As we are nearing the end of March I reflect on living with Endometriosis. It is a crippling disease that affects 1 in 10 women, with symptoms ranging from heavy periods to infertility.  

Now you may be asking what is Endometriosis? Endometriosis is a disease in which the tissue like the lining of the uterus grows outside of the uterus. The symptoms usually with endometriosis are heavy bleeding, painful menstruation cramps, painful urination, pain with intercourse, and infertility.  

I personally have been dealing with endometriosis for over 10 years now, I started having the Endo symptoms when I was 13 years old. Most of the time the painful cramps would make me skip school because I could not deal with them. At the age of 15, I decided to visit a gynecologist to see the root of my painful cramps, he did not take my complaints seriously and told me to take more painkillers which weren’t really helping me. In 2018, I went to another gynecologist who took my complaints seriously and immediately suspected I had endometriosis. Two days after visiting him I had laparoscopy surgery to confirm if I had endometriosis and if I was infected with endometriosis. I felt relieved that I was diagnosed but also sad from the extensive research that I have done, I knew that endometriosis is a chronic illness that has no cure.  

I started immediately after my surgery with 9 months of hormone treatments. I had to take a monthly injection of Lupron (lucrin). The side effects of Lupron were so horrible. I had hot flashes, drowsiness, difficulty sleeping, joint pain, dizziness, and a change in sexual drive. All of these and I was only 18, trying to navigate life with an illness like this is extremely hard because people often think that it is only a menstrual problem but no it can affect your entire body because it can attach itself to other body parts. 

One thing I learned about this illness is that it affects your physical health, mental health, and social life, especially for close relationships that sometimes have a tough time understanding why you are always sick. Still to this day, I must constantly explain this illness because people do not shed enough light on it. One thing I can say is each one of us that has endometriosis needs to continue advocating for ourselves and keep bringing awareness. Endometriosis awareness is not only in March but every day.