| A little bit about myself |
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| Hi - As I have said my name is Kristi and I am 24 years of age. I live in a small town in Central Alabama & am happily married with one child. In my teenage years I remember my periods being very painful to the point of having to come home from school. The cramps was just awful. At the time I felt that it was normal, but in time I learned that the pain I was having wasn't. I found out in 1999 that I had Endometriosis. My symptoms included lower back and leg pain, abdominal cramps & irregular periods. Like so many others, I went mis-diagnosed for so long. I went thru several doctors to try to find one who would listen to me. Finally I found that one . He sat and listened to me and told me he wanted to rule out a few things first. I did find out that I had PCOS, which explained my irregular periods, weight gain & hair growth. Then he thought that the best thing for me to do was have a Lap done(Lapraoscopy is the abdominal exploration using a type of endoscope called a laparoscope. This is generally done as an outpatient procedure using a lighted optical tube through the incision of the navel. Also used with laser surgery to vaporize adhesions, cyst and endometrial implants.) I will be the first to say that I was scared to death. I thought of backing out so many times. All I could think about was what if they go in and can't find where my pain is coming from, then what?? However, I didn't back out and went ahead with the surgery. I remember waking up in recovery and my doctor telling me that he understood why I was in so much pain - Endometriosis and I had alot of adhesions. Not knowing alot of Endo. I had hoped that the surgery would solve my problems, but of course it didn't. Within months I was back in my doctors office hurting. We talked about some of the medicines that I could try and the only one that I would agree to was Danazol. Luckily I didn't have alot of side effects from it and it did help with the pain. I could actually enjoy life, but unfortunately it didn't last long either. So again here I was with no answers to my pain. I felt like I was in a hole and couldn't get out. I got so depressed. I decided to try to deal with the pain for as long as I could. There was days when I could hardly walk due to the pain. I tolerated it for as long as I could. Finally I decided to go to a Endometriosis Specialist and I found one in Atlanta, Georgia, known as Dr. Lyons. I made an appt. and let me tell you that everyone in his office is great. They treat you with so much respect. We went in his office and talked awhile and then he wanted to do an ultrasound and he did. Afterwards he also told me that he thought I had Adenomyosis. He recomended a hysterectomy due to my severity of Endometriosis and possible Adenomyosis. . He didn't want me to decide right away. He said go home and think about it with your husband. So we did and came to the conclusion being that we already had one child that if a hysterectomy would make me feel better to go ahead and do it. I first wanted to talk to my regular gyn. and he agreed with Dr. Lyons and said he would perform the surgery if I wanted him to. I decided to let him do the surgery since it was closer to home and he had done my previous surgery. The day of my surgery I remember so well, the day I lost everything, knowing that within a couple of hours I would wake up and never have the chance to have any more children. I kept trying to think about the one and only good thing about the surgery, being able to wake up every morning not worrying if this was going to be a good or bad day. The surgery went well and he found endometriosis again and also adhesions. It took awhile to get my energy back but it did. Emotionally I went thru some rough times, I would just cry to even see a baby. I felt so empty inside. I went back to work in 4 weeks and was doing pretty good. I thought everything was great and that I had made the right decision, however I know now that everything isn't great. The pain had returned along with painful intercourse and bleeding afterwards. I have sat and cried and cried not knowing what to do. I know its hard on my husband also because he doesn't know exactly what to say or do, it isn't fair to him or my family. I am now trying to avoid caffenine and sugars and it has helped some with the pain. I am also taking hormones to try to shut my ovaries down for awhile, (My ovaries was left in due to my age), however I am looking at the possibility of having to have them taken out. At the time of my decision I thought that maybe if I had the hysterectomy it would cure me. I wished I could go back but unfortunately I can't. I feel that I made my decision to quickly - hoping that I could eventually be "Pain Free". By no means am I trying to put the blame off on my doctors because they talked over everything with me and it was a decision I made. If there is anyone out there considering hysterectomy, please think about it and consider all your options.. I have heard several stories where it did help, however there are also alot of stories like myself. ~ I know that with the Lord above helping me & us, I will and we will get thru this!!!! Also, it is very important that you find the right doctor. It will make all the difference in the world. You are the only one who knows how you are feeling and you need to be able to explain it to him/her. Remember you deserve the BEST! I am also very fortunate to have a wonderful Husband, Son, Family & Friends, who have stood beside me no matter what. I owe them all a big THANK YOU!!!!!! They are truely a blessing.. |
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