Don’t Let Doctors Dismiss You. Endometriosis is Serious.
They told me this pain was normal.
Living with chronic pain is one of the hardest pills to swallow. But being told to live with it while also not knowing it’s root cause is even worse.
From the age of 13, I’d always had bad periods. They were heavy and so painful that I would throw up every time I started.
It was awful. But I was told by my doctor that it was normal.
So I took some Tylenol and used a heating pad until it was the end of my 8 day hell cycle.
Until I turned 19.
At this point, my pain was so much worse. It was no longer just when I was on my period, it was every day. Well, every day that I was somewhat active.
I couldn’t go to the gym or even walk through a grocery store without the pain flaring up and taking me out for the rest of the day.
My mom suggested I see a doctor and mention endometriosis, a chronic condition that almost every woman in my family has suffered from.
I was afraid to talk to a doctor about this. I thought they would tell me it was normal. But I did go, once I turned 21.
I told my doctor about it during my first pap smear. She said that it was concerning, so we began the tests. After some blood work and two ultrasounds, all they could find was a cyst on my ovaries. But it wasn’t big enough to cause the pain I was experiencing, according to my doctor.
So, it was time to discuss a laparoscopic procedure.
I felt so hopeful. I thought they were taking my concerns seriously.
So we did the surgery.
They didn’t find anything.
Waking up from that surgery and hearing the news that they didn’t find a reason for my pain was discouraging. My heart sank and I cried.
Trust me, I didn’t want anything to be wrong with me. But I just wanted an answer. Any reason why I was experiencing this pain.
At the follow up appointment, the surgeon said he didn’t find anything and warned me not to start taking opioids to aid the pain. I wasn’t taking opioids, nor had I even considered taking them.
Then, he said something that shocked me and my partner.
“You probably just have a certain level of pain that’s normal for you. You’ll have to learn to live with it.”
What?
Throwing up from how much pain I’m in, is not normal.
But that was my answer, so I started Nexplanon, as the doctor suggested, and I went home.
I was told the Nexplanon implant would help with my pain.
After a year and a half, I still wasn’t feeling better. So I got it removed.
They put me on the pill. My pain still never got better.
In fact, over the course of another two years, my pain got unbelievably worse.
At this point, I was in pain all the time. It effected my sleep. It effected my work performance. It effected my mental health.
I was taking Tylenol or Mortin every day, usually multiple times a day. At one point, these pain relievers were not enough to take this pain away.
So I went back to the doctor.
I told her about how bad I had gotten since our last visit. I wanted to do another laparoscopy. Surely if the pain had gotten this severe, there had to be something going on.
The doctor consulted with the surgeon and I came back on another day.
The doctor told me, “the surgeon said he wouldn’t do another procedure right now. He wants you to wait a year and come back. If the pain hasn’t gotten any better by then, we’ll do another laparoscopy.”
So I have to live in pain for another year? He thinks this pain is going to magically disappear?
I started looking for another doctor, immediately.
I was desperate for answers.
I spoke to a new doctor who said that because my pain had grown so severe over the past two years, he wanted to do the procedure as soon as I was ready and able to.
So we did it a month later.
He found endometriosis.
In fact, he didn’t understand how my doctor didn’t see it during the first procedure I had. He also didn’t understand why they put me on Nexplanon or the pill I was still taking at this point.
He switched me to a different pill that he explained was designed to help with the pain.
He also explained my medical options moving forward.
I am so thankful that I found a doctor who listened to me and didn’t brush off my concerns as “normal girl pain”.
You know your body better than anyone else.
Don’t ever give up on getting the answers you deserve.
