Thank you Edelweiss Study for sponsoring this post. Be sure to visit the Edelweiss Endometriosis Study landing page to see if you or a loved one qualifies to participate.
Oh, endometriosis, where do I even begin? I remember it clearly. I was in junior high, sitting in science class, when I suddenly felt that gush of blood. I knew. I immediately told my seat mate that I felt a leak. She was so nice that she went up to our teacher and whispered to her what had happened. Our teacher then told the class to take a break from the lesson with a quick meditation. She asked everyone to close their eyes and start deep breathing. She signaled to me to go. So I grabbed my things, called home, and waited to be picked up. My mini accident, except for the embarrassment, didn’t seem like a big deal at the time. But little did I know it was about to get worse.
My Endometriosis Journey
I got home from school. Aside from the heavy flow I was experiencing, I felt okay and normal. So when my Dad suggested to eat out for dinner and do a little bit of shopping to cheer me up, I was game. I was so excited. When we got there, I started to feel dizzy, weak, and nauseous. I couldn’t eat what I ordered and had no idea why. I realized I have been changing my pads way too often and that they were heavily soaked. I headed to the washroom with my Mom and changed again. But as soon as we came out, I felt another heavy gush and the blood started to drip through my legs. I felt weaker, looked pale, and was feeling so cold. Luckily there was a clinic and available doctor in the shopping center. But after having checked my stats, the doctor advised my parents to take me to the ER right away because I was running out of blood.
I was admitted to the hospital and had a blood transfusion. But after I recovered, we didn’t get a clear explanation on what had happened to me other than “hormonal imbalance.” I was only prescribed birth control pills to regulate my menstrual cycle. It took another incident in college, a couple of years of extremely painful periods, over a year of trying to conceive, and a laparoscopy before I was finally diagnosed. Endometriosis. Endo… what?
What is Endometriosis?
Endometriosis is a poorly understood chronic illness that is actually more common than we think. It can affect any female who has menstrual cycles. In fact, it is estimated that 1 in 10 women are affected during their reproductive years. The most common symptom is moderate to severe pain during period. But there are a number of other symptoms that go with it.
Endometriosis is a recurring condition where the endometrium tissue (the one that lines your womb to prepare for a baby) also grows elsewhere outside the womb – in your tubes, around the intestine, etc. This is a problem because this tissue is the one that breaks down during your period when you don’t get pregnant. Since it grows outside the womb and in other places nearby, there’s no way for it to get out. It’s trapped. So it swells, becomes scar tissue, sticks to your organs, blocks passageways, causes infertility and gives you so much pain during that time of the month.
I’m sharing this with you because we need to spread more awareness on this issue. So many women suffer in silence. I HEAR YOU! You are not alone!
So many are left in the dark. So many don’t know how to deal with endometriosis. But I’m here to share that there are clinical trials being done right now to help us. One of which is the Edelweiss study which can help drive progress towards more successful treatment options.
I can’t tell you enough how frustrating it is to deal with the symptoms of endometriosis. We should be called warriors because of the endometriosis pain we deal with on a regular basis. More research is definitely needed. That’s why participating in these studies like the Edelweiss study can greatly help us and the rest of our endometriosis sisters! Please click this link if you’re suffering, or know someone that is!
My Extreme Stage of Endometriosis
In 2011, about 14 years after the first incident, I was diagnosed with an extreme case of endometriosis (between Stages 3 and 4). I had a lot of scar tissues inside. Which caused me really painful periods and heavy bleeding. They became worse where the pain lasted longer and also caused my stomach to bloat because of the intense pain and swelling. During the worst of days, you’d think I’m 5 to 6 months pregnant. I’m not even exaggerating. My husband is probably the only one who has seen me in this condition because during those times, I could hardly function. I’m just laying in bed in pain, treating the symptoms with pain killers, hot tea, healthier diet, and whatever can distract me from the pain – a comedy show or even a mobile game.
I’ve had surgery done to remove them. But after a while, they grew back. Endometriosis is a recurring condition with no medical cure. So it’s really important to find treatment options that can help improve the quality of life.
Endometriosis can really affect your life and interrupt your day-to-day activities. It had definitely changed mine, leaving me with not just pain, but causing infertility too. I take comfort in my pups and a very supportive husband.
So I hope this Study for Women with Endometriosis can help you out and reduce your endo pain in the process. Hang in there. We’re in this together.
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