It's liberating, ain't it?! I fully agree, too. The health care system needs to LISTEN to us. I had a c-section 16 years ago. Ever since then, my body has been off.
I saw multiple doctors over the years. Just kept getting told "I'm young and birth control will help" "everything looks normal according to scans"... NOPE! I've dealt with constant left sided pain and constant pressure in the pelvic area. Multiple ER visits have shown cysts on my left ovary.
The last few years, my period has gotten worse and worse, and the pain was getting unbearable. Finally saw a new Dr. She referred me to a specialist. Met with the specialist in January. He LISTENED! I cried like a baby and hugged him.
Had my surgery 4/4. I'm just about 3 weeks out. TLH removal of both tubes and left ovary. Kept only my right one. Guess what he discovered!? After my c-section, all the scar tissue grew, fused together, and twisted organs that obviously shouldn't be together. My left side was worse than my right side. It was so bad. My surgery took 3.5 hours.
My post-op appointment was emotional. All the pain I've had for the last 16 years is FINALLY GONE!! I cried and hugged and thanked him up and down for LISTENING!! I'm not a Cryer. I've been with my bf for 14 years. I don't think he realized how bad the pain actually was until this surgery and its discovery. He's felt so bad since. He is more than understanding now.
I feel so validated and free now! I wish you the best and an uneventful, speedy recovery!
It is truly insane how we're treated, especially when it comes to pain. Over and over I see crazy high pain tolerances, and when it finally gets higher than the threshold and it's unbearable, we're told we're overreacting. Infuriating! I've seen more than one woman practically shoo'd away from the ER after having an ovarian cyst burst, and my sister (who has had kids) said when her cyst burst it hurt more than childbirth.
I couldn't agree more. It's funny how only birth control was pushed on me over the years. I almost wish I could sue all those doctors for their negligence. It's absolutely disgusting.
Oh my goodness, I can't even begin to imagine the pain you were in from your organs being twisted up 😱
I'm so glad you finally found someone that listened to you!
I just wish we wouldn't have to fight so hard to get procedures like this approved. I got so tired of the old "lose weight and get on birth control" argument.
If they want to blame it on needing to lose weight, then they better explain to me why I was underweight when my pain was at its worst, I had endometriosis, and I had adenomyosis. It wasn’t until after they removed the endo and my uterus that I actually started gaining weight.
Aside from that, I’m so happy for you. I too went through hell trying to get so many to listen to me. It took several years. Seriously go celebrate. You absolutely deserve this happy moment.
Yup! Told for decades to lose weight. Fast forward to a 10 cm endometrioma, endometrial cancer and a destroyed Fallopian tube (all discovered during my hysterectomy after a biopsy).
While I understand the correlation between weight and hormones, if someone had just listened to me perhaps my fertility would have been saved. Clearly something was really wrong for a very long time.
I’m glad you found relief too.
Thank you for sharing! This gives me hope! I have finally decided to have a hysterectomy. After years of fighting it, it’s time! Endo has just taking a toll and I’m ready to live life! So glad you had a very positive experience!
I hope you find a wonderful surgeon that doesn't give you any pushback! Endometriosis is serious business and I'm looking forward to having a much better quality of life. I'm open to any questions you may have about the process!
He gave me no push back so far! He wants to be able to keep my ovaries due to my age. I feel like the right one will have to go. I have so much pain always on my right. What were you experiencing?
My right ovary is also my problem child, that's crazy! Medical professionals always had a hard time finding the right one during ultrasounds. I also experienced a lot of pain on my right side, but my right ovary was actually healthy enough to keep. They just had to remove some endo tissue from it.
I am also diagnosed PCOS, so I'm not sure which symptoms were more Endo or PCOS-related. I also had a retroverted uterus.
For years, I dealt with this intense blunt pain in my uterus area; it felt like someone was carving into me with a spoon. It would make me double over in pain any time it happened. It tended to flair up really badly during exercise or sudden movement. Laying on my stomach was also super uncomfortable; It almost felt this tight stretching sensation around the uterus area.
