Tag: Endometriosis

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Animal Magnetism: Ear Acupuncture & A Chemical Menopause

Due to some unfortunate experiences over the years I would usually say an emphatic ‘no’ to any medical treatment that that upsets my body’s hormonal balance.  But after my last trip to the emergency room, I realised that I had to reconsider my position.

This was not my first dance with the drug PROSTAP, but unlike so many of the other hormonal treatments I’d had in the past, it didn’t exacerbate my symptoms (everything else caused excessive bleeding) or create a slew of hideous side effects (the Mirena Coil issues are a blog post unto themselves).  PROSTAP in effect creates a chemical menopause, switching my ovaries off (or turning them down to a point where their effects are negligible) and thus curbing most of the worst symptoms of Endometriosis.

I was still quite reluctant when the idea was originally floated, but it was made quite clear to me that it would be disastrous for my internal organs to continue being bathed in hot, trapped menstrual blood on a regular basis. So even though I was technically being offered a choice between wrecking my internal organs or disrupting my hormones, it was clear that only one option was actually viable.  Figuring that perhaps enough time had passed since my last dalliance with this kind of medical intervention, I took the plunge. Continue reading “Animal Magnetism: Ear Acupuncture & A Chemical Menopause”

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Wheels, Pain & The First Avenger

As I stepped through the double doors that led to the sports hall I knew I was either just about to do something incredibly awesome, or awesomely stupid. After two diagnoses, more hospital visits that I can remember, and a full twelve months worth of distance, I I had decided to return to Roller Derby.

Now, I’m not crazy; I am well acquainted with the sport and know full well that I’d be pushing my luck straight off a cliff if I recklessly attempted to become a player, again.  No, this time I planned to step into the oval as a trainee referee. Continue reading “Wheels, Pain & The First Avenger”

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Let’s talk About Stress, Baby…

Much as I hate to admit it, I’ve been feeling a little s******d of late (yes, the word makes me very uncomfortable).  Having a prolonged and confusing flare-up of my Endometriosis has led to me slipping into a strange and disconcerting existence where the Fibromyalgia doesn’t have to fight so hard to retain dominance.  The additional issue that my GP appears to believe that Fibromyalgia doesn’t need to be treated at all has left me having to figure out my own regimen without access to any kind of safety net or physical support network. Continue reading “Let’s talk About Stress, Baby…”

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Even Baby Steps Can Take You Somewhere

I’ve always hated to-do lists. Rather than being a gentle reminder of the tasks I had yet to complete, they loomed over me like a book of judgement: solid black and white evidence of my own befuddlement, poor will power or plain, old-fashioned laziness. It would never matter how many items that were crossed off as completed – any gaps made me feel as though I had allowed the day to go to waste, particularly if it was some of the items at the top of the list that had been left in fruition limbo. The troubling thing is that those feelings of failure and inadequacy were already prevalent before my health completely caved in… Continue reading “Even Baby Steps Can Take You Somewhere”

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The Martian Princess and The Bear: A Shared Journey Through Chronic Illness

When I first met The Bear, I was a party-girl; drinking, smoking and dancing into the wee hours.  Spontaneous and unpredictable, perhaps even slightly unhinged – but not enough to fall into the cliche of a terrifying histrionic.

We were from different cultures but shared similar, mildly chaotic upbringings. Continue reading “The Martian Princess and The Bear: A Shared Journey Through Chronic Illness”

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Trust Your Gut..?

Fibromyalgia is a bit of a ‘catch all’ diagnosis. It’s often handed down when doctors don’t know (or do not have the incentive to discover) what’s causing the myriad symptoms that the patient is suffering with – and those symptoms are myriad; over 200 at the last count. Because of this complexity, finding the root cause or best treatment for each individual can be akin to searching for the proverbial needle in a haystack. Add to the mix the fact that Fibromyalgia loves company, and rarely travels without a companion illness, and it becomes clear that medicinal platitudes are rarely going to be helpful; it’s the person that has to be treated, not the illness. This is why some of the best allies are the ones who listen.

Continue reading “Trust Your Gut..?”

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The Lifesaving Essence Of Being A Fangirl

At first glance, and especially for people who read my blog regularly, this post will seem like a piece of unabashed promotion from a (slightly besotted) fangirl; and that’s fine – I’m not ashamed of this obsession, even if others believe I should be.  But what is truly the driving force behind this post is an unexpected, and almost other-worldly, synchronicity that is literally guiding me through the unpleasantly complex maze of chronic illness. Continue reading “The Lifesaving Essence Of Being A Fangirl”

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A Broken Derby Doll

I am completely unashamed to say that I, like so many others, discovered the brutal and brilliant sport of Roller Derby through the Drew Barrymore movie ‘Whip It’. Even though it is a really technical sport with enough rules to make even the most ardent bureaucrat flinch, it still seemed to be the type of team sport that would suit the way my brain worked: gameplay travels in one direction and the very clearly marked boundaries make it quite difficult to find yourself accidentally offside.  There was, however, one small problem – my health was languishing at the bottom of a metaphorical toilet bowl. Continue reading “A Broken Derby Doll”