Learning to Laugh Instead of Cry

I have always had weird hormones. They have never played ball. It was nine years after I was diagnosed with myalgic encephalomyelitis that my endometriosis first reared its ugly head. I basically bled for a month and was like, this isn’t right, but waited to see if things would calm down.

I knew something was not right

They didn’t, so I went to see my general practitioner. She didn’t even examine me. She just looked at me and said, you’re fine you’re fine, until I left. Not a great start. Because of the ME, I am used to being gaslit, but you know when you know deep down something isn’t right?! Anyway, I went home feeling so rubbish and not knowing what to do next (bearing in mind that ME is tough too and just going to an appointment is exhausting). Then the white hot pain started and I was determined to get to the bottom of things (Get it!).

Anyway, long story short, about 4 years later, I was given an unofficial diagnosis of endometriosis. As I had opted out of surgery, I was put on the combined contraceptive pill and that stopped my periods, essentially putting me into early menopause, which also sucks, but not as much as feeling like you are in labor when you get up to make a drink!

Finding humor in my endo diagnosis helps

So, Mum and I went through menopause together, which was a bonding experience, swapping stories about hot flashes and night sweats! However, with my ME, my husband and I have learned to find the humor in this. Things like pooping make me feel like I’m being torn in half, which is tragic, but also slightly amusing if you can get through the pain. I mean how ridiculous!
We also have found that finding the funny has helped with getting over not being able to have sex as it feels like I’m having boiling hot water poured into me. So, we find other ways to be intermet…intermut (See. We haven’t done things for so long I can’t even spell the darn thing!) But that’s funny.

We have the running joke that my husband’s “little soldiers” (He suffers with prostatitis.) actually all have zimmer frames and my ‘muff’ has semi automatic machine guns and just mow them down. (We both experienced the burning pain.) My darling husband also lovingly says that I’m PMing for 30 days out of every month. But, rather than getting us upset, this just makes us giggle.

Do you have funny endometriosis stories to share?

It’s a kind of this: It is our lot. We’ve adopted a let’s-get-on-with-it-attitude (which I have to thank ME for). It still sucks. Don’t get me wrong. But it’s so refreshing that we both get that it sucks and that’s okay. I hope this makes someone smile. Maybe we could share funny stories, like having to eat chocolate at 4 in the morning while we wait for the painkillers to kick in, or bloating so much we have to wear maternity clothes, or feeling like you need to push when the white hot pain kicks and you’re clearly not pregnant!!!! It’s funny because it’s so stupidly ridiculous that so many women suffer through this and hardly anyone knows about it!

So, my warrior sisters… I feel your pain but… any funny stories?