Ever since I started my menstrual cycle, I have been plagued with very long cycles and such painful cramps that I’ve had to skip class and call in sick to work. I would drop to the ground on all fours in pain and begin panting, waiting for it to pass and anxiously counting the moments until the next debilitating cramp would come around. For years I thought this pain was normal, and I thought I was going crazy until I saw a gynaecologist here in Waterloo. She listened to me explain how the seven or eight different types of birth control that I’ve tried over the years have barely put a dent in my pain or discomfort. When I explained this, as well as my ovulation pain, the mood swings and other symptoms, she asked me: “Have you ever considered you might have endometriosis?” and my heart dropped and soared at the same time.
Endometriosis
This was a word that I had only seen online, while trying to make sense of the pain I was having, but my previous gynaecologist refused to hear me out when I brought it up to her. It was a miracle to feel like I was finally being heard after 5 years of wondering and 4 years of almost unbearable pain. We discussed it more, and she felt it was likely, based on the symptoms I’d been experiencing. Then she explained that the only way to diagnose endometriosis is through a laparoscopic surgery. At this point, all the joy I felt from earlier was lost. She explained that she would, through small incisions in my abdomen, use a camera to look for these unusual tissue growths outside of my uterus, and that if they were found, she would remove them with a laser. She explained the risks of this surgery, and the fact that some were only 1 in 1000 was slightly terrifying to me. Though I was scared, I knew that the only way I was either going to be diagnosed or check endometriosis off the list of my potential illnesses was to go through with this surgery.
Endometriosis is tissue that resembles the endometrium (lining of the uterus), that exists other places in the abdomen and it can cause pain, infertility and inflammation.
During my next appointment with her, I told her a few more concerns that I had with pain I had experienced, and she was even more convinced that she would find endometriosis when she operated. She then gave me the pre-operative paperwork to fill out. She also told me that she would be able to replace my IUD, which was going to be up for a replacement a month after the operating room was booked. I said yes, mostly because the idea of being put under while my IUD was being inserted sounded like a dream after the pain I’d when I got my first one inserted three years ago. I was feeling hopeful after this appointment, even though I was still upset by the idea of going under the knife, but I was desperate enough to try anything.
The week before my operation, I made sure that all my blood work was done and that my apartment was post-op friendly. Once I had checked everything off my list, I counted down the days to my date with the operating room. When I went in, I changed into the hospital gowns and laid in bed while nurses wrapped me in blankets to try to find a vein in my hand for the IV drip. I took out the last of my piercings, and my mom and boyfriend came in with me and we walked together up to the OR. I said goodbye to the two of them and walked with my IV drip and the nurse into the OR. I lay down on the operating table, the anaesthesiologist asked if I had any allergies, and the last thing I remember as the anaesthetic was hitting me is that the gynaecologist came in and asked me if I was ready. I tried to ask her some questions I had, but the anaesthetic had another idea.
What the procedure looked like
When I came to, I was so groggy and my throat was killing me. I saw nurses bustling around me and I just kept repeating “excuse me,” trying to get the attention of any of them so they could give me some water. My throat was hurting because of the intubation tube they had put down my throat. While I was coming out of the anaesthetic, I had an anxiety attack and asked one of the nurses to hold my hand and she tried to get me to do some deep breathing.
Once I calmed down, I moved into another room where my boyfriend and my mom were able to join me again. Soon after, once I was able to go to the bathroom, I was discharged and I came home to rest, where I spent the next few days recovering.
I won’t lie, I was very discouraged and disappointed that I wasn’t immediately told the results of my operation right after the surgery, because I thought I would come out and know what they found that day. And honestly, that disappointment rippled through me for most of the week while I was recovering. I didn’t understand why they wouldn’t tell me, and I felt really lost because I STILL didn’t have an answer.
Where does this leave me?
Waiting for my post op appointment in a few weeks where I’ll hopefully get some answers. Sure, it may not be a diagnosis, but this surgery was a step towards answers, and I need to hold onto that for now.
I hope this article sheds a light on the process for being diagnosed with endometriosis, as well as what exactly a gynaecological laparoscopy even is. If you have to go through this, stay strong through your recovery, and don’t be afraid to look for a doctor that listens to you, because I’m sure as hell glad that I did.
Photo Credits: Cover Photo, Photo 1, Photo 2