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Hello, my name is Lauren and I have Endometriosis, a chronic/lifelong condition in which cells similar to the endometrium (lining of the uterus) implant themselves elsewhere in the body, wreaking both physical and emotional havoc. You see, these cells act like the uterine lining, yet they have nowhere to shed during menstruation. This causes adhesions/scar tissue to form, which can cause organs to fuse together.
Approx 1 out of 10 women suffer from endometriosis with a full spectrum of possible symptoms, including (but certainly not limited to):
• Heavy Periods. I’m talking blood EVERYWHERE. [I was visiting friends in Austin back in 2015 and I randomly bled through my pants. I had a massive bloodstain that started to leak onto my shirt.]
• Chronic/Excruciating cramps, abdominal, and/or digestive pain. Some women experience pain every. single. day. [My right ovary throbs ALL the time, sometimes making me double over for seemingly no reason]
• Extreme bloat [I woke up one morning looking like I was 4-5 months pregnant… I had to buy maternity leggings because none of my bottoms would fit over my swollen abdomen!]
• Infertility (Endo is the leading cause of female infertility)
• Trouble/pain with waste elimination
• Pain during or after sex
• Chronic Fatigue, depression and anxiety. I could really go on for hours with the possible symptoms, but I think you get the point that this disease sucks and can eat a fat one.
Let’s briefly talk treatment options:
• First of all, none of themare pleasant nor do any of them guarantee relief, even briefly.
• Birth control, commonly: oral contraceptives, IUDs, implants, etc. etc. etc.
• Hormone suppressants that put one into a chemical “menopause.” While that may not sounds too bad, go on and have a look-see at the side effects for a commonly used drug, Lupron.
• Laparoscopic Surgery! This is the current gold standard treatment option (and also the ONLY way an official diagnosis can be made)
• Hysterectomy (which often does nothing to stop the pain)
I think you get the point how much this disease sucks. So here’s my story:
I have always had very heavy periods with bad cramps, but I was told to suck it up and deal with it. In early 2015, an ovarian cyst ruptured and sent me to my local Emergency Department. After that ordeal, my periods became worse all around: I bled through overnight pads AND Super+ tampons every hour or two. The pain was so debilitating that I would become bedridden from camps and nausea for days, or even weeks in some cases. At first, my doctors could not identify the source of these symptoms, and thus began over a YEAR trying to find a birth control pill that wouldn’t send me into withdrawal every month. In this time, I learned I had a family history of Endometriosis (I had never heard it before). At that point, I underwent internal ultrasounds, painful examinations, and ultimately, my first excision surgery. My ovaries and fallopian tubes were fusing to my uterus via “gunpowder” lesions (Imagine a spider cocooning its prey with its web… It’s like that). While surgery went well, symptoms once again began plaguing my body six months later. Now it’s 2018, a year and several months after my first excision. Symptoms are flaring more frequently and become more severe every time. My BC isn’t working, the effects of my first surgery are now gone. I recently found an actual endo specialist to perform my second surgery in January 2019. It is estimated that with a SPECIALIST, surgery results typically last MUCH longer and there’s a smaller chance the endo will grow back (but that’s not even a guarantee).
I am still paying down my first surgery bill (I still owe the hospital several thousand dollars), and cannot afford another monthly medical payment.
I am asking my loved ones to chip in a few bucks to help me pay down my first surgical bill so I can have the best chance at getting my life back from this terrible disease. If you deem this a worthy cause, I will appreciate it more than you will ever know (and am willing to barter photography services next spring, after recovery).
Thank you for reading this, and if you’d like to know more about endometriosis, a good place to start is endometriosis.org.
Much love,
Lauren
Approx 1 out of 10 women suffer from endometriosis with a full spectrum of possible symptoms, including (but certainly not limited to):
• Heavy Periods. I’m talking blood EVERYWHERE. [I was visiting friends in Austin back in 2015 and I randomly bled through my pants. I had a massive bloodstain that started to leak onto my shirt.]
• Chronic/Excruciating cramps, abdominal, and/or digestive pain. Some women experience pain every. single. day. [My right ovary throbs ALL the time, sometimes making me double over for seemingly no reason]
• Extreme bloat [I woke up one morning looking like I was 4-5 months pregnant… I had to buy maternity leggings because none of my bottoms would fit over my swollen abdomen!]
• Infertility (Endo is the leading cause of female infertility)
• Trouble/pain with waste elimination
• Pain during or after sex
• Chronic Fatigue, depression and anxiety. I could really go on for hours with the possible symptoms, but I think you get the point that this disease sucks and can eat a fat one.
Let’s briefly talk treatment options:
• First of all, none of themare pleasant nor do any of them guarantee relief, even briefly.
• Birth control, commonly: oral contraceptives, IUDs, implants, etc. etc. etc.
• Hormone suppressants that put one into a chemical “menopause.” While that may not sounds too bad, go on and have a look-see at the side effects for a commonly used drug, Lupron.
• Laparoscopic Surgery! This is the current gold standard treatment option (and also the ONLY way an official diagnosis can be made)
• Hysterectomy (which often does nothing to stop the pain)
I think you get the point how much this disease sucks. So here’s my story:
I have always had very heavy periods with bad cramps, but I was told to suck it up and deal with it. In early 2015, an ovarian cyst ruptured and sent me to my local Emergency Department. After that ordeal, my periods became worse all around: I bled through overnight pads AND Super+ tampons every hour or two. The pain was so debilitating that I would become bedridden from camps and nausea for days, or even weeks in some cases. At first, my doctors could not identify the source of these symptoms, and thus began over a YEAR trying to find a birth control pill that wouldn’t send me into withdrawal every month. In this time, I learned I had a family history of Endometriosis (I had never heard it before). At that point, I underwent internal ultrasounds, painful examinations, and ultimately, my first excision surgery. My ovaries and fallopian tubes were fusing to my uterus via “gunpowder” lesions (Imagine a spider cocooning its prey with its web… It’s like that). While surgery went well, symptoms once again began plaguing my body six months later. Now it’s 2018, a year and several months after my first excision. Symptoms are flaring more frequently and become more severe every time. My BC isn’t working, the effects of my first surgery are now gone. I recently found an actual endo specialist to perform my second surgery in January 2019. It is estimated that with a SPECIALIST, surgery results typically last MUCH longer and there’s a smaller chance the endo will grow back (but that’s not even a guarantee).
I am still paying down my first surgery bill (I still owe the hospital several thousand dollars), and cannot afford another monthly medical payment.
I am asking my loved ones to chip in a few bucks to help me pay down my first surgical bill so I can have the best chance at getting my life back from this terrible disease. If you deem this a worthy cause, I will appreciate it more than you will ever know (and am willing to barter photography services next spring, after recovery).
Thank you for reading this, and if you’d like to know more about endometriosis, a good place to start is endometriosis.org.
Much love,
Lauren