Endometriosis and me: it’s complicated

My name is Jessie. I am a writer living in the South of England, near the coastal town of Brighton, where seagulls are occasionally scary and vintage record stores abound. I have two sausage dogs permanently attached to my hip, a penchant for leopard print and a daily life sabotaged by endometriosis.

My body has been a battlefield since the age of 12, and I was finally diagnosed with complex endometriosis in my thirties. Like many fellow endowarriors, I want to live my life fully but this illness likes to get in the way.

To be fair, my endometriosis has been a somewhat generous beast. While it took both my career and social life, in exchange it gave me chronic pain, a sexy limp, endless medical appointments, two surgeries and the label of “chronically ill”. Like a gift that keeps on giving, each month there are symptoms that weren’t there before, others I’d forgotten about, some that just won’t quit.

However, my illness has also given me a purpose. Since my diagnosis I’ve become heavily involved in spreading awareness for a disease that, although it affects 1 in 10 women, still remains a mystery for most medical professionals.

It has also given me a thirst for life I never thought I had. At my worst - or what I call my “werewolf days” - I’m unable to have conversations, open my eyes or think straight. On my better days I am a slow yet happy runner, I do yoga and will go to any music concert my body will allow me to. I climb up hills with my dogs, write until my brain is fried and use every drop of energy like it’s pure gold.

It’s been a complicated journey with plenty of falls, but I continue to dust myself off and get up again. I honestly wish endometriosis hand’t found me, but now that it’s here, I intend to give it a good run for its money.