Endometriosis in College

As some of you know, I began college at the beginning of August and it has probably been the biggest change in my life. Although I love my college and all the friends I have made here, I have been really struggling with my endo pain. It has been as lot worse than it has been in probably over a year now, maybe even close to two years. Going into college, I knew this was a possibility; new food, new environment, new living sitution, etc. However, I didn't think it would be this bad. For about the first month, everything was great. I was acclemating well and really enjoying my time at college. Over the past two weeks, my pain has skyrocketed for some unknown reason and has completely drained me. While trying to navigate my first semester in college, I am also involved in my school's church choir and their all female a cappella group. While I love doing all those things, it means that during my "down time" I am always doing homework and don't get a lot of time to relax, even on the weekends. I have never let endo interfere with my school work (thanks to my parents), so I just have to keep pushing through one day at a time. Even though I have amazing family and friends that always support me, it is still so isolating because I have never met someone my age with endo. Which is especially hard not being in the comfort of my own home. Some things I've been doing to help cope with my pain are using my heating pad a lot, trying to eat as healthy as possible, getting up and moving around as much as I can, getting to bed at a  reasonable time, and knowing my limits. Sometimes I do feel like I'm missing out on fun things my friends are doing, but right now my focus is getting "better" (meaning getting back to where I was before college pain-wise) and listening to what my body is telling me. Luckily, I already had an appointment scheduled with my doctor at Boston Children's for last Thursday, and he said it is likely that I'm just ovulating and my pain should go away soon. If not, I'm going back in two weeks for an ultrasound and another appointment. Hopefully he's right and the pain will go away soon, but for right now it really is agonizing, so I keep trying to remind myself, endo is not the end.

Also if anyone has any tips about coping with chronic pain in college, please let me know!

Happy Endometriosis Awareness Month!

Hey everyone! Wow, it's been a while.  I've been super busy with school and figuring all the college stuff out.  Well, it's that time of year again- Endometriosis Awareness Month! Over the past six months or so, I've seen so many new commercials and celebrities advocating for Endo! It gives me a lot of hope that a cure is coming soon.

As for my pain, it's been on and off depending on my environment and stress level.  This week for example, I'm in my school show that opens Friday, so I know it's going to be a stressful week.  Since I know my stress level and pain are related, I'm going to try my best to stay as calm as possible.  If my pain gets worked up, it will make me even more stressed out, so I'm doing everything I can to keep that from happening.

A new thing with me is that I started getting back to the gym.  Exercise is something that doesn't make pelvic feel great, but I know it's necessary so I don't have other health issues in the future.  I've gone to the gym a lot over the past two months, so I'm really proud of myself.  I normally go for two or three weeks, then my pain gets really bad so I stop going, but this time I'm determined to not let that happen.  Now, I've gone enough that I'm committed to keeping myself healthy and I know my limits, so I can tone it down on a bad day if I have to.

I'm going to try my best to post on here on a regular basis from now on because my schedule is becoming less busy.  Keep on the look out for more Endo related things in the media because that is really helping our community! Thank you for reading and happy Endometriosis Awareness Month and remember, Endo is not the End!

How Endo Affects the Female Body

Happy Endometriosis Awareness Month! I am back again with my mission to spread awareness about Endo because we are still searching for a cure.  Below are real diagrams of how Endometriosis affects a woman's reproductive organs.  These diagrams primarily show the cysts that can grow on the ovaries, Fallopian Tubes, and lining of the vagina.  This causes extreme pain, especially having a reproductive system looking like the last diagram.  There are large cysts, overgrown tissue, and adhesions to a point where the ovaries cannot even be seen.  

Affects of Endo on the Body:

• Extreme fatigue 
• Inflammation of organs
• May cause infertility 
• Extremely painful menstrual cycles
• Painful bowel movements 
• Lower back and pelvic pain

Endometriosis affects the female body in many different ways, pelvic pain isn't the only that comes with Endo.  

https://www.womenshealth.gov/a-z-topics/endometriosis
http://www.idph.state.il.us/about/womenshealth/factsheets/endo.htm

