(NOTE: this post is a long one. Also know that there is some graphic material mentioned within this post. You have been warned! Read at your own risk! *giggles*)
I had mentioned about a month or so again that I’m slated for surgery once again though I didn’t go into details about it all. Within this post I’m going to share with you a private side that only my close friends know about.
First a little back ground….
Back in 1998 I was diagnosed with endometriosis and fibromyalgia. Since then I have had 3 surgeries for the endometriosis and this one coming up will be my 4th. I have tried just about every drug that has been known to stop, get rid or help relieve the symptoms of endometriosis since I was diagnosed. I’m one of those women who have always had stage 1 – 2 labor-like pain every month with my menses – since I “became a woman”. And since then, I have been dealing with this without any explanation as to why and when it will leave me alone. That was until I was given a name for the disease that was causing me so much pain when I was finally diagnosed. Like so many other women dealing with this disease I have had specialists tell me that it’s “all in my head”, “have a baby, that will fix things” and a host of other, what I refer to as, “pass offs”. The doctors I saw either didn’t understand or only partially understood endometriosis. The ones that really got under my skin were those doctors that said it was “all in my head” that what I’m dealing with is depression and nothing more. I had made the decision to go ahead with having a child as I knew that the longer I waited the less likely I was to have a child at all. Thanks to a little help from my doctor at the time to boost my hormones and whatever else we did to make it possible for me to conceive – I was having major problems conceiving. Took 2 years with help before I found out I was expecting. In December of 2003 my son, Jordyn, was born.
Now present day… I am having to deal with all that mess again. The pain, the discomfort, the not being able to work, having to have someone help me take care of my son on my “bad pain days”.
Thankfully, this time around I have found a great doctor who listens to what I say and believes in me and my knowledge in my own body and this disease. Thanks to her I’m not being “forced” into taking more drugs to “mask” my endometriosis that I don’t want to take and refuse to take. I want to have someone check out what is going on in there and remove any diseased tissue they can find. I want to know what I’m up against before I even consider the drug route again.
So on October 23, I’ll be having a hysterectomy and a possible partial bowel removal. We don’t know until my doctor is able to see what is going on if this hysterectomy will be full or partial. We are hoping that by removing my uterus that it will stop the progression of this disease and finally let me have a life without this extra pain on top of my fibromyalgia. We are also hoping that removing part of my bowel will not even come into play. However, because of the labor-like pain I experience with each and every bowel movement (I swear some cantaloupe-sized something is trying to extract itself from my body – sorry for the graphics there.. but it’s true, that’s what it feels like)… because of this pain we are thinking that my endometriosis has migrated to my bowel now too.
Depending on what is found and the extent of the damage that is found I might be in the hospital for just the weekend or I might be in there for a week or more. I sure hope it’s not longer than the weekend or even just a week. On the other hand I hope they are able to find out what is giving me “trouble” and are able to deal with it by removing it.
That said, after October 23rd you won’t hear from me for a while. I don’t know how long, hopefully not too long. Once I’m able to sit up for a bit I will take the time to write a short post to update you on the outcome.
And as if surgery wasn’t enough for me, I had to go and decide to move for November 1st! *laugh* Thankfully it’s only next door that we’re moving & it’s looking like we’ll be able to move in just before I head into the hospital. After I’ve recouped some and have had a chance to get my new place in order I will be posting pics of the new place. *grin* Am SO in love with this new place! Hardwood floors everywhere, spiral staircase to upstairs (which is hardwood too!), a jacuzzi bathtub, windows everywhere (and at a height my son can see out of), and best of all… I’ll be able to get my studio set up! Enough said. *laugh* Only photos will come close to showing you what I’ve fallen in love with. *grin*
I’ll be posting a few more times at least before I “go on vacation”. Have done a few new projects that I’ll be posting about… plus my October newsletter issue will be out on the 4th. Be sure you’re subscribed so you won’t miss out on all the goodies inside! *grins*
Until next time…
