How I realized I had endometriosis and not just severe period pain (part I)

As women, most of us are used to the pain and discomfort we feel in those few days of the month when our cycles take place. For me, periods were never that much of a problem.

I was otherwise healthy, and my dates were more or less regular, and I tracked them each month.

It was only for the past few years that I noticed a big change in my monthly cycle.

The first sign that things were getting different as I was getting older was that my periods were getting irregular. And the other sign that was getting more and more difficult for me to bear, was the pain.

I have a very strong pain bearing threshold (just to give a hint, I have 7 tattoos and I was fine while I was getting them done, did not feel any uncomfortable pain).

I was bleeding at least 2 weeks a month...

But now that my periods were changing, the pain went from bad to really bad and worse to absolutely unbearable.

In fact, the pain got so bad that I would be unable to speak, and even when my kids would ask me something, I could not reply. I started surviving on heavy pain medications, and even then the dosage was pretty high. If I did not take the medication, I would spend the entire week lying on the bed doubled up in pain, my legs bent and my knees up to my chin. Of course, I could barely eat anything because of the pain.

From once a month, my dates now started coming every two weeks, which meant that I was bleeding at least 2 weeks a month.

For the past two years now, I have been bleeding every day, and even if it is not always bleeding, I have spotting and cannot do a lot of the things I would normally do.

I was diagnosed with severe endometriosis about two years back.

What is endometriosis?

The tissue that lines the inside of your uterus is called the endometrium. In case of endometriosis, the tissue is also found outside the uterus and is trapped around the pelvic area.

It leads to severe bleeding, where clumps of tissue also exit your body, and the pain can be really really crazy. It can also lead to infertility and other health complications, along with severe weakness.

In the past 3 months, I have had 2 major operations, where I was placed under regular anesthesia and had to stay in the hospital a few days. Even now, I am regularly in and out of the hospital, sometimes staying over for something or otherwise on medication.

Endometriosis can bring about a lot of changes

A lot of medical restrictions are placed, all of which I am coming to terms with and am finding out days to deal with.

I am 36, have two kids, and I am working as well, which means that I do not have the luxury of sleeping out the pain or discomfort at home. Hardly any of us has that luxury anymore. But I realized that I am not alone, there are other women too who may be suffering from the same condition but maybe are not aware of it.

Endometriosis can bring about a lot of changes, in your physical health, in your emotional health, as well as your social and personal relationships, and I too am going through all of these changes in my life.

The only time I read about someone else with endometriosis was in Padma Lakshmi’s autobiography, in which she talks about how she went through a broken marriage because of endometriosis.

I have not come across anyone personally though, but I will start sharing my tips and tricks that work and that help me lead a normal life with the pain and severe discomfort. I will also share how I am coping up with the changes and how with a little bit of planning at least some of the things can be fine in my next post :).

Read What is endometriosis and why you should know about it