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ORIGINAL: MistressHolly71

I'm writing a term paper on endometriosis & it's suppose to from the point of view of a) someone has it or b) someone who has a friend or relative with it.  I don't have it & I don't know anyone has it.  I'm doing lots of research on it but some of what I need isn't in books.  What's it like to have it?  How does it affect your life?  What types of things affect the pain levels (good & bad)?  Anything that will give me some insight will be appreciated.

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ORIGINAL: MontrealPhoenix

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ORIGINAL: MistressHolly71

I'm writing a term paper on endometriosis & it's suppose to from the point of view of a) someone has it or b) someone who has a friend or relative with it.  I don't have it & I don't know anyone has it.  I'm doing lots of research on it but some of what I need isn't in books.  What's it like to have it?  How does it affect your life?  What types of things affect the pain levels (good & bad)?  Anything that will give me some insight will be appreciated.

Sure, what do you want to know? Pain, horrible, it lead to anemia so bad my hemoglobin dropped to 91 at one point (normal 120-160 for those who don't know). What else do you want to know?
 
Phoenix

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ORIGINAL: MistressPav

endometriosis.org


It acts like cancer but IS NOT carcenogenic.  The tissue problems can spread to other organs such as lungs and the brain.  It causes severe cramping during menses and can cause infertility issues. 

According to my doctor, it's more of an inconvenience than a real 'problem'.  I had endometriosis surgery last month and I'm all healed up.  Only problem I have noticed is my bladder seems to be a teeny bit weak since they went in and probed around in there.  Gotta work my PC muscle harder now.  =)

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ORIGINAL: PanthersMom

i had it.  lost an ovary too when they did my hysterectomy.  it was hell.  i had both the type that spreads in the body but the type that grows between the muscles that make up the uterus from what the doc told me.  never knew it could do that until then.

PM

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ORIGINAL: MistressHolly71

What's it like to have it? 

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How does it affect your life? 

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What types of things affect the pain levels (good & bad)? 

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Anything that will give me some insight will be appreciated.

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ORIGINAL: BitaTruble

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ORIGINAL: MistressHolly71

What's it like to have it? 

It's not the worst chronic illness, but it, at times, is extrodinarily painful. I've had a few surgerys in my life, been in a couple of car accidents, broken a few bones here and there and given birth .. none of it compares to the pain of the endo. Not even close. Sort of like someone punched a hole into your stomach, grabbed your ovaries and twists them around with scissorhands. I'm also now sterile as are a lot of other women with endo. The pain of not being able to bear more children was pretty harsh, but I've got my son and daughter and I'm blessed and lucky to have them and really grateful now, that I had them so young as I wouldn't have had the opportunity later on. A lot of women don't even have that, so I really can't complain that I couldn't have more children.

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How does it affect your life? 

Well, the backbleeding pretty much sucks because you can never tell when it's going to happen. Being on your period for 10 days or having two periods within a very short time frame tends to drain your energy towards the end but iron supplements do help and god bless whoever invented heating pads. There are times where walking is pretty difficult so chores have to be put off and some months, it's damn near impossible to summon the energy to even get out of bed. ::shrugs:; You do what you have to do though and grit your teeth, pop your meds, (long hot baths are also wonderful to help alleviate the pain) and muddle through hoping it won't be too bad. When I have an endo attack out in public (because they absolutely can hit you out of the blue) that pretty much sucks to because a lot of times the pain is so intense you just sort of fall down to your knees grabbing at whatever is hurting. For me it's usually going to be one of my ovaries or my bladder since my endo is wrapped around them. Generally, I have a lap done every couple of years which blasts the lessions off my uterine wall and ovaries and lasts for a good couple of months, but can't have it blasted off my bladder. I have other chronic issues with my bladder and they preclude lasering so, eh, it is what it is.

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What types of things affect the pain levels (good & bad)? 

Warmth is good. :) Heating pads and soaking in hot tubs both help me. Ovulation and peeing are both bad and intensify the pain levels and when I'm on my feet too much during my period, I tend to get more pain than if I can rest and prop my feet up. Every time my bladder releases, it pulls on the endo which is wrapped from my bladder up to both my ovaries so when my bladder shrinks as it empties it pulls the masses and causes the pain. Ugh. I hate to pee! BCP's will stop ovulation, but they also effect my mood so I opted out of the constant mood swings and would rather deal with the pain from ovulation for that 48 hours or so a month than mood swings all the time. Just a personal choice that works better for me.

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Anything that will give me some insight will be appreciated.

Anything else you want to ask, feel free.

Celeste

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i wonder how many of us were exposed to ungodly anounts of hormones during our pregnancy by our unsuspecting moms.

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DES (diethylstilbestrol) was the first synthetic estrogen to be created (1938). Years later, Sir E. Charles Dodds was knighted for his accomplishment. Never patented, DES was marketed using hundreds of  brand names in the mistaken belief it prevented miscarriages and premature deliveries.

DES was prescribed between 1938 and 1971 (but not limited to those years). It was considered the standard of care for problem pregnancies from the late 1940s well into the 1960s in the U.S. and was widely prescribed during that time. DES was sometimes even included in prenatal vitamins so there are many individuals who were not actually prescribed DES but were exposed to it anyway.

In April 1971 the FDA told doctors to stop using DES for their pregnant patients, however it was never banned. Specifically, the FDA said DES was contraindicated for pregnancy use. In some rare cases American doctors either didn’t hear of, or simply ignored the message. Internationally, DES use during pregnancy continued for many subsequent years.

In the United States, an estimated 5–10 million people were exposed to DES, including women who were prescribed DES while pregnant and their children born during this time.
http://www.desaction.org/