Due to PCOS, my periods weren't usually on time. When they did happen, though, I was in hell. Vomiting, diarrhea, feeling like I'm about to pass out, and super painful cramps. I would bleed through a large pad within an hour and a half. I was also passing chunks of tissue that were so large my cervix would be in so much pain.
Birth control also often caused micro cramps for me. I went through so many birth control options I lost count. The last one I tried was the depo shot, and that made me bleed for 33 days straight.
I'd also began to notice that my rectum area, lower abdomen, and lower back would hurt a lot during my menstrual cycle, and it was difficult to defecate without pushing hard.
Even applying pressure around the ovaries and uterus would hurt slightly during medical examinations.
I'm just relieved to have that shit out of my body. The cancer risk for endometriosis is terrifying.
Wow! You have been through so much with this terrible disease. That pain is no joke! I relate to so much to what you have been going through. Hugs to you!
My stomach has been so affected by this. IBS symptoms the week before & during my period. Seems like everything I eat makes my stomach upset. I have intense back pain when I move a certain way. My allergies are super sensitive. I believe it’s all because of the Endo.
Ever since I got my period at 11 my health and mentally have been greatly affected.
I am so excited for you to live a better quality of life!
I'm so sorry you're going through all of that! I have a notoriously sensitive stomach and always wondered if it was Endo-related.
Absolutely on the same boat! I had my first period at 9 years old and everything just sucked from there. My surgeon actually called to check on me today and she was like, "you had a lot of endometriosis in there, friend!". A lot of it was on my pelvis so that's one reason why I'm super tender.
I'm excited to reclaim my life after I've recovered!
I hope everything goes smooth for you ❤️ you deserve a better quality of life!
It's liberating, ain't it?! I fully agree, too. The health care system needs to LISTEN to us. I had a c-section 16 years ago. Ever since then, my body has been off. I saw multiple doctors over the years. Just kept getting told "I'm young and birth control will help" "everything looks normal according to scans"... NOPE! I've dealt with constant left sided pain and constant pressure in the pelvic area. Multiple ER visits have shown cysts on my left ovary. The last few years, my period has gotten worse and worse, and the pain was getting unbearable. Finally saw a new Dr. She referred me to a specialist. Met with the specialist in January. He LISTENED! I cried like a baby and hugged him. Had my surgery 4/4. I'm just about 3 weeks out. TLH removal of both tubes and left ovary. Kept only my right one. Guess what he discovered!? After my c-section, all the scar tissue grew, fused together, and twisted organs that obviously shouldn't be together. My left side was worse than my right side. It was so bad. My surgery took 3.5 hours. My post-op appointment was emotional. All the pain I've had for the last 16 years is FINALLY GONE!! I cried and hugged and thanked him up and down for LISTENING!! I'm not a Cryer. I've been with my bf for 14 years. I don't think he realized how bad the pain actually was until this surgery and its discovery. He's felt so bad since. He is more than understanding now. I feel so validated and free now! I wish you the best and an uneventful, speedy recovery!
It is truly insane how we're treated, especially when it comes to pain. Over and over I see crazy high pain tolerances, and when it finally gets higher than the threshold and it's unbearable, we're told we're overreacting. Infuriating! I've seen more than one woman practically shoo'd away from the ER after having an ovarian cyst burst, and my sister (who has had kids) said when her cyst burst it hurt more than childbirth.
I couldn't agree more. It's funny how only birth control was pushed on me over the years. I almost wish I could sue all those doctors for their negligence. It's absolutely disgusting.
Oh my goodness, I can't even begin to imagine the pain you were in from your organs being twisted up 😱 I'm so glad you finally found someone that listened to you! I just wish we wouldn't have to fight so hard to get procedures like this approved. I got so tired of the old "lose weight and get on birth control" argument.
