Extensive adhesions with endometriosis

Following surgery for endometriosis which showed Rachel had extensive adhesions, she then tried many heavy-duty pain medications, followed by Lupron leading to severe emotional distress




This is Rachel’s story ….



I just recently got married in April after being with my now husband for 7 years. But I have had to deal with debilitating pain symptoms almost every day since my period first started when I was 13. Going to doctor after doctor and hearing them tell me I was crazy and its all in my head, was really starting to get me down.

 

All they did/would do for me was put me on birth control pills. I finally found a doctor in August that believed me and thought something was really wrong. She said she thought I might have endometriosis. I had a laparoscopy done in December last year and it showed that I indeed had endometriosis.

 

They classified my case as mild to moderate endometriosis. After the surgery, she explained to me that I had adhesions on my descending colon, uterus, ovaries, and cul-de-sac. She took out what she could but informed me that there was still quite a bit she couldn’t get to.

 

She instructed me to try diets, massages, exercise, ice pack, heating pad, and nothing ended up helping me. Since August I had tried the following medications to try to relieve my pain; Ibuprofen, Naproxen, Prozac, Elavil, Vicodin, Darvocet, Tramodal, Perocet, & Oxycoton.

 

After numerous trips to the ER, I followed instructions and just continued with the birth control pills because she said there was nothing else she could do.

 

In April the following year she suggested I try to conceive since my condition went untreated / undiagnosed for so long, it was worse than it should be and the sooner the better. In August after no luck of trying to conceive, I agreed to start the 6 month treatment of Lupron. I had my first shot of Lupron August 7th. They said my pain would get worse before it got better; well they were right.

 

In the next two months, I had been in the ER six times with severe abdominal distress.

 

August 23rd was a night I’ll never be able to forget. I was in the most agony I have ever been in. Frustrated that everything I had tried or done wasn’t and never helps relieve my pain. So I started cutting my forearm.

 

Once I realised what I had done, I called a friend whom I knew could get to me the fastest. When he arrived, I just showed him my bloody arm. The next thing I knew I was being wheeled away and taken to the nearest hospital.

 

I didn’t want to die; my intentions were not to kill myself. My intentions were more to get myself focus on something else, some other kind of pain.

 

I was sent to a psychiatric hospital where I spent two days. The doctors there agreed that I wasn’t a harm to myself and that I just needed something to control all the agony I was having. I then saw a pain management doctor who now has me on Loestrin, Oxycoton, Elavil & Perocet.

 

I absolutely hate having to take these medications every day, but if I don’t, I am in constant pain and spending more money going to the ER.

 

I feel so sorry for my husband; we cannot even have intercourse. I am so grateful that he understands and is there to help me through this. My symptoms are very random and so intense I can barely move. It is so unfortunate that women have to live like this; I do everything in my power to wear a smile and continue on with my everyday life, but it is all a cover-up of what I’m really going through. 




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