Endometriosis and Pregnancy

I've been meaning to check out some forums and see what other endo women have experienced with pregnancy. I finally got it done this morning and I cannot stress to you enough what a wave of relief washed over me. I'm still having problems with spotting and pain. Guess what? Totally normal with preggo endos. So is my hyperventilating, giddiness, and the easing up of a lot of my symptoms as the pregnancy progresses. Reading the words of the actual experiences of these women felt like if there was a voice in my head reading my biography. AMAZING! Finally, I feel understood and not like if I'm going crazy or being too negative or bothering anyone. FINALLY.

Remember when I said I live in a third world country? I've been misdiagnosed and placed on incorrect prescription medication countless times. The best one? I've always had a small frame and was closer to pencil thin, especially when I was younger (before puberty and hormones and constant meds took over). I went to see a doctor when I was 12 about my irregular periods, painful and heavy periods, severe menstrual symptoms, and constant abdominal pain. The nurses took one look at me, pinched my skeletal arms and started a conversation about how girls these days are killing their bodies to look thin. I assured them that I was a hearty eater, and my body was just built the way it was. The doctor had overheard them, however, and after taking one look at me, quickly prescribed meds to help me put on weight, increase my appetite, and suggested that I become sexually active to be placed on birth control pills to regulate my periods. No tests were done, no questions were asked, and I was shooed out the door as quickly as I had come in. I've had similar experiences at nearly every doctor I've ever been to. When I was 17, a doctor in NY told me to take two 800mg of ibuprofen every 4 hours. I was supposed to set alarms throughout the day and night and stay on the painkillers like clockwork. Being sensitive to side effects, I asked her if she was sure the meds wouldn't screw anything up in my body or get me sick. She looked at me and said "either take the pills or don't complain about the pain."

It took until earlier this year, when I was immobilized with pain and hot flashes I could barely stay conscious through and rushed to a health facility by Taurus Man to a private Indian doctor to finally suggest that I either had a cyst or endometriosis. I had two ultrasounds in less than three months (was previously suspected of fibroids as well as an ectopic pregnancy), both clear. The doctor read my scan results as well as the results of my blood tests etc and asked a few more questions before insisting that it was endometriosis. It was hereditary and not something you hear about commonly, so I was hesitant to accept the diagnosis. He suggested that I try to get pregnant as soon as possible as childbirth was commonly known to alleviate symptoms dramatically. To my knowledge, no one in my family had these problems, and as I'd never met anyone with it, I was still hesitant. I had done brief research into reproductive problems in my early teens to try to find an answer on my own, so while I had heard of endo before, I wasn't willing to accept that it was in the cards I was dealt.

Enter internet. There are countless forums for everything you can think of, including women suffering from endometriosis. I didn't want another chronic invisible illness, but as I read women testifying to things I had thought were normal or had forgotten about or had simply accepted as part of my life, my eyes were opened. Tons of things that were NOT normal had happened and were still happening to me, and were all part of an actual problem with an actual name. My family and previous doctors were wrong. It was not in my head. As a person with a high tolerance to pain, I was definitely not being dramatic or making a big deal out of nothing, and by the GODS I was not alone! *cue heavenly choir*

Since confirming our surprise pregnancy, Taurus Man has insisted that I see a private OB-GYN. The one I see was recommended by one of my other private doctors, and after some extensive research, his recommendation was then backed by her status as one of the top 5 doctors in the country. WOAH. She is obviously very experienced, very nice, and very good at what she does. So what's my problem? From the very beginning of the pregnancy, I was loaded with questions. Questions I'm not allowed to ask and should not be concerned with. From the very beginning, I've been concerned about my anemia and endo affecting the pregnancy. These concerns were waved off as nothing. There are many symptoms involved from both that affect my daily life to great extents. These were the main reasons I constantly needed time off from work and left when I could not get more time off after Taurus Man's heart attack. I was struggling to take care of him, the house, my own health problems, and the drama from both our families. Now we're adding growing a person to that and I'm being told it's NOTHING? Really?

By November I was fainting a few times a week. Why am I fainting? That makes no sense. Because, dear doctor, I have a health problem that makes me prone to fainting. Why am I having palpitations? Why am I constantly out of breath, dizzy, and collapsing everywhere? Why do I have such bad constant pain? Why am I constantly spotting even when I'm on bedrest and not overexerting myself in any way? This doesn't make sense. Gee, doc. I'm sure it's NOTHING. -__- Forget the symptoms of anemia in there, turns out these are ALL (fainting aside) regular symptoms with other endos. I won't elaborate on the other symptoms, but it feels SO damned good to not be alone in this.

Another frustrating thing was one of the doctors first comments when I told her about the endo. "Well you're already pregnant, so just forget about that." Endo does not go away with pregnancy. I've heard symptoms ease up during pregnancy as there is no menstruation, thus no endometrium to shed, and that symptoms ease up dramatically after childbirth. After getting in touch with a family member recently, I was told that my paternal grandmother and some of her sisters had very bad menstrual problems that sounded identical to some of my symptoms, one sister was deemed infertile from these problems early on despite fertility drugs, and for one of them, her symptoms dramatically eased up after her first child. From what I was told, it sounded very much like endo. So for all I know, it's probably been in my family for generations.

All in all though, the health care in this country is ridiculous. It is insanely relieving to have people understand what I'm experiencing and not have people (like my doctor) roll their eyes in exasperation at my symptoms. That's all I have to say really. *breathes a little easier*