i will try to make this as short as possbile but still provide you all with enough of my health history to make an honest opinion about my case. here it goes:
for starters, i am a relatively healthy 21 year old female. the only issues i have been diagnosed with is high cholesterol, anxiety and depression, although i have been able to manage these conditions.
i have always had irregular & painful periods since the beginning of my menses at age 12. for years i was told it was normal for girls my age and that i would grow out of it. after becoming sexually active, i was put on the birth control pill at age 17 for pregnancy prevention and to help lighten my heavy, painful periods. i had done a lot of research on my symptoms by this point and knew in my heart i had endometriosis, although every doctor i saw was unconvinced so i was forced to suffer until getting put on the pill. my symptoms magically vanished.
fast forward three years later: one night my long-term boyfriend & i were having sex when i started to get an intense pain in my right hip. i was doubled over in my bed crying from the agony i was experiencing. i had convinced myself it was my appendix and admitted myself to the hospital. after hours of waiting patiently and numerous tests, i came to find out i had an ovarian cyst the size of a baseball! the doctor prescribed me pain medication and assured me it would go away on it's own, but i needed to find a new gynocologist for a follow-up in 6 weeks. i also decided it would be best for me to get off the pill since the artificial hormones were causing me a lot of agony (headaches, mood swings, etc.) so when i made an appointment with my new doctor, i wanted to discuss with him getting the paragard iud.
i finally made the follow-up appointment after waiting nearly 3 months to see the doctor of my choice. after an intravaginal ultrasound, all traces of the cyst were gone however i was still expereincing pain with sex. since being off the pill, all my previous symtoms returned. my ob/gyn told me the next step was to do a laparoscopy to rule out any signs of endometriosis.
two weeks later, i was laying in the hospital waiting to be taken into the operating room so we could begin my laparoscopy. my ob/gyn is also a surgeon that specializes in endometriosis patients and he was aware of my concerns, so this was a little enlightening. however, i let my anxiety get the best of me. would this help diminish my pain long-term? would i ever be able to have children? my mind was racing. my doctor assured me this would improve my symptoms & increase my fertility.
the operation took a total of 30 minutes and i was lucky enough to have caught it at an early stage. it was a mild case & i was back to work in four days. i had a speedy recovery and was excited to begin my new, pain-free lifestyle. my doctor prescribed me lo loestrin to help control my pain & lighten my heavy periods (the paragard caused me to have extremely heavy and painful cycles). i had my first period since my surgery on october 1st and it lasted until october 5th. i then began bleeding again on october 12th & it wasn't like a normal period, it was thick and dark like the blood i had after my surgery. it is now the 22nd and i have began spotting once AGAIN and am now due for my regular cycle in about four days. i have also been experiencing the same dull aching pain in my hips and lower back that i had before my surgery as well as some pain during sex. although it is not as bad of a pain as it was, it's still concerning to me since it's only been a month since my operation. i called my doctor and he said if the pain continues over the weekend to make an appointment. i do not know how long it takes for my body to heal from the surgery, especially since it was so deep in my abdominal cavity, and perhaps this is the reason i am in pain (ie: scar tissue, etc.) but i am horrified.
i was in high hopes i would not have to deal with this again for at least a year if not longer, but i am now worried the endo is back. i can't afford to take off work once a month for operations. this barely gives my body enough time to heal as it is. i have continued my research & found that pregnancy helps shrink the endo and although my boyfriend and i are in a serious, commited relationship, i don't think right now is a good time to have a baby. he has been having a hard time finding a stable, full-time job (he's been working a lot of seasonal jobs) and i am not making much $ so this seems out of reach at this time. i am at a loss for words. it seems the only way to help me is to continue to have frequent surgeries or start a family & i am not prepared for either.
this has taken a serious tole on my relationship as well as my career. i want to go back to school but fear having to take a lot of time off for my disease. i am young and want to live a healthy, happy life but am having a hard time doing so while in pain constantly. i am sooo scared i will not be able to have children one day. i feel as if it's now or never but i don't want to bring a child into a world where i cannot provide for him or her the way i would like to. i feel lost & confused . . . what to do?
