Emily & Endometriosis.

So as I have previously admitted I am absolutely no expert on adenomyosis but I'm just going to write a quick blog post about what I have found out so far! So what actually is adenomyosis?  So adenomyosis is often referred to as the sister of endometriosis.  It is a condition where the the cells of the womb's lining grow into the uterus muscle.  It can occur in any one who has periods but is actually most common in women who have had children or those aged between 40 and 50 years old.  I struck lucky on that one then.. Like endometriosis, no one really knows why adenomyosis occurs. It has similar symptoms to endometriosis, which include: heavy periods painful periods pain during sex bleeding between periods tiredness and dizziness I experience all of those symptoms from my endometriosis, so it is hard to distinguish between the two and is a possible reason as to why it has only just been discovered.  (Alongside my old consultant not actually b...

I'm no newbie on the whole surgery front.  I've just had my seventh operation and know it isn't quite the end yet. Whilst the majority of my surgeries have been pre-planned, I have had a few emergency surgeries.    Having surgeries in a total of 4 hospitals around the country. "You've had so many operations, it must be so easy now!" No, no it's not.  I've had surgeries several hours long, have extreme scarring on my stomach, had an anaphylactic shock during recovery, had to have a catheter and stay in a hospital for up to five nights.  I also had a severe phobia of needles and used to faint every time I got my blood taken - I have very small and hiding veins so also suffered from many cannulas that ejected!  Once it took 11 attempts to reinsert the cannula! This is some of the scarring on my stomach.  As you can see, I still had all the glue from my seventh surgery in my belly button. With each surgery the risks get ...

As part of living with endometriosis, I also live with chronic pain.  More often then not, this happens daily. I'm writing this post as I'm curled up on the sofa with a hot water bottle and dosed up on Mefenamic Acid and Nortriptyline, I have just come back from a night away where my pain was so unbearable that I was screaming in pain and sat on the toilet with intense sickness and diarrhoea.    I take a minimum of 11 pain relief medications every single day and can find that I need to just sleep, lie in bed and cry the pain out.  Not a sympathy comment, just the daily realities of endometriosis. Here is a body map that shows where my pain occurs.   As you can see, it's spread all over my body.  The pain dominates my left side and can be so severe that I struggle to sit up or even walk a small distance.  Endometriosis truly controls my life.  The pain causes such severe anxiety.  I constantly worry what people th...

Here is my endometriosis timeline.. 2005 I was the unfortunate one who started my periods before the primary school even installed sanitary bins.  I thought I was dying, I didn't even know periods existed at 9 years old!!  I certainly didn't know that having almost a week off every month due to heavy bleeding and extreme pain wasn't the norm! 2009 My parents took me to my first gynaecologist!  I honestly can't really remember much but I remember starting the pill at just 13.  I had my first ever laparoscopy but no endometriosis was found!  I was given some pain relief and just kinda told to get on with it. 2011 I went and saw a new gynaecologist.  This time I was given some a different pill and some pain medication.  I had a hysteroscopy and again, no endometriosis!  They fitted a mirena coil and again was just told to see how it goes! 2014 Everything was going so well!  It was a miracle!  Then i got rushed to hospital a...

I hadn't even heard of endometriosis before my diagnosis and I didn't know anyone who had it or even heard of it. So what actually is endometriosis? Endometriosis occurs in 1 in 10 women and effects approximately 1.5 million people in the United Kingdom.   It occurs when the cells, like the ones found in your womb, are found elsewhere in your body.  The picture below shows this a little more clearly. These cells react every month to your menstrual cycle and bleed but this blood has no way of escaping the body and can cause inflammation, pain and the formation of scar tissue. Endometriosis is a chronic condition with no specific cause and no cure.  This condition can result in a whole range of symptoms, such as: Chronic pain Lack of energy Depression and isolation Pain during sex Infertility Heavy and painful periods Painful bowel movements I've experienced all of these things and more on a daily basis for almost 13 years ...

I'm Emily and I'm a 22 year old who lives between Manchester and Nottingham as I'm training to be a Primary School Teacher. I've had problems with my periods since they started when I was 9 years old and eventually got a diagnosis of endometriosis in 2015. Most days living with endometriosis can be endless but I'm slowly learning how to be brave and strong whilst living with this everyday and through this blog I kinda hoping to be able to help others too.