I was finally diagnosed with endometriosis about 3 years ago. By then it was very severe. I had taken many trips to my general practitioners office. I was sent home with the misdiagnosis of IBS (irritable bowel syndrome). Things kept getting worse. I knew inside there was something more, something inside me that wasn’t right. I had a few esophageal scopes done which resulted in a diagnosis of acid reflex disease. Okay I thought, so maybe that’s it, but no, things just weren’t right. Once again, I just knew inside me that it was something more.
I once again made a trip to a new general practitioners office. He suggested I get another scope done and have a colonoscopy. I thought to myself that at my age this was unnecessary, but what the heck maybe they will find something abnormal. I went through the procedure and once again was not diagnosed with anything. Just up my fiber, they said! Of course things just got worse. My best friend and I started logging when my symptoms would really hit. We “Googled” the symptoms and there it was, endometriosis.
I scheduled an appointment right away with a women’s specialist, OB/GYN. He said it sounded like I had endometrosis also. We then scheduled my first of 3 laparoscopic surgeries. The first surgery was to look and see how severe it was. Since I had been misdiagnosed for over 10 years, the endometriosis was too severe to even go through with the procedure. It was then that I woke up in recovery. It was also there that I first heard the most shocking news of my life; the only chance I would have of having a baby would be best through in vitro. I was completely devastated. I grew up taking care of my cousins, and I was so in love with my niece’s and nephew, I was ready to have my own soon.
I was placed on an awful drug called Lupron. It puts you into menopause for about four months in order to suppress any further growths or endo development. I then had a 2nd surgery to remove a large amount of endo. For about nine months after surgery we tried to have a baby on our own. I was told that my tubes actually looked pretty good. I did everything I was told to try to get pregnant, only to have failed attempts.
My endo came back with a vengeance, landing me in the ER. My OB/GYN then talked with me again about my options. At this point I came to the conclusion this was it, if I wanted to have a baby, I would have to do it with in vitro. I was at risk of losing my ovary’s and tube’s, so I couldn’t wait any longer. My first round of in vitro was last month, and it was unsuccessful. I was in severe pain and miserable during the process. I had a 10 m cyst on my left ovary that had grown bigger from the many stimulation medications I was on. We decided to go ahead with another surgery to remove the cyst, along with any other endo tissue. I just had this done 2 and a half weeks ago. Once again it was a painful process. My OB/GYN said things were really bad again, and they removed a lot. This time part of my left ovary and my tubes were bad, which was something I was very scared would happen. I am currently waiting for things to settle down, I want to try for our second round of in vitro in October. All I want is to have our own baby. I have not given up hope and feel it will be my time soon. I just want to get my story out so that women can see the severity of endometriosis, which can lead to infertility. Hopefully, I can save someone from the pain by sharing my story.
I want to also recognize my wonderful support team. I wouldn’t be able to do this alone. With all the emotions and hormone changes, I know this hasn’t been easy for my husband and mother (they took the brunt of it). I love you mom for all your help, along with all my friends and family.
Mandy H
Wisconsin
Submitted 8-24-2012
The informational content of this article is intended to convey a personal experience and, because every person’s experience is unique, should not be relied upon as a substitute for professional healthcare advice.
This story is intended to convey a personal experience and, because every person’s experience is unique, should not be relied upon as a substitute for professional healthcare advice.
