I genuinely thought all of this was normal for so long…

You are not alone, that's for sure! So many of our members have experienced this feeling. What makes it worse is the fact that, many times, doctors don't believe you when you tell them what you're going through. You start to believe that you're making it all out to be worse than it is. We have many stories on our community page that sound like your's, but I wanted to share a few here: https://endometriosis.net/stories/not-normal
https://endometriosis.net/stories/pain-isnt-normal
https://endometriosis.net/stories/thought-this-was-normal
https://endometriosis.net/stories/period-pain-normal

Rest assured, you've come to the right place. We know that your pain is real, your concerns are valid and you deserve proper treatment. Please let us know how we can support you. Take good care. - Kat (Team Member)

Yes omg 😔 I think thats one of the hardest parts honestly… realising years later that you normalised symptoms that were actually affecting your quality of life the whole time. I genuinely thought severe period pain, exhaustion and heavy bleeding were just part of being a woman because thats what I kept hearing growing up. It’s such a weird feeling when u slowly realise your body was struggling for yrs and nobody around u treated it seriously.

Honestly yes 😔 I used to think I was just “bad at handling periods” compared to other women. It never crossed my mind that the level of pain, fatigue and bleeding I was dealing with might actually point toward something being wrong.

I relate to this alot😔 I spent years normalising symptoms that were quietly affecting my entire life because scans/tests kept coming back “fine” and people kept downplaying it. The scary part is how many women grow up thinking pain, exhaustion and heavy bleeding are something we’re just supposed to tolerate. Looking back now, my body was clearly trying to tell me something was wrong way earlier.