No Motivation

When I first starting having symptoms of Endo, I wore sweatpants to school everyday because all all my pants would press to hard against my stomach.  I didn't wear any makeup and barely did my hair so I just looked lazy. I couldn't even sit at the desks at school because they were so uncomfortable. I would text my parents every single day telling them that I needed to come home because I was miserable  but they never picked me up and I never missed school. I would come home and lay in my bed whenever I had the chance. The only time I left the house was to go to school and the dozens of doctors appointments I had to go to every week.  I’ve started to feel this way again and it’s not something I like. I don’t feel good wearing what essentially are pajamas to school, but I have no motivation to wear anything else. The worst thing is, I have no idea why I’m feeling this way. It’s like it’s a chore to to get dressed and ready every morning. Simple things are so hard for me to do. I don’t know if it’s because I’m always exhausted or if my body is telling me I need to take a break. Either way, I don’t want it to last any longer. If any of you Endo ladies have an tips, please let me know. Thank you for reading and remember, Endo is NOT the end!

FINALLY GETTING NOTICED!!

Endometriosis is a disease that has been under the radar for too long.  Finally, in the last couple days, I have two different commercials for Endometriosis! These may be short commercials, but this is a huge step for the millions of women who suffer from Endo every single day.  These commercials list the symptoms of Endo and encourage women who suffer from these symptoms to ask their doctor about them immediately.  I could not wipe the smile off my face when I saw these commercials because this was really the first time I ever saw Endometriosis getting the recognition it deserves.

One of the commercials was for a study being held for women who have Endometriosis.  Doctors do not know how women get Endo, but they assume it's genetic.  There also isn't a known cure.  This study will help doctors come closer than ever to finding out more information about Endo and maybe even a cure.  If you are eligible for study, please check out the link below for more information. Thank you for reading and remember, Endo is not the end!   

Equinox Study Link:

https://www.equinoxstudy.com/?gclid=CjwKCAiAhfzSBRBTEiwAN-ysWJiANlEMLd_UFOCjUVPc3l4HgFZaouU8SaizbQTxFN8nAm2VC2-fzRoCOi0QAvD_BwE&mkwid=sRTkl7fpH_dc&pcrid=228741802789&pkw=endometriosis%20studies&pmt=p&slid=&utm_campaign=2017-18%20BTRSCTH%20Gen%20Endo&utm_content=Women%20with%20Endometriosis%20Pain&utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=google&utm_term=endometriosis%20studies

Rough Week

This week has been a rough one.  Just after I had an appointment with my doctor at Boston Children's Hospital, I started having agonizing pain again.  This time, it's been very frustrating because it's finals week at my school.  It's so hard to focus on anything when all you can think abut is your pain.  I can't use it as an excuse. My teachers would never believe me if I got a lower grade than I usually do and I say it's because I am in pain.  It's so hard going to school and having to put on a brave face.  If I told anyone what was wrong, they wouldn't believe me.  They would say I'm being dramatic because I always look happy.  I just can't look happy all the time, it's impossible. 

Taking my pain medicine in a hard thing for me. Since Endo is so out of the ordinary, I can't tell if my pain has stopped or gotten better because of the medicine or it just ran its course for now.  Right now, all I can do is lay in bed and try to study, but it's very hard to stay focused. If any of my Endo ladies reading this have any tips to be able to stay concentrated while in pain, please let me know.  For now, I am trying my best to stay positive and focused while allowing my body to rest and heal.  Thank you for reading and remember, Endo is not the end!

I'M BACK

Wow, it's been a long time.  I have been gone for so long because I have not felt any inspiration.  Since I have spoken to you all last, I started a new medicine that left me having awful side effects for about a month, so I was not in the mood for anything.  I want to talk a little bit about this medicine. This medicine is called Norethindrone and now that I have gotten pasted the bad side effects, it is working very well!  Some of the side effects that I experienced are:

• numbness or weakness
• sudden headache, confusion, pain behind the eyes, problems with vision, speech, or balance
• pain or swelling in one or both legs
• migraine headache
• swelling in your hands or feet, rapid weight gain
• sleep probelms
• severe pelvic pain
• chest pain or heavy feeling, pain spreading to the arm or shoulder, nausea, sweating, general ill feeling
• nausea, stomach pain, loss of appetite

Those are just some of the side effects that I experienced and I wanted to write a little bit about to say if you are taking this medicine or other Endometriosis aiding medicines, it does get better and you will not have these symptoms forever even though it may seem like it right now.  

I am going to try to post every week because I really miss it on here.  Thanks for still reading after all this time and remember, Endo is NOT the end!!