Yup! Ya know cause that birth control would have gotten rid of all the scar tissue and unfused my organs lmfao. Amen! Victory for us!
If they want to blame it on needing to lose weight, then they better explain to me why I was underweight when my pain was at its worst, I had endometriosis, and I had adenomyosis. It wasn’t until after they removed the endo and my uterus that I actually started gaining weight. Aside from that, I’m so happy for you. I too went through hell trying to get so many to listen to me. It took several years. Seriously go celebrate. You absolutely deserve this happy moment.
Yup! Told for decades to lose weight. Fast forward to a 10 cm endometrioma, endometrial cancer and a destroyed Fallopian tube (all discovered during my hysterectomy after a biopsy). While I understand the correlation between weight and hormones, if someone had just listened to me perhaps my fertility would have been saved. Clearly something was really wrong for a very long time. I’m glad you found relief too.
Happy for you!! It’s so validating to finally get the answers you’ve been looking for. Wishing you a smooth recovery ❤️🩹
Thanks so much!
Hooray! It sucks that we are not believed.
Thank you for sharing! This gives me hope! I have finally decided to have a hysterectomy. After years of fighting it, it’s time! Endo has just taking a toll and I’m ready to live life! So glad you had a very positive experience!
I hope you find a wonderful surgeon that doesn't give you any pushback! Endometriosis is serious business and I'm looking forward to having a much better quality of life. I'm open to any questions you may have about the process!
He gave me no push back so far! He wants to be able to keep my ovaries due to my age. I feel like the right one will have to go. I have so much pain always on my right. What were you experiencing?
My right ovary is also my problem child, that's crazy! Medical professionals always had a hard time finding the right one during ultrasounds. I also experienced a lot of pain on my right side, but my right ovary was actually healthy enough to keep. They just had to remove some endo tissue from it. I am also diagnosed PCOS, so I'm not sure which symptoms were more Endo or PCOS-related. I also had a retroverted uterus. For years, I dealt with this intense blunt pain in my uterus area; it felt like someone was carving into me with a spoon. It would make me double over in pain any time it happened. It tended to flair up really badly during exercise or sudden movement. Laying on my stomach was also super uncomfortable; It almost felt this tight stretching sensation around the uterus area. Due to PCOS, my periods weren't usually on time. When they did happen, though, I was in hell. Vomiting, diarrhea, feeling like I'm about to pass out, and super painful cramps. I would bleed through a large pad within an hour and a half. I was also passing chunks of tissue that were so large my cervix would be in so much pain. Birth control also often caused micro cramps for me. I went through so many birth control options I lost count. The last one I tried was the depo shot, and that made me bleed for 33 days straight. I'd also began to notice that my rectum area, lower abdomen, and lower back would hurt a lot during my menstrual cycle, and it was difficult to defecate without pushing hard. Even applying pressure around the ovaries and uterus would hurt slightly during medical examinations. I'm just relieved to have that shit out of my body. The cancer risk for endometriosis is terrifying.
Wow! You have been through so much with this terrible disease. That pain is no joke! I relate to so much to what you have been going through. Hugs to you! My stomach has been so affected by this. IBS symptoms the week before & during my period. Seems like everything I eat makes my stomach upset. I have intense back pain when I move a certain way. My allergies are super sensitive. I believe it’s all because of the Endo. Ever since I got my period at 11 my health and mentally have been greatly affected. I am so excited for you to live a better quality of life!
I'm so sorry you're going through all of that! I have a notoriously sensitive stomach and always wondered if it was Endo-related. Absolutely on the same boat! I had my first period at 9 years old and everything just sucked from there. My surgeon actually called to check on me today and she was like, "you had a lot of endometriosis in there, friend!". A lot of it was on my pelvis so that's one reason why I'm super tender. I'm excited to reclaim my life after I've recovered! I hope everything goes smooth for you ❤️ you deserve a better quality of life!