Endometriosis is a pain in my life.

by Joanna
(Geneva, Switzerland)

When I was eleven my periods started and they were painful and quite heavy, but I thought it was normal as I did not talk about it to anyone and none of my friends had their periods yet.

Six years ago my periods got a lot worse and it was no longer heavy, but I would flood and the pain was stabbing and the cramps were horrendous.

I did not only have that but I got abdominal pain, spasms, faintness, painful bowel movement, constipation, nausea, chronic pain in my bladder, frequent uranation, burning when uranation, very painful periods, chronic pelvic pain, pain provoked by movement, painful intercourse, bleeding while intercourse, lower back pain, pain in legs and joints, ovulation pain, very heavy periods, gastric problems, low immunity, leg pain and tiredness.

These symptoms are when I am on my periods but most of them are also chronic. It has a big inpact on my life as I sometimes need to cancel things at the last minute with friends or family or go home because the pain is terrible, and I can hardly walk and I feel tired and awful.

I am on painkillers most days but try to bare the pain as I know taking them is not good for me. I have been to doctors but they have told me that it is normal for a woman to be in pain and that I just should take painkillers. But I am lucky that I have doctors in the family who have diagnosed me.

I get help from the medical websites I find which are very helpful. I have come to terms with these symptoms and have realised that this condition has no cure so I just have to put up with it. I think of other people in worse situations than me. This helps me to not feel so sorry for myself when it gets bad and not to complain about it as much as it is a pain in my life.