Sick of hearing this? "But you don't LOOK sick" Well,
Endo is known as a "invisible disease". Fair enough the tissue itself cannot be seen sitting on your face or outside your body. Could you imagine? If people saw what we know to be growing inside us? Would it make them understand more or would it just mean that they realize there is actually something wrong with us. We are not underestimating this disease ourselves but many other's find it hard to deal with something they can't see.
Say for instance you break a leg (hopefully not) people would see that cast, your crutches, the length of time it takes to heal. They want to help you as much as they can because they realize that you are struggling whilst the bone is healing. Right? You can apply this to most anything someone else is likely to have gone through with someone or even themselves.
I, by the way am in no way comparing having Endo to a broken leg. It's just meant to be used in the way that I believe if you have a condition/illness/disease whatever you will that can be physical viewed by others then they I suppose sympathize more and you don't really have to go into too much detail about how something is affecting you. They understand if you are having an "off day" because they are thinking "Oh she's going/gone through a lot so I'll giver her some space/ try to comfort her" whatever the case may be.
If we had Endo growths actually growing on the outside, like over our pelvic area, around the bowels, kidney's wherever you have it do you not think people may automatically react with a bit more comfort towards you. It's that old saying "if you can't see it, it's not there".
I do not mean to rant today guys, it's just something I was talking about with my Mum a while ago and came back into my head. She suffered herself up until age 32 when she had a partial hysterectomy (left with one ovary). But she still has pain from time to time from that ovary so it was not a complete "cure" for her.
So, finally says you I get to the point.
How do I "COPE" with Endometriosis?
First off there is not right or wrong way to "cope". You will find it difficult at first, especially when you've just been diagnosed. You're thinking, oh but they said it was a cyst, or they told me there was nothing wrong with me (again depending on your own experiences here) but suddenly you find yourself with a diagnosis and if you don't already know what Endo is it get's explained to you or you do research and find out more about this disease and trust me there are a lot of scary words when you first start to research like infertility, hysterectomy, perforated uterus, surgery, hormone therapy.
This can be very overwhelming and you must be careful that you don't overlook your Mental Health whilst going through this difficult time. This disease is physical, it affects us physically, with pain but it also affects us emotionally. The hormones do not help in this. But if you are finding it all too much to take in and feel like you can't cope with your diagnosis, seek out your Medical Professional who should be able to put you in touch with support groups.
Support?
There are many, many support groups online if you prefer talking to another patient anonymously. You can find a link to your right for "Online support for family and patients".
Your family need to know! I know that you may want to pull away because you are afraid of putting too much stress on them, but they are family. Think if it was them wouldn't you want them to confide in you?
There is no perfect way to "cope" with Endo or the pain. There are suggestions on how to deal with pain, outside what your Doctor's have prescribed such as TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine, in particular Acupuncture), Herbal Medicine, Homeopathic Medicine, Naturopathy.
It is up to you whether you choose to try something outside your treatments prescribed to you. But if you are intending on approaching this from a different angle I would encourage you to speak to your Doctor first. You may find they are a lot more open to "Natural" methods than you would think.
Endo is like being on a never-ending roller coaster. You are up and down, thrown around, jerked about and never now when it's going to end so having good support is a must. Whether you find that in your family, friends, partner, husband/wife, online or through a regular group meeting, it's definitely one of my top three things I need to get through my battle with Endo.
Getting people to understand what you're going through can be hard and not everyone will. But if you can maintain a positive attitude (don't all roar at once, I know this is completely impossible at times) if will help your mental health which is just as important as your physical health.
If any one else has tips on how they cope with Endo we would love to hear from you. We are also looking for "Guest Writer's" if you are interested let us know.
Just leave a comment below or if you have a longer piece/ or want to remain anonymous
please e-mail endtoendo@gmail.com or belladonnaheather@gmail.com
Stay strong my Endo Sister's.
