Symptoms

Various symptoms of Endometriosis

2nd Surgery pending…

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operating room set-up with da vinci surgical machine

This morning I found out Surgery No. 2 is imminent, thanks to my Endometriosis. The date will be sometime in September; I’ll know more in a few days. I met with my doctor today to discuss my ongoing symptoms and worsening pain.  After a long talk and history, an a transvaginal ultrasound (OUCH), and another looooong talk in his office: he felt it’s time to peek under the hood.  I knew going in today that the surgical option was likely it. I wish we could tell if it was present in other ways.  But nope.  My CT was normal.  My US was normal.  But, as you and I both know, it may not always show up on imaging studies.  My symptom history is what convinced him:

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Cervical Endometriosis

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Sprinkle-covered donut
…not really a cervix, but you get it… 😉

So, WordPress shows me a lot of the searches that people run that lead them to my site.  One has recently come up again and again.  “Cervical Endometriosis” and “Endometriosis on Cervix.”

Seeing as I’ve never touched up on that particular location, I figured I would today!

What are the symptoms? How are you diagnosed?  What’s the treatment?

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Chronic pain affects your brain

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drawing of a human brain in a jar

So a lot of people with Endometriosis suffer from chronic pain…hell, a lot of people without Endometriosis suffer from chronic pain.  There are theories and studies out there that suggest chronic pain affects memory, cognitive function, and mental health.  Not only does Endometriosis present painful symptoms, but it’s also incurable.  And there are many people who do not get any symptom-relief from any of the treatments available.  You can see where this may cause some “mental health” issues.  Here’s some interesting tidbits on how pain affects brain activity and function.

What is gray matter all about?  It maintains memory, sight, hearing, emotions, speech, impulse control, and executive functions (reasoning, problem solving, cognitive functions, etc.).  Gray matter volume naturally decreases with age.  So…it happens naturally.  Chronic pain may just spur it along a bit more.  Studies have indicated that children who suffer from chronic pain have a greater loss of gray matter volume when they are adults.

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Share your Story : Alex

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blond woman smiling in a gray scarf and black jacket

Alex lives in New Zealand and was diagnosed with Endometriosis when she was 14.

Alex’s Journey:  Well at the age of 14 I was seen by my specialist after going into hospital 2 with in a few weeks with abdo pain… She said I’ll see you for surgery so she did! Adhesions, endo and appendix.

By the time I was 18 I was back to square 1, pain killers are useless to this day. I have seen specialists around the country for other opinions…

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Share Your Story : Alexandra

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Woman with brown hair wearing a shirt that reads "Fight like a (yellow ribbon) girl."

Alexandra is a fellow blogger out of Brisbane, Australia.  Today she share’s her Endometriosis journey with us.  She was diagnosed when she was 20, and now five years later here she goes, starting us out with a *bang*:

Alexandra’s Journey: “Uterus.” There, I said it! Uterus! Periods. Ovaries. Fallopian Tubes. Bleeding. Tampon. Rectum. Hormones. Bladder. Cervix. Menstruation. Vagina. Discharge. Pelvis. Pads. Endometriosis. Awkward.

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Share Your Story : Jen

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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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Share Your Story : Donna

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donna

Donna lives in Britain and was in her early 20’s when she was diagnosed with Endometriosis. Nearly 20 years later, she tells us her story…including something that happened to her eyes about 10 years ago.  She continues to live with Endometriosis and her eye-issue.  

Donna’s Journey: Hi my name is Donna, it all started when I was nine years old when I started my periods. My childhood was ripped away from a very young age. I never had normal periods my cycle was every 14 days. When I would bleed I would often drench the bed with blood. My Mum took me to my doctor and he decided to put me on hormone replacement tablets to begin with. The pain I would experience was unreal yet no one really understood. Year in and year out my periods stayed at a 14 to 19 day cycle.

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Share Your Story : D.M.

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D.M. was 37-years-old when she was diagnosed with Endometriosis.  Nearly three decades later, she tells us her story.

D.M.’s Journey:  Ovarian cysts removed on both ovaries in my mid twenties. By 37 I had Exploratory surgery to discover why I was infertile, and they discovered endometriosis and the ovaries had adhered to the bowel. The surgeon cleared out the area and wrapped the ovaries this time. Since then I have had colonoscopies and polyps removed. This last time, I’m 64 now, they biopsies the polyps and discovered endometriosis tissue inside the bowel.

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I want to send a special Thank You out to D.M. for being brave enough to share her personal story with us today.  You are a beautiful, brave, and strong woman.  Thank you!!! We are sorry they’ve found it within your bowel, but hope that you are no longer in pain or suffering from your symptoms.

And if YOU would like to share your story, you can do so by clicking here.  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.

Share Your Story : Kristina

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flaming text that reads "my body has been through hell"

Kristina was 24-years-old when she was diagnosed with Endometriosis, after the birth of her beautiful daughter.  Nearly a decade later, she tells us her story…

Kristina’s Journey: I received my diagnosis weeks after having my daughter in 2009. Turns out I could have been dealing with this since I had started having cycles but none of my doctors thought to even test and I had no idea what Endo was until I got pregnant. After having beautiful Kara my period started like normal but the pain was so intense. I went to my OB and she had me try the pill first, but that didn’t help.  Then we tried Depo and that made it worse. In the mix of all this I also have been dealing with multiple hernia repairs so one could imagine my hell some months.

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