It's Been A While..

Well, it's been quite some time since I've wrote a blog post. That was not my intention, I promise. With the combination of stress and illness, I just have had no desire or energy to write. But I'm here now, and ready to spill. This past Monday, I finally had a colonoscopy and endoscopy done to check out my insides! I've been waiting to have these procedures done for months. No, it wasn't pleasant but it's definitely a beneficial step towards better health. On the downside, I don't get a full work-up of my results for another two weeks. All I know about the procedures thus far, is that there was nothing 'too serious that they could see' but I do know that some samples were taken from my stomach and intestines for biopsies. I'm praying that the biopsy results don't come back with anything too scary but at the same time, I need to know what's going on. So, after my results come back, if there is nothing that explains my pain over the last few months, I'll be booking a laparoscopy surgery to check up on my Endometriosis.

Endometriosis can be extremely frustrating; mainly because, you have absolutely no idea what it's doing to your body or where it's happening, until you're cut open. Which just sucks. It mean's fasting and bowel prep, laughing gas and having people poke and prod at you, waking up in pain and having weeks of best rest afterwards. I am overdue for a laparoscopy, my last one was almost four years ago now. That was when I was officially diagnosed with Endometriosis, although it was clear that I was suffering from it beforehand. As it has been four years since my last surgery, endometriosis has likely grown back. My Internal Medicine specialist suggested that if nothing comes up in my colonoscopy/endoscopy results, my recent pain might actually be caused by endometriosis. 


The thing that confuses me about that is that my pain caused by endo has always been the same type of pain. I get menstrual pain (cramps) but more intense (very intense) and leg pain (feel's like a charlie horse or growing pains, or both combined). Once in a while, there's other things thrown in there but those are the main two symptoms I experience. The pain I've had lately, I never thought could be endo related. But my specialist explained to me that if endo were to grow (for example) on my bowels, the pain wouldn't necessarily present in the same way. It wouldn't feel like menstrual pain, it would probably feel more like heartburn, indigestion, intestinal inflammation, etc. Which is what I've been experiencing.


So lately, because of all of these discussions with my doctors and specialists; I'm really hating on endometriosis and wishing that there was more recognition of this horrible disease and the struggles it causes. March is endometriosis awareness month and I want to encourage everyone to represent your endo-warrior strength and spread the word!