Monique's Endometriosis Battle

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I was diagnosed with Endometriosis when I was 15 years old back in 1988, although the doctor did not tell us this, as the disease was not yet fully accepted by the medical community here in Australia, and it was up to the discretion of the doctor to not give the name of a disease that may not be accepted as real. I was 11 years old when I first started having periods, and they were painful right from the beginning. This pain progressed as did the length of time my periods lasted. I was having more and more time off school and falling behind. My Mother and I had a hard time convincing not only my teachers, but the doctors that there was something seriously wrong with me.

During this time, my parents divorced and doctors sent me to get psychological treatment at a student clinic as they were convinced all of my symptoms were psychosomatic, and that I could not be in that much pain. My father suffers from mental illness, which resulted in violence for my Mum and I in our home, so naturally my symptoms, if they did exist were result of this experience. As mentioned I was sent to a student psychological clinic as my Mum could not afford to see a fully qualified professional. When my father's violence and mental abuse was brought up, the student psychologist, who was female, stated that it takes two to tango and that my Mother must have provoked my Father. I never went back to her. I flatly refused and other reasons and potential treatments for my symptoms was sought.

A few of years after this, when I was about 14 I was put on progesterone for the first time. It was really lovely to not have periods during that time. I started to feel like a normal girl, going to school, playing and of course being interested in boys. But that was short lived. They only let me have this hormonal treatment for approximately 3 months. Then in about 2 months following, all of my symptoms were back. The next step was exploratory surgery.

My story is very long. Having had numerous other treatments and 6 other surgeries for Endometriosis, plus having later in life been diagnosed with the autoimmune disease Fibromyalgia (chronic pain disorder of the central nervous system), as well as bouts of ME/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome about 3 other times in my life; it is a lot to write in one go. So I will return to write more later. Please know I happy to talk to anyone about my experiences and answer any questions anyone may have. I feel that if I have had to go through this journey, it should account for something positive, so if I can help you please feel free to ask. If there are any typing errors, please forgive me, my keyboard on my laptop is playing up and I have to stop and start as the cursor moves to different points of what I've already typed out. Thanks.