for starters, i am a relatively healthy 21 year old female. the only issues i have been diagnosed with is high cholesterol, anxiety and depression, although i have been able to manage these conditions.
i have always had irregular & painful periods since the beginning of my menses at age 12. for years i was told it was normal for girls my age and that i would grow out of it. after becoming sexually active, i was put on the birth control pill at age 17 for pregnancy prevention and to help lighten my heavy, painful periods. i had done a lot of research on my symptoms by this point and knew in my heart i had endometriosis, although every doctor i saw was unconvinced so i was forced to suffer until getting put on the pill. my symptoms magically vanished.
fast forward three years later: one night my long-term boyfriend & i were having sex when i started to get an intense pain in my right hip. i was doubled over in my bed crying from the agony i was experiencing. i had convinced myself it was my appendix and admitted myself to the hospital. after hours of waiting patiently and numerous tests, i came to find out i had an ovarian cyst the size of a baseball! the doctor prescribed me pain medication and assured me it would go away on it's own, but i needed to find a new gynocologist for a follow-up in 6 weeks. i also decided it would be best for me to get off the pill since the artificial hormones were causing me a lot of agony (headaches, mood swings, etc.) so when i made an appointment with my new doctor, i wanted to discuss with him getting the paragard iud.
i finally made the follow-up appointment after waiting nearly 3 months to see the doctor of my choice. after an intravaginal ultrasound, all traces of the cyst were gone however i was still expereincing pain with sex. since being off the pill, all my previous symtoms returned. my ob/gyn told me the next step was to do a laparoscopy to rule out any signs of endometriosis.
two weeks later, i was laying in the hospital waiting to be taken into the operating room so we could begin my laparoscopy. my ob/gyn is also a surgeon that specializes in endometriosis patients and he was aware of my concerns, so this was a little enlightening. however, i let my anxiety get the best of me. would this help diminish my pain long-term? would i ever be able to have children? my mind was racing. my doctor assured me this would improve my symptoms & increase my fertility.
the operation took a total of 30 minutes and i was lucky enough to have caught it at an early stage. it was a mild case & i was back to work in four days. i had a speedy recovery and was excited to begin my new, pain-free lifestyle. my doctor prescribed me lo loestrin to help control my pain & lighten my heavy periods (the paragard caused me to have extremely heavy and painful cycles). i had my first period since my surgery on october 1st and it lasted until october 5th. i then began bleeding again on october 12th & it wasn't like a normal period, it was thick and dark like the blood i had after my surgery. it is now the 22nd and i have began spotting once AGAIN and am now due for my regular cycle in about four days. i have also been experiencing the same dull aching pain in my hips and lower back that i had before my surgery as well as some pain during sex. although it is not as bad of a pain as it was, it's still concerning to me since it's only been a month since my operation. i called my doctor and he said if the pain continues over the weekend to make an appointment. i do not know how long it takes for my body to heal from the surgery, especially since it was so deep in my abdominal cavity, and perhaps this is the reason i am in pain (ie: scar tissue, etc.) but i am horrified.
i was in high hopes i would not have to deal with this again for at least a year if not longer, but i am now worried the endo is back. i can't afford to take off work once a month for operations. this barely gives my body enough time to heal as it is. i have continued my research & found that pregnancy helps shrink the endo and although my boyfriend and i are in a serious, commited relationship, i don't think right now is a good time to have a baby. he has been having a hard time finding a stable, full-time job (he's been working a lot of seasonal jobs) and i am not making much $ so this seems out of reach at this time. i am at a loss for words. it seems the only way to help me is to continue to have frequent surgeries or start a family & i am not prepared for either.
this has taken a serious tole on my relationship as well as my career. i want to go back to school but fear having to take a lot of time off for my disease. i am young and want to live a healthy, happy life but am having a hard time doing so while in pain constantly. i am sooo scared i will not be able to have children one day. i feel as if it's now or never but i don't want to bring a child into a world where i cannot provide for him or her the way i would like to. i feel lost & confused . . . what to do?
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