Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Answer

On Tuesday I had my laparoscopy. Finally, I have an answer to my current discomfort. Endometriosis. I’m thankful to finally have a diagnosis. 2 spots were found during the laparoscopy and they were lasered off. My incisions are small, one in my belly button, one above my pubic bone. With that being said I’m a bit sore and thankful for the medications and sleep. I’m not exactly sure what the next step is in the process. I have already found an abundance of information on the Internet and surprisingly I was linked up with someone through a Twitter post. I do know that I have an appointment in 2 weeks with the doctor and hope to get a game plan together. There is no cure for endometriosis, as with kidney stones. The average age of endo diagnosis is 27 years and most have the disease approximately 9 years before diagnosis.

I never imagined at the age of 26 I’d have these medical problems. Add onto that the medical problems David has...whew, what a whirlwind. However, I am once again thankful for what we do have and many of the decisions we’ve made. For instance, my becoming a vegetarian. After these problems reared their ugly head, I looked at my entire life/lifestyle thinking, “Am I doing something wrong?” With the kidney stones, yes some of my supplements can encourage formation, which I have now changed. However, when it comes to diet/exercise, I’m doing things right. And when it comes to endo, some meats may encourage the severity. I’m not here promoting vegetarianism to prevent problems, but I do know my diet should not cause further problems. Next, David’s and my decision not to have children. We’ve had a strong conviction for awhile that parenthood wasn’t for us. Endometriosis doesn’t mean infertility, however there is a pretty good chance that this could occur. Having already made the choice on our own that we do not want to have children gave me peace of mind. So instead of that choice being taken away from us due to my diagnosis, we had already made the choice on our own. Of course, I do wish things happened in a different order and that David didn’t have to go through a vasectomy, but you can’t change the past.

As with everything, the future is unknown and we’ll take it one step at a time.

1 comment:

Jeanne said...

Heidi,

I know how relieved I was when I finally got my answer. My endo symptoms began at age 13 but my diagnosis didn't occur until I was 23. So I was grateful to finally know what was going on.

I'm glad we connected on twitter. I saw your tweet float by just a moment ago. I'll be retweeting it momentarily.

You are correct that there is not cure for endometriosis. (Yes, there are people out there who will try to tell you about false cures).

As I mentioned to you previously, I too have had kidney stones.

Yes, having both partners chronically ill is a whirlwind. I'm sorry he had such a hard time getting a correct diagnosis.

That's great that you have made lifestyle changes that are healthy before even knowing about the endo. (Some meat has hormones in it that are not the best thing for endo patients to eat).

It is certainly huge that you had already decided not to have children before you even knew about the endo. So many couple suffer heartbreaking infertility battles!

Take care,

Jeanne