disease for so long. I barely used to notice my periods in high school. Then, around age 21, the pain became so unbearable, but I just thought it was normal period pain. I never believed in going to doctors or taking any kind of pharmaceutical medication for pain. My mom raised me to never take aspirin or go to the hospital, no antibiotics for the frequent ear infections and bronchial infections I seemed to get a lot growing up. It was not uncommon for me to have a high fever (over 105F) as a child and ‘sweat’ it out, after dealing with it for at least a week wrapped in thick blankets to make me sweat. I never took any aspirin, or other OTC for the pain I felt at age 21.

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Share Your Story : Jen

Smiling Caucasian woman in a big floppy white hat and sunglasses

Jen reached out to us to share her story about her diagnosis with Endometriosis.  Now seven years after she found out she had the disease, see how she’s doing today…AND if you’re in the Sarasota, FL, area and hosting any Endo events or need a local EndoSister, here’s your gal!

Jen’s Journey: I was 23 when I was diagnosed with endometriosis, it took Doctors 5 years to diagnose me, I was lucky it wasn’t longer like most. I never had bad periods, but I did have extreme cramping & headaches. I feel pregnant a lot of the time & unfortunately I have to deal with that feeling knowing I’ll never have another child because I had a complete hysterectomy when I was 28.

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Reader’s Choice : I’m SOOO Tired

Sleeping Beauty painting by Henry Meynell Rheam

An EndoWarrior came to me with complaints of fatigue, exhaustion, and a general lack of energy.  Is it related to Endometriosis?  If so, why?  And is she the only one who has to take 2-3 naps every day? Let the research begin!

Fatigue & Endo

Fatigue is one of the many common symptoms of Endometriosis.  But why does something growing in our bodies make us tired?  No one is really sure.  Some feel that it could be our body’s coping mechanism to the pain, it could be that our body’s immune system is working on overdrive to fight our inflammation, it could be from depression, or it could be due to the mental and physical stress people with Endometriosis endure.  It could even been some deeper unforeseen medical reason that nobody has figured out yet…

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Share Your Story : Lindsay

Woman with brown hair sitting on a military tank

Lindsay was 16 years old when she was diagnosed with Endometriosis.  Now 21, she lives in Connecticut.  She is a volunteer Firefighter (thank you!!!) while still enduring several chronic illnesses: Endometriosis, Fibromyalgia, Bursitis, and Anxiety.  She doesn’t let it stop her from living!

Lindsay’s Journey: Since I’ve had my period I have suffered with horrible pain and bleeding that was far from normal. My pain wasn’t just in my lower abdomen, but also really bad pain in my lower back. I tried multiple birth controls to help control my pain, but nothing seemed to help. In fact, I had horrible adverse effects. I had suicidal thoughts and it made me anxious beyond belief. Part of the issue is due to the fact that I had my thyroid removed and my hormone replacement kind of mixed with the hormones in the birth control.

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