Change of Life -- Part I

On Tuesday morning, June 25, 2013, I had a total abdominal hysterectomy with simultaneous removal of both ovaries. This meant the end of any chance of having more children and the sudden onset of menopause. I am 38 years old.

I have lived with endometriosis and the associated pain since I was in the 8th grade.  During high school and college I was constantly diagnosed with "ovulatory pain" and "menstrual irregularities".  It wasn't until June of 2001 that I was first diagnosed correctly.  I'd been rushed to the ER with suspected appendicitis, only to have the doctors find a large ovarian cyst that was causing decreased blood flow.  The laparoscopic procedure to remove the cyst ended up taking 3 hours because of the amount of endometriosis coating all of my internal organs.

Endometriosis ( endo, for short) is a disease where the endometrium, the blood-rich lining of the uterus that grows and sheds monthly during a woman's fertile years, grows outside the uterus.  These growths shed and bleed just like the normal growth inside the uterus, causing pain, anemia, and scarring.  Endo growths and adhesions--where scar tissue has caused organs and muscles to stick together-- are most common around the exterior uterus, fallopian tubes and ovaries.  However, endo has (in other women) also been found on the colon, small bowel, bladder, ureters, appendix, stomach and even, though very rarely, on the heart and lungs.  During my 2001 surgery the doctor found endo on my appendix ( which he removed but then failed to tell me about!), bladder, bowel, ovaries and uterus.

Following my 2001 surgery I was placed on Lupron for 6 months.  This drug sends the body into temporary menopause, effectively halting the growth of all endometrial tissue.  After stopping Lupron it took me only 4 months to conceive Ethan.  He was born in November 2002.  I had an early miscarriage in 2005 and then conceived Ian, who was born in May 2006.

In 2007 the endometriosis, and the resulting pain, made a horrible come-back. Posts regarding this time period are here and here. After that surgery I tried birth control pills.  That only lasted 2 months before the daily migraines left me too miserable to consider taking those damn pills. (I might still have bitterness issues.)

Since 2007 I have dealt with the worsening pain by trying different pain killers--found out I was allergic to, or severely reactive to, 95% of them-- and the "if I ignore it, it will go away" school of medicine.  I saw a doctor in Colorado in the spring of 2011 who found a small cyst on my left ovary and recommended I meet with a surgeon to discuss a hysterectomy.  The surgeon was, well, a bitch, and life got really busy soon after that, so I never bothered following through.

Read on for Part Two