What are your endometriosis symptoms like?
When I was in Grade 9, I would need to go to the bathroom between each class change because as soon as I’d stand up, I’d “gush” and need to change my pad. One day it was so bad, the pain felt like Edward Scissorhands was living inside of me, my bowels were lose and the bleeding was extra heavy. I left school and while waiting for the bus, I remember feeling very flush and unwell. Next thing I’m on the bus, the bus driver recognized me, he said I was white as a ghost, he helped me on the bus, and when it came to my stop he helped me off the bus. I walked home in tears. My mum took me to the doctor later that afternoon, and that was when he felt the birth control pill would help my symptoms. That was 1979.
What was your journey to diagnosis like?
From age 14 to 21 I must have had weekly visits with my family doctor. He never sent me to any specialists, just tried different birth control pills because he kept telling me “all girls my age have cramps”. When I was 21 my appendix burst, and during the surgery, the general surgeon noted my abdomen had a lot of rogue blood in it, he called in an Gynecologist and it was then I received a diagnosis of Stage 4 Endometriosis. I had it on the bladder, uterus, Fallopian tubes, my ovaries had numerous cysts and it was on my bowel. During the appendectomy surgery, the Gynecologist “burned” the Endo sites. That was 1985.