Surgery

Share Your Story: Melanie

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Melanie standing in front of a cart of fresh baked artisan breads

Melanie Rossiter is writing a book about Endometriosis (which is available on Amazon) and wanted to share her Endo journey with us today.

Melanie’s Journey:

This story is taken from the introduction of my book ‘Reclaiming Feminine Wisdom: An Empowering Journey With Endometriosis’.

My struggle back to health began two weeks after the birth of my second child. I had to have postnatal emergency surgery for a retained placenta, which was followed by pain, adhesions (scar tissue sticking tissues or organs together), and endometriosis.

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My 4th Endo Excision Surgery

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"Uterus & Guts," created by Ivy Denton @deathwindchimes 

Before I get started, let me explain the image above. A talented artist by the name of Ivy Denton created it for me (they also created the EndoGuy and PoopChuteSnakie you’ll see below). They’re taking commissions if you’re interested in throwing ideas their way! “What is it,” you may be asking yourself. It’s a whimsical interpretation of my insides: a uterus with two cervix, no fallopian tubes (hence the band-aids and floating ovaries), and it’s accompanied by it’s new buddy: an intestine missing some pieces. I think it’s adorable! Thanks, Ivy!!

On with the good stuff! If you didn’t already know, back in July 2018 during an excision surgery Dr. Kurtulus discovered a pair of Endo lesions on my small intestine . He brought in a colo-rectal surgeon, Dr. Schultzel, to look at it and decide if we could remove it then. Unfortunately, it was deemed too deep and risky without a proper bowel prep and a future resection would take place.

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Endometriosis & the Pancreas

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Diagram of liver, stomach, pancreas, and gallbladder

I’m sitting here going through my very old post-surgery emails and I’ve stumbled upon one from December that made my jaw, once again, drop. A study was published in late 2018 about a woman who was discovered to have an endometrial cyst inside her pancreas…WHAT? It’s super-duper rare.

As usual, this isn’t meant to scare you. Just inform you…

As you know…I’m prone to following studies down rabbit holes and satisfy my curiosity. Today is no different! Read on, dear Reader…read on!

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Pain & Poops: Then & Now

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Happy poop with daisy on it's head

Well, here we are in 2019 and I’m starting my blog off talking about poop…Why? Because I’m SUPER excited to share with you how different my bowels (and pain levels) have been since my recent bowel resection and Endometriosis excision surgery.

If you weren’t aware, I underwent a bowel resection to remove deep-infiltrating Endometriosis from my small intestine.

Embrace this discovery with me! Here’s my pain journal summary for November of 2018:

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A quick update.

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Lisa Howard and nurse being wheeled down the hallway of hospital on way home after surgery

Hi guys! I’m home with lots of rest and recuperating.

Here’s what I know was done during surgery (to be confirmed/edited) after my mid-December post-ops with my respective surgeons:

The Endometriosis on the exterior of my small bowel was still there. It had changed colors since July, from pink to black. A small bit of Endo was also located on my colon. So a section of small and large intestine were removed, as well as my appendix and cecum, and my new PoopChute was stapled back together. The Endometriosis and resulting scar tissue had caused a sort of twisted mass on the right side of my guts.

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Interstitial Cystitis

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Yellow water balloon popping
Yellow Explosion by Tom Bullock

Today I’d like to talk about something that a lot of my EndoSisters suffer from: Interstitial Cystitis, also known as IC.

Interstitial what? That’s what I thought the first time I heard of it a few years ago.  Heck, my doctor even suspected I had it (we check every time I go in for surgery, and so far: no tell-tale signs).  I’ve been telling myself for a few years now that I needed to research and write about it…so today I am!

What is it?

Let’s start off with:  it’s been around for quite a while.  The first written description of IC was back in 1836 by Philadelphia surgeon, Joseph Parrish.

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Endometriosis & the Kidneys

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A doodle of a human kidney pointing at a diagram of the renal system

In the past, I’ve researched how Endometriosis can affect the renal system, specifically the bladder or ureters, and how that could even cause blockages that cause kidney issues and severe problems.

Today, I’m going to talk about Endometriosis and the actual kidney.

A study published in October of 2018 discussed a 45-year-old woman who had flank pain and blood in her urine.  Imaging studies found a mass on her left kidney.  A surgery was performed to remove the suspected renal mass and a portion of her kidney, and pathology confirmed it was an Endometriosis lesion.  It was removed from her “renal parenchyma,” which is the solid part of the kidney that filters blood and makes urine.

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Share Your Story: Mollie

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Quote: Her doctor told her she had sorted it out. That it was done. The end was gone! But when she complained of ongoing pain her doctor said the pain was all in her head and she had some type of PTSD

Mollie was diagnosed with Endometriosis when she was 20.  Now a year later, she shares her journey with us.

Mollie’s Journey: It all seems full circle to me after about 7 years.

At about 13 is when I got my first period and my symptoms began to start at 14 from what I can remember. What I do remember vividly is the pain, daily. My mother thought I was just trying to skip school because the only thing I could explain to her was that my tummy hurt. Any mother would think that a 14-year-old that complains of a “tummy ache” almost everyday is just trying to get out of class so I can’t blame her for any of that.

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Share Your Story: Diane

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Tattoo that reads "Start Somewhere"

Diane shares her Endometriosis journey with us today.  And she’d like to remind us all when life hits us too hard and we’re stuck or immobile…we have to start somewhere. One step at a time.

Diane’s Journey:  So, I’m officially diagnosed with chronic pelvic pain, recurrent peritoneal cysts, and precancerous cervical cells. I did have an exploratory lap in 2016, to remove suspected ovarian cysts. They turned out to be peritoneal, and I also had “extensive adhesive scar tissue”. Endometriosis was added to my records at that point, but I was seen at a teaching hospital. The residents that saw me and performed my surgery never sat down and discussed what they found.

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