Its been a long time since my last blog. In those years I've been lucky enough to marry my best friend, and give birth to my two gorgeous babies who I will forever be grateful for.
I've also had two further surgeries to remove endometriosis. That's 3 surgeries in 5 years. My last surgery was in November 2017, and I fell pregnant with my baby girl in the December. Fast forward 9 months of pregnancy and 6 months of breast feeding and my period was back with a vengeance.
First it was the pure amount of blood loss. I was going through a pad an hour for the first day of my period and leaking through clothes. I was mortified when I met a friend for a coffee and had to leave covered in blood for everyone to see.
Then the fatigue and dizziness started, making looking after little people quite challenging.
Then the pain started again. I hadn't curled up on the floor in pain for quite some time. But here I was again, doubled over in tears on the floor. The pain was so bad, one day I considered going to A&E. That's when I knew something needed to be done to help me live with this again.
I arranged a meeting with my consultant Mr. Griffiths who has been nothing but the best during my endometriosis journey. I'm so lucky to have him as my specialist. We discussed everything from contraceptive to chemical hysterectomy to full hysterectomy. The word hysterectomy at 34 still sends shivers down my spine, but I know in reality I am one of the lucky ones. I'm lucky I'm not one of thousands of girls who have had hysterectomies in their 20's. I'm lucky that I have two beautiful babies when so many women plagued with this suffer infertility. I'm lucky my endometriosis hasn't damaged other organs. I'm lucky.
So in December I am having the coil fitted. My consultant has advised me to have this under general anaesthetic because he doesn't t think I'll tolerate the pain. I'll also be on the pill at the same time in an effort to help reduce the pain and blood flow. I just hope I don't turn psycho with all those hormones floating around my body.
If this doesn't help then we move onto the chemical hysterectomy to 'switch things off'. So I'm hoping the coil will help me.
I'm trying to avoid further surgery whilst Lucy is so young. Jack was two when I had my last surgery and it was so hard for us both.
There has been so much positive coverage for endometriosis recently in the media and in the house of commons. I really think the more people know about it the better. The more we can share our experiences, the better people will understand.
This is not just a period.
This is my life with endometriosis.
I am lucky.
