March is National Endometriosis Awareness Month.
It's time to raise awareness about this invisible disease: endometriosis. Approximately 176 million women are affected by this disease.. it's the same amount of women who suffer from diabetes as they do endometriosis!? But only 20% of the public have heard of endometriosis compared to 80% for diabetes! Unbelievable. I will be sharing with a lot of different information regarding endometriosis in this post.
After researching more about endometriosis (fyi, I am constantly learning a lot of new things about endo everyday!), I learned there are a lot of celebrities who are diagnosed with endometrosis such as Julianne Hough (dancer from Dancing with the Stars), Jillian Michaels (Biggest Loser trainer), Neve Campbell, Celine Dion, Pamela Lee Anderson, Bethenny Frankel (reality star from Real Housewives of NYC), Tia Mowry (actress), Whoopi Goldberg, Khole Kardashian, and many more... Even Hillary Clinton. Endometriosis is shockingly prevalent today with insufficient medical research about it. I mean, 1 in 10 has it (actually, it's now statistically increasing to 1 in 8).
Ok, I'm not alone. There are a lot of women out there who are battling endo everyday and the silence needs to be broken. It's ok to share and speak up about it. I'm grateful for the power of social media because it really helps me to get connected with other endo fighters by reading their stories and experiences (that I could relate to!)....and sharing different opinions on pain-reducing solutions. The social media also (instagram, twitter, and blogs) puts me as the patient in a much better position in terms of access
to information about my condition and the power to make better
informed decisions.
There's one celebrity who surprised me with her severe endometriosis issues-- Marilyn Monroe. Do you know the story behind her issues that led to her unfortunate death? Read on...
"Marilyn was an American
actress, model, and singer, who was 36 when she died. She never had
children though fell pregnant numerous times. All of her pregnancies
ended in miscarriage and reportedly, at least one ectopic pregnancy, due
to her severe endometriosis. There is a rumor that she went in to one
surgery with a note taped to her stomach, pleading with the doctors to
not remove her reproductive organs. Although, there is much mystery
surrounding her death, many think it is indirectly linked to her
endometriosis. The disease, endometriosis, caused her to become addicted to painkillers,
which in turn aggravated her psychological problems."
Padma Lakshmi (lead host/judge from Top Chef show) is one of the co-founders for Endometriosis Foundation of America. Padma suffered with
pain for more than 20 years and was told it was "all in her head" before
she was diagnosed with endometriosis. She had surgery when it was
revealed she had two cysts on each of her ovaries.
You will be surprised with how many doctors say, "No, no, no. You're young. You're fine." I was misdiagnosed with "stress" at first until my laparoscopy. Oh! Turned out that I actually had Endometriosis Stage II (which was considered mild) afterall. See the common endometriosis misdiagnoses in the infographic below:
Here's one article example from Cosmopolitan about the journalist/reporter, Lizzie O' Leary, who previously worked as CNN's Aviation & Regulation correspondent:
"We may not look sick, but turn our bodies inside out, they would tell different stories."
"Endometriosis is unpredictable, capricious, tenacious, a destroyer of
careers, families and relationships, and it is worth more money and
research effort – not only for what we would learn about the disease
itself, but for the light that would be shed on infertility, immunology,
and the connection between illness and psychological states."
With my on-going research, I have decided to try the Eastern treatment by using acupuncture (with cupping therapy) with Chinese herbal medications since my endo has returned (probably for the worse). I started my first Lupron Depot injection four weeks ago and will not continue for another five months for the treatment. I didn't respond very well to Lupron Depot due to many irritating side effects (more cons than pros). For the past year, my body did not respond well with Western treatments (although laparoscopy was helpful for a short term)-- which weighed out my decision to go with the holistic approach (Eastern treatments) as an alternative option to try. I had my first acupuncture appointment last Saturday with my first cupping therapy experience! They cupped my tailbone area where my most intense pain was. It was a weird feeling when the cup sucked my lower back's fat.. However, it surprisingly helped with the pain (so far)! They suggested me to continue with my acupuncture appointments 2x a week for a month before reducing to 1x a week. I took my first Chinese herbal medication, Shao Fu Zhu Yu Pian (Abdo StasisClear) today. We will see how this will turn out for me. *fingers crossed*
Meanwhile, it is urgent that doctors, nurses, teachers know about
endometriosis and act on their knowledge, to spare young women years of
pain, loss and emotional damage.
Blogs regarding Endometriosis:
vintagelib.blogspot.com.au
http://happyhealthyendo.com/
http://foodie4healing.blogspot.com/p/the-endo-diet.html
http://happyhealthyendo.com/
http://foodie4healing.blogspot.com/p/the-endo-diet.html
http://www.millionwomenmarch2014.org (The march will be in Washington, DC on March 13, 2014 at the national mall.)
If you have any stories regarding endometriosis, feel free to share with me!
Fighting like a girl,
Brooke
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