Lupron is almost done!!

I have just finished receiving my fourth Lupron shot today!!! I have never before every NOT wanted to take something that was going to make me better.  This medication has been a trip to say the least.  I can not wait for the next two months to get here and gone.  I just want to feel like me again.  I am not even sure what "me" feels like anymore to be honest.  Injection number one made me experience the worst nausea and vomiting I have ever experienced in my life.  About a week before injection number two I started feeling nauseated again, and had terrible headaches. Injection 1,2, and 3 I have experienced hot flashes, night sweats, chills, nose bleeds, and mood swings.  I am living as a 25 year old in menopause and unlike most people I am going to have to experience it more than once.  I am just praying that I don't have to go through this multiple times and that the next 2 months of injections pass quickly.  Needless to say I am ready to say goodbye to Lupron!!

My Endo Story

For those of you who do not know what endometriosis is I will give you a quick background as to what the basics of the disease is.  Endometriosis is a disease in which endometrial tissue, that normally lines a woman's uterus grows outside of the uterus.  It can cause an array of problems.  The most common of which is PAIN, menstrual irregularities and infertility.  You have noticed that I  put PAIN in bold letters.  That is because this was likely my first symptom, that I ignored.  I was in nursing school when the pain first started and I wrote it off as being under stress, and related to ovulating or my periods.  I never thought that the pain was that bad, but after talking to other women about it, I have decided that Endometriosis can cause a more severe pain than what I have experienced personally. 

Okay, now back to my story,  I believe my problem first started in Summer 2010.  I was at work (waitressing) when i had such an intense pain that I seriously was doubled over scared to move.  I honestly thought that maybe  I was experiencing an ectopic pregnancy.  The pain was that severe.  However, that pain went away after an hour or so.  So I thought pain is gone why worry about.  I experienced theses little "episodes" once a twice a month, and like I said earlier I contributed it to stress.  

In January 2011, I missed a period, so naturally I think, "I'm pregnant".  So I took about 4 tests and decided okay its just stress.  I did not end up getting a period until the last week of February.  Then March rolled around and the same situation happened again, and then again in April.  After taking about $200 in pregnancy tests.  My mother and sister talked me into going to The Doctor. I called and scheduled an appointment with the Physicians Assistant in April 2011.  

So my appointment roles around and I tell her what I was experiencing, and of course she is thinking I was pregnant as well. So I took a urine test and it was negative.  I took a blood test and it was negative.  So she schedules me for an ultrasound  the next day.  I go in the next day for an ultrasound and the tech legally can't tell me if there was anything abnormal so I didn't even ask him there was.  However, he did ask me if hurt when he poked around on my left side, and I said no, but it hurt on my right side.  So I left this appointment knowing that there was something out of the ordinary.

The following Monday, I get a call from the PA letting me know my results of the ultrasound.  They tell me that they found a mass on my left ovary, and that I was being referred to another Doctor.  At this time i have freaking out thinking that I might possibly have cancer or something.  So I call my friend who is an ultrasound tech and she reassured me that word "mass"  does not mean cancer.  Thank God for friends!!  I then scheduled my first appointment with the Doctor.

My first appointment with the Doctor came by, and he reviewed my ultrasound with me and was very thorough with all the possibilities that it may be.  I together with my Doctor decided that surgery was needed to remove this mass that was attached to my left ovary.  So a month later we scheduled my surgery.

May 26, 2011, was the day of surgery.  My doctor informed me that they were going to try to remove the mass laprascopically, but there was a possibility of having to have a laparotomy. When I came out surgery, the Doctor explained to me what they had found.  He said that I had endometriosis, and he used the words "You were a mess inside."  He explained that they removed my ovary and fallopian tube and the mass was attached to my bowel and uterus as well.  He said that laprascopic surgery was out of the question, and I had to have a  laparotomy.  However, I was still confused as to why my pain was on the right side, and well the answer was nature isn't always textbook when it comes to things like this.  He talked me through everything, what treatments I would have to go through, and the issues that I would have with fertility.  He let me make the decision if I wanted to try a drug called Lupron.  Lupron shrinks the endometrial tissue and helps relieve the pain,. However, it puts your body in menopause, and with that comes all the wonderful hormonal changes that come with it.   I made the decision to do the Lupron.

So that brings me to the current date, I am now halfway through the Lupron treatments.  Let me tell you, its been a heck of ride.   I have experienced hot flashes, nausea, vomiting, night sweats, and emotions like no other.  I am halfway through and I am feeling better, I am seeing that light at the end of the tunnel.  But, that light doesn't escape the fact that I can possibly have trouble conceiving, and that there really isn't a "cure for endometriosis.  It can be an emotional roller coaster for any woman that has to deal with this disease.  When a woman's reproductive organs are under assault, it can be a touchy subject.  So I ask people to just be aware of the things that your body is trying to tell you.  Sometimes its not just "stress" so seek help and pay attention to the signs.  I am thankful to have a wonderful family that "makes" me seek help, and wonderful Doctor and Pastor that is by my side.