Endometriosis Awareness Month

Hey everyone! Welcome back to the fifth week of Musings of a Modern Mermaid! I am so grateful for the response I have gotten thus far, and as always, I am so excited to watch it keep growing!

Today’s post is not photo or fashion related, but rather health related. I talk about my chronic illness on here quite a bit, as well as other women’s health issues, so I thought it would be helpful to give everyone a crash course in endometriosis before we go any further. Yes, this does have to do with the female reproductive system and birth control, but don’t tune out just yet. March is also endometriosis awareness month so I couldn’t think of a better time to explain!

First off, what is endometriosis? Endo (much easier than saying and spelling it out every time) is a disease of the uterus that often spreads to the surrounding organs. It happens when extra endometrial tissue that should get shed once a month during a woman’s period, doesn’t and attaches to other organs. It is also over produced and grows outside of the uterus through out the month, causing many issues and pain. For some women it is very mild and may only cause slightly worse than normal cramps, but for me and many others, it has caused a whole host of issues.

Many of the symptoms that come with endo are chronic pain, chronic fatigue, migraines, IBS, infertility, various hormonal issues, and extremely terrible periods. And I am not talking about those periods most women get every now and then that are slightly worse than normal. No, I am talking about the kinds that land you in the ER because the pain is too much, or because you have bled through 11 pads or tampons in less than two hours. These are the kinds that put women in danger of bleeding out, or needing blood transfusions, and many other issues related to blood loss. Many women with endo are also anemic which is a whole other issue in itself.  For those of you without periods out there reading this, that is way too much and extremely abnormal and can be dangerous. And this what I deal with and consider normal. 

For me, the chronic pain, fatigue and some stomach symptoms is what I deal with mostly. My endo tissue has grown up on to my bladder, stomach, bowels and intestines. These things combined with the position of my uterus (yes they can en up in different positions in every woman) makes for a lot of pain. I travel with my heating pads, pain meds and CBD products (another post on that to come) and live in comfy clothing. Another uncomfortable by product of endo is something commonly known as endo belly, which is way less cute than it sounds. With all the extra tissue in there, a lot of women experience extreme swelling of their abdomen at seemingly random points through out their cycle. It leads to a massively distended stomach that makes the woman look pregnant and can last for a couple days at a time with nothing to make it better but stretchy leggings and flow tops. To be honest it feels like a cruel joke to add to this mess. 

Common treatments for endo are various birth control methods, hormonal shot therapy such as lupron and depo-provera, diet change or a hysterectomy. All these, however, only treat the symptoms and do not actually make it go away. As of now, there is no cure for endo and women who have it will live with it and its varying levels of pain and discomfort all of their lives. In extreme cases, endo tissue can migrate to the lungs and brain and become life threatening. 

With all of that said: LADIES it is so important to get yourself checked out if you feel like your periods are abnormal in any way. Talk a gynecologist. It is not normal to have debilitating periods and should not be taken lightly. It’s part of being a woman but it should not keep you from living your life, and if it does, go see someone who can help. Talk to your friends and get to know what normal is. I didn’t realize mine was abnormal until all my friends stopped being uncomfortable about it and talking about it with each other. It is normal and natural, and nothing to be ashamed of. So get to know your body, and advocate for yourself if you feel like you are not being taken care of, or to make the step to go in the first place. 

Madey