The past 24 hours have been real interesting to say the least. I had 2 conversations last night that I really wasn't prepared for. The first one totally caught me off guard and made me take a deeper look at myself and areas I need to improve in personally (which I thought I'd really worked on already!). The second convo was much more important to me, but after the first convo, my emotions were already high, so it didn't help much for the second. Basically, I boo hooed with one of my best friends on the phone for about 30 minutes last night, like the kind where you can't catch your breath. Yeah, that hasn't happened in a long time! But, I needed to talk to my friend for a while now and get things out in the open and after the sermon Sunday when Keith said to "Face your problems head on" yeah, that hit home! So, I'd been praying about it and trying to muster up the courage to talk to my friend and she ended up calling me yesterday instead. Things are definitley out in the open now, I just have a challenging decision to make in the next week or so. I know I'm being pretty vague with this, I'm just not quite ready to share all the details with everyone.
On a completely different random note...
If you don't want to hear about girly stuff - stop reading now!! :)
Most people that know me, know that I have had endometriosis for about 8 years or so now. If you don't know what that is, here's a synopsis...
Endometriosis is a condition where tissue similar to the lining of the uterus is also found elsewhere in the body, mainly in the abdominal cavity. The most common symptom of endometriosis is pelvic pain. The pain is often with menstruation, however a woman with endometriosis may also experience pain at other times during her monthly cycle. Another symptoms is infertility, and some women with endometriosis also experience severe fatigue. The only way to diagnose endometriosis for sure is during a laparoscopy, which is a surgical procedure. However, many physicians are able to "diagnose" endometriosis based on a woman's symptoms and start treatment on that basis. Is it curable? No. But it can be treated, and for many women it is possible to manage their symptoms through a combination of long term treatments.
I've already had 2 surgeries for it, first in '04 and second in '06. In the last surgery I had endo in 4 different areas (uterus, appendix, left ovary and cervix). The majority of my pain is right under my rib cages though, strange huh? After the second surgery, my doctor decided to put me on a GNRH antagonist (2 shots; 3 months apart) which made me go into early menopause for 6 months (Fall of '06). It definitely helped the pain, but unfortunately the pain has started to get worse again. I can usually control the pain with my diet. The main foods that cause pain are caffeine, chocolate, and acidic foods, especially pineapple. So, pray that I don't have to have another surgery anytime soon. I really don't want to go through all that again if I don't have to.
I went to the doctor 6 months ago for my annual check up and the pap smear came back abnormal, so they had to do a repeat one today. Hopefully it wasn't anything of concern, but it was my first abnormal smear, so it caused a bit of anxiety. So, having to deal with that on top of everything last night just made for a blah day. I'm so ready for the weekend!
2 comments:
Awe girl, I'll be praying for you. Let me know if I can help. Call and come over anytime!!! Emily would love it. Glenn has to work all weekend, so if you want to come over just call or e-mail me!!! Caffeine would be hard for me to stay away from. I'm suppose to though b/c it leads to cysts and well i had one rupture last month NO FUN. Anyway, hope you feel better.
Carley, I didn't know you have endometriosis. I have heard it is very painful. We will just all have to pray for you to be rid of it all!! Winnie's daughter, Jennifer, had it really bad as well.
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