Let's get physical!

via

I'm not talking about Olivia Newton John's kind of physical.

I'm talking about the physical effects of endometriosis. The things that made me think that there was something wrong with my body, the things that drove me to go see a doctor (time and time again).

So what were the things that made me front up to the local surgery?

1. Pelvic pain (cramping) for up to a week before my period, which was not relieved with over-the-counter painkillers and a hot water bottle.
2. Cramping so bad on the day before my period, and the first day of my period that I could barely walk/sleep/do anything.

These symptoms got progressively worse as I got older.

There's a few more symptoms I have realised are due to endometriosis since my diagnosis.

3. Fatigue. (While I was definitely aware of this before my official diagnosis, I had no explanation for it and didn't realise endometriosis could cause it.)
4. Random stabbing pains in my pelvic area, at unpredictable times. (If been around me you've probably seen me stop and regain my composure because of these.)
5. Diarrhoea/constipation depending on how my gut is reacting to the endo.
6. Heavy periods (I didn't realise that mine were classed as heavy, I thought it was normal to bleed that much.)
7. Flank (lower back) spasms with severe pain.
8. Bladder pain (when it's full, when it's emptying, after it's empty, when it's slightly full, you name it.)
9. Severe bloating around my period.
10. Nausea

I have also experienced extra symptoms (and although some are mental symptoms, they do have physical manifestations - eg lethargy, insomnia, heart palpitations, anxiety attacks) at least in part linked to treatments I have had for endometriosis.

11. Depression
12. Anxiety
13. Weight gain
14. Breast tenderness & growth
15. Spotting
16. Impaired immunity

So, physically, you can see that endometriosis is not "just bad period pain"! This is not a definitive list of symptoms, just the ones I experience.

Linking up with A New Kind of Normal for Blogging for Endometriosis Awareness.

What it's like to live with endometriosis: Nausea

What I look like at the moment (via)

One of the lesser known symptoms of endometriosis is nausea. From what I've read, the cause of this symptom seems to be a combination of factors, but basically it boils down to the fact that there is a whole bunch of inflammation going on in your abdomen and that does not bode well for your digestive system.

I get at least a few days of nausea every month when I’m not on hormone medication (on the Pill I was nauseous every day, and I was nauseous for the first few months on the Mirena, with periodic nauseous occasionally later on).

I'm currently in one of those nauseous phases. It's been about a week and a half. I bought a whole bunch of food a couple of weekends ago to cook up like usual, but it is still sitting in my refrigerator as every day I head to the supermarket to get some more slightly unripe bananas and another litre of lactose-free milk (or potato at lunch for work... yum). (When I’m nauseous the smell of ripe bananas just makes me want to chuck). I’m not sure why I crave bananas and milk so much when I don’t particularly like bananas the rest of the time, but it’s what works for me and I can't handle anything else.

I’ve had this for a long time – I remember summers in highschool when all I could eat were bananas and milk until I felt better. It's another thing that I thought of as normal, but then realised that maybe it wasn't so normal to have week-long nausea for no particular reason when I was finally diagnosed.

Unfortunately the traditional remedies of peppermint tea and ginger don’t work for me, and the smell just makes me feel more nauseous (probably because I've tried to use it for nausea before!).

On the upside, despite the nausea, I am feeling the most consistently positive I have felt in a long time. I still get lower back (flank) pain about every other day, but the bladder pain is nowhere near as consistently bad as it was. It is so nice to get back to having (mostly) normal, functional days, apart from my actual period. I'm also finding that I get tired less easily, although I am still learning how to pace myself, every day. I'm so glad that I got a second opinion and had the Mirena taken out. I don't want to think about what I would've done with myself if I had stayed on it.