End of Endo?
I got my period when I was 15. My mom knew something wasn't right so she took me to her OBGYN where they put me on birth control pills. For the next 10 years I continued to struggle with bouts of debilitating pain throughout high school and college, trips to the ER, and countless visits to specialists in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and New Jersey. I was always just told that I produced too many prostaglandins, had bad periods, and unspecified IBS.
No relief in sight
At age 25, I had to have an emergency laparoscopic appendectomy upon which they found endometriosis close to the site of the infected organ. After 2 failed rounds of Lupron at 27 I had another surgery, a 4.5 hour robotic-assisted laparoscopic excision and fulguration of my endo- the extent of the disease was serious. 2+ years later at 30, I am due to have a third surgery later this year because I have had no relief since the last surgery. I am still on birth control pills, 15 years later and there seems to be no relief in sight.
Doing what I can to provide hope!
I am using my space as a public health researcher to try and expand the field of endometriosis forward by publishing a research study looking at provider awareness and patient experience with endo. I'm hoping to drive the field forward one step at a time to give other people with this horrible disease some light at the end of the tunnel.
Author/member update 2/27/20: I have just had my endometriosis research published in The Journal of Endometriosis and Pelvic Pain Disorders: Shedding Light on Endometriosis- Patient and Provider Perspectives on a Challenging Disease. It is a mixed methods study, which focuses on patient experience and provider awareness.
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