What are your endometriosis symptoms like? Some days I wake up in the middle of the night, in the fetal position unable to move. The pain is so bad is feels like I’m being stabbed from the inside.
What was your journey to diagnosis like? I’ve dealt with period pain since day one but was always told it was normal. I lost my left fallopian tube when I was 19 but was incorrectly diagnosed. When I was 22 they suspected endometriosis but I’m considered high risk for surgery so no one wanted to touch me. From the previous surgery, the report said I was so full of adhesions that it was difficult to distinguish what was what in my pelvis. I just dealt with the pain. When I turned 32 the pain was so bad I could barely function. I went for surgery when I turned 33 to remove my right fallopian tube and a cyst on my right ovary.
What was your experience with treatment for endometriosis been? After my last surgery I had to be on birth control to prevent the cyst from coming back. The specialist said that I couldn’t go for another surgery. I’ve been on many types of birth control to manage endometriosis but none of them worked. The side effects were just brutal. I eventually stopped taking birth control. The cyst on my right ovary came back.
What do you think healthcare for endometriosis in Canada should look like? I feel like women’s concerns are brushed right off. As soon as a female comes in with pelvic pain or pain that doesn’t have any easily recognizable source they should be given the choice to have a laparoscopic exploration done.