March 01st 2018 is the start of #endometriosisawarenessmonth and the #theendophotochallenge2018 to raise awareness.
I am 1 in 10 women who have this invisible disease. I am also 1 out of 176 million globally. I've been living with my diagnosis since age 18 but my symptoms started right around 11 years old.
My Mum had it too as did all of her Sister's and my Maternal Grandmother. Nearly all had hysterectomies based on Doctors advice back then that it would "cure" them.
I have Stage IV Endometriosis, which means it has spread beyond my womb and sticks to other organs, in my case my bowel, bladder and ovaries.
It effects every aspect of my daily life. Just because I look fine doesn't mean that I am.
Spread love, hope and support please. 💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛 I also have Adenomyosis which is Endo that grows in the muscular walls of the womb. The only way to rid my body of this is a hysterectomy.
💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜 However a hysterectomy is NOT a cure for Endometriosis. Neither is PREGNANCY.
THERE IS NO CURE!
#endochallenge #endoaware #endolife #awareness #1in10 #176millionwomen #marchisendoawarenessmonth #notjustabadperiod #EducateYourself #spreadawareness #infertility #ovulation #stageivendo #chronicillness #invisibleillness #endopain #endosymptoms #supporteachother #dontbeignorant #askmeaboutmyendo
Day 2 of #theendophotochallenge2018
#1in10 #theendophotochallenge2018 👆 Barely touches on how Endometriosis affects my daily life.
Most of the time I am restricted to my house because of the daily pain. The pain meds make me drowsy and sleeping when I can, as I'm a chronic insomniac, is the only way to escape the pain for a short while.
Endo is not just confined to the womb. It can and does grow outside, sticking to other organs like the appendix, gallbladder, bowels, bladder and sometimes the lungs.
It can cause Infertility which can be and is heartbreaking. It forces you to cancel plans because there is no predicting the flares and honestly I've lost count of the friends I've lost along the way due to my condition. Even certain members of my family never understood what I was going through. One actually thought that I was getting more attention when I was diagnosed and got jealous. It can destroy relationships. There is no end to the suffering.
The illness has been compared by my specialist in August 2017 to Cancer. Others have compared the pain to labour. We need more understanding about our invisible condition. If you said that you had Cancer you'd get more help and support than when you tell people you have Endo and that comes from a lack of knowledge.
We need to shout and scream so young girls can be diagnosed as quickly as possible. We need science to find a treatment that works without throwing us into a false menopause or raising our blood pressure, giving us searing migraines, leg cramps, weight gain, mood swings, black outs etc.
Please educate yourself and if you suspect your daughter, Sister cousin, girlfriend partner or wife may have it get to your G.P and get the ball rolling.
Ladies, keeping a diary of your cycles proves very useful when going for your consultations.
There are apps out now that make it a lot easier to track your period, mark down how many days, how long or short your cycle is and how bad your pain levels are etc. You'll find them for free in your app store. Android or IPhone.
Spread awareness, hope and support those who need it. 💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛
No comments:
Post a Comment