Medical ignorance and endometriosis

Kate was in hospital suffering severe pain and seven doctors said there was nothing wrong.  After changing doctors, she was finally taken seriously and had surgery where severe endometriosis was found, but she deals with the classic case of needing repeat surgeries





This is Kate’s story ….



First I would like to thank everyone for their stories! I am 22 years old and recently had my second surgery for endometriosis. My first was 2 years ago after I switched OBGYNs and was diagnosed with endometriosis. I had been seeing the same OBGYN (a female) who was supposed to be "one of the best in South Jersey."

 

I had so much pain during periods and even between periods, I was in extreme pain with cysts growing on my ovaries daily. I wound up in the hospital with 7 doctors, including my former OBGYN, each said nothing was wrong!


I left the hospital feeling helpless and to be honest, crazy. I knew there was something wrong but with 7 different doctors looking at you and telling you everything looks normal, I thought I was nuts!

 

I switched to a male OBGYN and at the end of my first examination with him, he looked at me and said "I'm 99% sure you have endometriosis." I had no idea what endometriosis was at that time but I was relieved- at least we had a diagnosis.

 

I had the surgery about a year later and the endometriosis was all over the place. I was in the operating room for more than an hour and a half (normally, these surgeries last about 45 min). I was so excited that my doctor had actually listened to me and found the cause of all the pain.

 

However, even after the surgery, I was having painful periods, so my doctor had me take birth control around the clock, with no periods at all. Even if I had periods, the cramps were not unbearable so I dealt with it.

 

In early March, I started having more symptoms- pain with intercourse and sharp pains in my abdomen. It was intense and completely unbearable.

 

I have been with my boyfriend for 5 years and only back before my first surgery did this bother me. I spoke with my doctor about 7 months later and we scheduled another surgery. I am currently recovering from that surgery; it's been about a week since I had it.

 

I'm only 22 and it feels horrible to be going through all of this. However, I'm lucky to have found a doctor that actually listened to me and cares about what I say. I feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders.

 

I'm no longer looked at the girl who is lying or the girl who wants drugs. I'm looked at as a patient with endometriosis and that feels great.

 

If you are reading this and have not been diagnosed because of the doctors, seek other physicians. It will make all the difference. If I hadn't switched, I may still be in horrible pain and suffering. At least now, even though the endometriosis came back, it's not as bad as it used to be and even if it comes back again, I know I can have the surgery to remove it and be fine for a while.

 

I'm still nervous about my chances of having children but right now, it's not an issue. I'm just trying to get more information from those who have had problems getting pregnant, so if I do have problems in the future, I will know how to deal with it.

 

This disease is frustrating but I'm trying to deal with but I'm not letting it control my life. I hope everyone else with it can find some peace. It also helps to know about what your dealing with so do the research and look at pictures. The more you know, the better things will seem. Thank you all for your stories and thank you for taking the time to read mine! 



You might like these








As featured in: