I have endometriosis and I'm scared
For the past ten days my body reminded me that I should not have shrugged off the early symptoms I experienced in December. Previously, my pain and discomfort lasted only one or two days at a time, once or twice per month. Not great, but that's something I could handle.
But this month it got worse. Way worse. I was in such despair that I had no choice but to start taking hormonal birth control to mask my symptoms, even though the disease may continue to progress.
How could this happen to me? I'm active. I eat a low inflammatory diet because I found out a decade ago that I cannot tolerate gluten. I don't drink alcohol, and I cut out the dairy I was eating in the form of Greek yogurt. So, I take such good care of my health. Yet here I am now with an inflammatory pelvic disease that remains poorly understood. This time last year I was grappling with iron deficiency, something that I would rather have right now in hindsight.
Thankfully the hormonal birth control has relieved me from a lot of my pain without many side effects from the pill itself (so far). However, I still have IBS-like symptoms that make me almost dread eating for the discomfort I experience afterwards. I haven't felt like my normal self since this traumatizing flare.
The worst part is that I am going on the most important trip of my life in a month, which I even considered canceling before I got on the pill because the pain was so debilitating. I should be excited now and relieved that I'll be able to function for it, but all I can think about is how my endometriosis might flare and ruin a lot of my experience. Will an endometrioma rupture while I'm abroad?
Ultimately, I know I'm stressing myself out by agonizing over my condition like this, which I know increases inflammation and only makes things worse. I can't mope about my endometriosis every night, but I still do.
All I can do now is continue taking the pill, be extremely picky about my diet, do some pelvic floor therapy, and take supplements that may help a bit so that I have a chance of feeling like my normal self again sometime before I leave. I have a doctor's appointment later this week and hope to receive some assurance that everything will be okay until I can have surgery sometime after I return.