Why I Decided To Treat My Endometriosis Holistically

It was 2015. I was in a coffee shop in Cape Town, drinking my first of many coffees for the day, when my cheap temporary phone began ringing consistently. It was a UK number, and I was concerned about the cost, but they rang so many times that I eventually answered. An agitated woman was at the end of a very broken line, and it turns out, she was expecting me for my pre-op appointment – which was entirely new news to me.

Several months back...

Rewind several months back, and I had attended a consultation after the return of my endometriosis symptoms, 18 months after my diagnostic laparoscopy. It had taken a long time to get to this point, after my GP had sent me away, telling me to come back when the pain was ‘excruciating’. The consultant agreed it was time for another laparoscopy, but I had just had the news of a family death in Cape Town, and planned to go away for a few months to remember them and spend time with loved ones. I knew the waiting list was long anyway, so I expected to be back in time. I was told this wouldn’t be a problem, and that they would defer my surgery until I notified them of my return. That was the last I’d heard of anything, until the phone call that morning in Cape Town.

Unbelievable news

The receptionist I spoke to was curt, and it didn’t help that she not only was thousands of miles away, she sounded it too. I explained the situation, and said I was informed that my surgery would not be confirmed until I was back in the UK. Whether she heard me properly or not didn’t seem to matter, she informed me that she would be taking me off the list entirely, and I would have to return to my GP to get referred again. The process, by this point, had taken over a year, and I now had to repeat. She hung up quickly and my heart sunk with the dial tone.

My lowest point

I was at, what felt to me, the lowest point I could reach. My pain was crippling, it shot through me like long, hot daggers and it controlled my entire being as it did so. My fatigue was at a peak, I was struggling at work, I couldn’t keep up with my relationships. Waking in the morning was exhausting, regardless of how many hours sleep I’d had. The pain, fatigue, and various other symptoms had taken their toll, and before my departure for South Africa, suicide had begun creeping into my thoughts, and depression darkened every day.

I was stuck

Now, I was stuck, with at least a year ahead of me without surgery. It seemed impossible that I could last, so I made a decision then and there. Conventional medicine and surgery hadn’t actually worked much at all, so it seemed to me, that it was time to try an alternative approach.

If you or someone you know have thoughts of suicide, have attempted suicide, or experience emotional distress, contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 1–800–273–TALK (8255) or Live Online Chat. To get general information on mental health and to locate treatment services in your area, contact SAMHSA Treatment Referral Helpline – 1–877–SAMHSA7 (1–877–726–4727).