The pain inside
I didn’t know it was there – at least, not for sure – until it was gone.
Such is the mercurial nature of this often-crippling, seldom-discussed chronic condition that affects at least one in 10 of those who possess a uterus: endometriosis.
Endo (given it’s lived inside me, I feel like we’ve progressed to nicknames) is when tissue like that which lines the uterus grows outside of the uterus, causing inflammation, infertility, pain and – straying slightly from medical terminology – wreaking utter havoc on the lives of those who have it.
It has no cure, its cause is murky, and, in all but the most severe cases, diagnosis can only be confirmed by cutting you open, chopping it out, and sending it off to the lab to be tested.
OK, “chopping” is overstating it. Keyhole surgery is done by highly-skilled laparoscopic surgeons, but even a procedure termed “non-invasive” is invasive if you ask me. Your abdomen is inflated with gas, a camera goes in through a cut in your belly button, while specialist tools go through other incisions to excise the offending matter.
We know surprisingly little about it – and, if I’m honest, I knew almost nothing about it until, ahead of my own surgery, I eschewed Dr Google to instead put a shout out on Instagram because I wanted to hear real people’s stories.
Two things quickly became clear as my DMs blew up: endometriosis can fundamentally change the course of your life, and far too many of those affected have been poorly served by the medical system.
It usually takes years to get answers. Many are told their pain is just part and parcel of having a period. Being told something that’s significantly affecting your life is insignificant often affects your mental health. Once you
