In 2019 I had to go to the Emergency room due to a painful stabbing pain I got on my right pelvic side. I got X-ray's, Ultrasound and CT Scan done and nothing. After this everything went down hill. My periods were painful, I had to take at least 100mg of Tylenol for the pain to subside. But that only worked so much. Whenever I got my menstrual cycle I would be bed ridden for a whole week. That's when I started to notice I would cramp bad before and after my period.
Then in September of 2021 that is when all the symptoms started to get stronger. I got a painful stabbing pain in my whole pelvic area - one that knocked me down into a fetal position and made me cry. I normally have a good pain tolerance but this one was different. This one scared my husband. I fell right beside him and he didn't know what to do. In-between crying I asked him to turn on the shower hot. He had to carry me to the shower and had to help me do everything. The pain was not going away no matter what. At this point my husband gave me his vape pen (weed) and that was the only thing that helped.
I talked with my cousin during Thanksgiving and she has Adenomyosis. She helped me look for a Doctor. I had never felt so alone. In December I finally got a call for a doctor who specialises in infertility and endocrinology. I had gotten the appointment for January of 2022. My cousin came with me and she was just amazing. She asked questions I didn't know to ask. I was diagnosed with PCOS and possible Endometriosis. They scheduled my surgery for March 17th, 2022.
The day of the surgery came. I was scheduled to go in at 11 am. I hadn't eaten for the last 12 hours and I was starving. They didn't take me in until 4 pm. I remember them asking where the doctor went before everything went black. They did a laparoscopic surgery to take out all the lesions along with ovarian drilling to take my cysts out. I was finally diagnosed with Stage 2 Endometriosis.
The pain was gone for about 2 years. The doctor gave me metformin and he put me on Orilsilla and said I should be good. But it didn't help. So then he put me on a clinical trial. That didn't work either. I was having all of the side effects that the pi was listing. I did almost everything possible up until half of 2023, when my symptoms started coming back. I am back to being in bed for 3 days. Having to take the Tylenol pills for muscle aches and pains that are 650mgs. I have to take 2 of those. My doctor said you should be fine for the next 3-5 years
My advice for anyone going through this and trying to get a diagnosis is to speak up when doctors aren't listening to you! Be your own advocate!
- Mariana
(Note: Adult use of Cannabis is legal where Mariana lives. This post contains personal experiences that do not equate to professional medical advice. Please consult your healthcare professionals.)