It's What's Inside That Counts

This has been another challenging few months for me and Bonnie Bling. I've had a fair few run ins with our wonderful pals at the NHS this year for various reasons. 

I have suffered with the effects of IBS since I had my gall bladder removed around 10 years ago. It really affected my ability to hold down a 'proper' job and has more than likely been a factor in my self employed life.

However, since giving birth to my daughter 4 years ago I have suffered from excruciating pains in the run up to my period each month. We are talking, rolling around your bathroom floor, screaming out in agony and having your finger on the emergency services button on your mobile type pain. Accompanied with nausea, extreme fatigue, aching limbs, sometimes painful peeing and the other, as well as abnormally heavy bleeding. What times! 

I've always played down the pain, put it down to the IBS, thought it was tied to my diagnosis of Hypo-thyroidism that I was given last year, but earlier this Summer I had one of the worst attacks of pain I have ever experienced.

This time it was so bad I passed out, and unfortunately for me I smashed my face right into a tiled wall on my way down to the floor. When I came to my husband had found me on our bathroom floor with a bloodied nose and he quickly checked me and got me over to A&E. I was okay but had two black eyes and a bloodied nose for my troubles, that and 6 weeks of concussion followed. It was like being permanently steaming drunk and wanting to throw up every time I opened my eyes. It was so hot and bright outside that I missed the entire heatwave. Ho hum.

Anyways, since then I have had a laparoscopy operation which I thought was going to remove minor endometrial adhesions, turns out, I should be so lucky! I have severe stage 4 endometriosis. My bowel, bladder, ovaries and uterus are covered in growths and adhesions, so it's no wonder I've been in such pain, my body can't function the way it's supposed to with all this going on. My surgeon decided to hold back on any surgical removal for the time being and asides from putting in a Mirena coil (which is going well) I have been slowly (sometimes not so slowly) healing and getting myself back to normality.

I have an MRI scan this Friday, daunting but not painful I imagine. This will help determine what happens next.

I'd like to keep you posted on what happens next as I know 1 in 3 of you out there are also suffering from this hellish disease. 

Here are some online resources I have found really useful if you'd like to find out more.

www.endometriosis-uk.org

www.facebook.com/groups/endometriosisglasgow

www.facebook.com/groups/1584198244972127