Marimer’s Story (Endometriosis)

I was 12 when the pain started. I thought it was normal, so I tried to continue with my life. I remember I used to sit and watch my friends play in tears because I wasn’t able to get up from the bench.

The pain wasn’t that bad at the beginning, but one day when I was 15, my pain was so horrible that I was hemorrhaging. I thought I was dying. I remember that happened on my cousin’s birthday. I was so embarrassed, but so scared. My dad took me to the closest hospital. They ran some tests, and then my life changed. I was diagnosed with endometriosis, and they had to do an emergency surgery.

I went under BC pills, but nothing helped with the pain or the bleeding. I used to be a happy, active person. Every time I looked at myself in the mirror I was ashamed of what endometriosis had turned me into. I was always tired. I used to sleep 16+ hours a day. My parents took me to a psychologist, and one of them gave my parents the right quote: “Her depression is a side effect of missing who she used to be before her disease kicked in. There’s nothing wrong with that. We all miss part of our self sometimes.”

My life has been pain, surgeries, prescriptions, not knowing who I am, etc. When I was a teenager, I thought my life couldn’t be worse. I was wrong. I decided to move from Puerto Rico to Florida by myself, since my pain got quiet after my last surgery.

I’m currently 20 years old. I’ve been living in Florida for about 5 months. My bf moved in with me 1 month ago. My life seemed so calm, so perfect, until it happened again. I was noticing that every time I lifted some heavy objects at work, I was getting dizzy, nauseous, bleeding, a bit, and I got horrible cramps. I ignored that, since endometriosis likes to play jokes on me, but 2 days ago, I was taking the overstock to the backroom and the hemorrhaging started again. My bf took me to the hospital. They ran some tests as usual and discovered I had a 3 inch cyst the size of a tennis ball, growing on my left ovary. The doctor suspects one of them is leaking, so that could explain the horrible pain.

I’m tired of endometriosis. I’m tired of being tired all the time, of having really painful relationships, of wasting my life working, sleeping and throwing up in the bathroom. I want answers. I want a cure. I feel like no one gives me a good answer to all this suffering.

Marimer
Florida
Submitted 04/18/2015

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.