“Hi, my name is Brooke and I was officially diagnosed with stage 4 endometriosis in April 2021 after suffering 17 years of daily pain.
My symptoms started at the age of 10 when I was rushed to the ER due to crazy abdominal cramps. After years of seeing specialists and getting no answers, I gave up hope.
I got my period at the age of 13 and it wasn’t until about 4 years ago that my periods started to get painful. Before that they didn’t really give me any trouble but I was also on the pill so that could have been masking it. About a year ago my hormones got out of control, I was highly stressed, gained weight and my acne got worse. My period pain was getting really bad and I also started getting random pain and spotting during the month.
After a few months of this I decided I better go get it checked out. Being someone who never seems to get help from doctors I’m always super hesitant to go. The second doctor I saw actually wanted to help (finally). I was sent for an ultrasound, a cyst was found and it was suggested I could have endometriosis. I was referred to a gynaecologist and he was pretty certain that I had endo so I was booked into surgery. Within 10 days I had surgery and it was confirmed that I had endometriosis. It was a relief to finally know what was going on with my body.
Endometriosis affects more than just our period and reproductive system. It’s a whole body condition.
Remember you are strong, you are not alone and we are all in this together!”
My symptoms started at the age of 10 when I was rushed to the ER due to crazy abdominal cramps. After years of seeing specialists and getting no answers, I gave up hope.
I got my period at the age of 13 and it wasn’t until about 4 years ago that my periods started to get painful. Before that they didn’t really give me any trouble but I was also on the pill so that could have been masking it. About a year ago my hormones got out of control, I was highly stressed, gained weight and my acne got worse. My period pain was getting really bad and I also started getting random pain and spotting during the month.
After a few months of this I decided I better go get it checked out. Being someone who never seems to get help from doctors I’m always super hesitant to go. The second doctor I saw actually wanted to help (finally). I was sent for an ultrasound, a cyst was found and it was suggested I could have endometriosis. I was referred to a gynaecologist and he was pretty certain that I had endo so I was booked into surgery. Within 10 days I had surgery and it was confirmed that I had endometriosis. It was a relief to finally know what was going on with my body.
Endometriosis affects more than just our period and reproductive system. It’s a whole body condition.
Remember you are strong, you are not alone and we are all in this together!”