Personal Perspective – Hormones, Mood and Endometriosis

1974 views
Like
Print Friendly, PDF & Email

When I think back to when I was 10, that is when I started to get chronic headaches. This must be when my hormones started to kick in. I got my period at 13 and from then on things for me have never really been the same.

Hormones, Menstruation and Mood: Was there a Connection?

I had emotional outbursts as a teenager but I couldn’t connect them to my periods at the time because my periods were all over the place. My period could come every 15 days or 45 days. I never knew when it would come. There was no consistency and I was never one to check it off on a calendar, or worry about it.

I remember my teenage years as being dark and depressing. I couldn’t seem to get out of a funk. It only got worse after I graduated from high school. To me that was the beginning of the end, with excruciating abdominal pain, migraines and mood swings.  In the 10 years since leaving school, I was diagnosed with multiple co-morbid diseases such as Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Thoracic Outlet Syndrome, Restless Leg Syndrome, Depression, complicated migraines and finally endometriosis when I turned 27.

Doctors made me feel so crazy in my head and were quick to tell me I was depressed. I was once told by a doctor that he couldn’t see me anymore because I cried too much. After seeing at least 40 doctors, I was starting to really breakdown mentally. Why was everyone ignoring what I was saying? No one seemed to listen. They just pricked me with needles and said I was fine. I knew I wasn’t fine.

Pregnancy and Postpartum Hormones

I had my daughter when I was 25 and from that point on, the hormones went through the roof. I thought I was losing my bloody mind. I started to get more and more migraines to the point I had no choice but to go to the hospital to get medicated. Nothing seemed to work because of how sudden they would come on. I didn’t know at the time that my hormones were so out of whack. All I knew was that my mental state started to deteriorate and I no longer felt safe in my own apartment. I was seeing demons in my room. I was freaking out on my daughter. She was only two years old at the time. I knew I was suffering from depression now, but this was too long after postpartum wasn’t it?

Could it be Postpartum Depression?

I was watching TV one day and saw a show about postpartum depression. I decided then and there that I was going to bring myself to the hospital and just pray they wouldn’t take my kid away from me. I ended up talking to some man that didn’t even get what I was saying. He just threw me some sleeping pills and told me I was just tired.

Hormones, Mood and Endometriosis: Maybe There was a Connection

Soon after being sent home with sleeping pills, for what was likely postpartum depression, I received the results from a recent ultrasound. The 10cm cyst that would eventually lead to my diagnosis with endometriosis, was found. I was put on Marvelon21, a form of hormonal birth control. From the first week, I swear on my life, I felt like my world was full of rainbows and butterflies. I didn’t have the depression or the horrible thoughts. I started to really calm down. To this day, it is rare for me to get really angry and yell. I really think my hormones had me trapped for far too long. It is probably the main reason why I don’t ever feel that I could stop taking Marvelon ever. It saved my life. One little white pill, a very low dose birth control pill worked for me. Although, I know it doesn’t work for everyone.

I definitely feel that there are more than just hormones that affected my state of mind. I don’t feel that my body has ever been normal. I was an object of wonder when it came to doctors and their students. I was treated like a piece of dirt by every doctor. Most acted like I was making this all up. The few that were actually nice, didn’t really tell me to do anything further with treatments. They just told me what diseases I had and sent me home. No follow-ups just more confusion.

I try not to focus on the co-morbid diseases like I once did. I take one problem at a time. I refuse to believe that I actually have some of these diseases. Either way, I am not going to let my ill-health steal my life or my mind another day.

 

I have suffered from endometriosis for as long as I can remember. I am sharing my story so that others may learn from my experiences, and be encouraged to share their own. I live in Canada. I am happily married with one child. I like social networking, raising awareness for endometriosis, learning about health, hanging out with family and friends and being my daughter’s number one fan. Follow me on Twitter at: @endendoforever.

2 Comments

  1. Thank you for sharing your story. It doesn’t make me feel alone to read others stories. I’m so glad you finally had someone to take the time and figure out what was going on with you! It’s life changing when you find a doctor that cares and empathizes. Good luck and I’ll be praying for you, sweet girl!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Previous Story

B Corporations: A Way Forward for Healthcare

Next Story

Vitamin D3 and Lupus

Latest from Birth Control