|
Post by novelista on Feb 24, 2010 22:44:54 GMT -5
Hello ladies. I went to see a new ob-gyne today (seeing as my old one referred me to a gyne-oncologist who didn't do much for me; please read the background here: cjlevett.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=surgery&thread=3638&page=1). The new ob-gyne was nice enough, and understood the extent of my endo, but was very pragmatic: as long as I wasn't on any medications that suppressed ovulation, the endo pains will come back soon enough. She also noted that my pains returned about two months after my Sept. 2009 lap. (Of course, both my emergency ob-gyne in the Philippines and several of the members here said that it was also just as likely that my first lap didn't actually help me because the doctors merely drained the endometriomas.) In any case, I get really sad when I hear EVERY doctor tell me how bad I have it, and it just gets "progressively" bad from there: 1) I can't get pregnant naturally. 2) IVF drugs WILL make the endo worse. 3) Endo will affect the quality and quantity of eggs retrieved. 4) Endo will affect whether I can carry a pregnancy to term. 5) Endo will return after pregnancy. (My sister has stage 1 endo, and this certainly happened to her.) 6) Endo may or may not improve after menopause. I realize I'm working with a lot of scenarios here. But I just feel that I can't see the silver lining anymore. I'm trying to live life one day at a time but I feel paralyzed by these scenarios. How do you girls deal with it? How do you keep yourselves from thinking about the worst possible scenario? Thanks for letting me vent. Good night.
|
|
|
Post by Karen on Feb 25, 2010 7:25:21 GMT -5
I don't know if I'd ever quite say there's a 'silver lining' to endo! But, I hear what you're saying. Although it's very painful at times, I have a very mild case at the moment and even then I still freak out about it sometimes, wonder what my future will be like! I can't imagine going through what you've been through and not feeling a sense of hopelessness about it.
I can't speak for everyone else, but for me, the way I tackle the thoughts is to take control of whatever it is that I can. I've made diet changes, taken supplements, researched options to death. Some might think it's boarder-line obsessive or restrictive at times, but I feel so much better physically, and that's encouraging! I take the approach that what I'm doing now may prevent things on down the road, and I can make some sacrifices now to avoid some things in the future.
So, yeah, it may seem incredibly discouraging and it's ok to feel like that! And we all have our constant reminders with the daily pain that we live with. Acceptance of this disease is hard, it really is! My advice to you would be to learn as much as you can, figure out what works best for YOUR body to maintain/improve your health, get a good team of doctors on your side that you trust and feel comfortable with, and don't be afraid to talk to someone if you feel like you just can't cope! It's impossible to know how to deal with this until you're thrown into it, and I found a therapist to be incredibly helpful in coping with it all!
I think a lot of women can relate to what you're feeling. I look forward to hearing other people's input on this!
|
|
|
Post by Tara on Feb 25, 2010 11:20:06 GMT -5
I think you said it best when you said, just deal with one day at a time, sometimes that is all I can handle.....Then you get something figured out either through diet change, meds, doctors/naturalpaths....and then you find you can start looking two days at a time....looking at your scenrios' they look grim, so hang in there and do take it one day at a time, you may want to start a daily diary, of what you eat, how your energy was, how the pain was. That was how I figured out what was working for me, it also helps look at the smaller picture instead of thinking nothing is working.
|
|
|
Post by Karen on Feb 25, 2010 18:04:04 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by Tara on Feb 26, 2010 9:56:38 GMT -5
Karen, I tried to go to the link you posted, as I am doing daily tracking, and it says that it doesn't exsist. Would you please repost the link. I am very interested in a good way to do daily tracking. Thank you
|
|
|
Post by cherry on Feb 26, 2010 10:22:01 GMT -5
Tara this is the site that Karen is referring to www.reliefinsite.com/usersIt's excellent, your doc can log in themselves or you can print a report, and all free of charge. It allows you to track pain
|
|
|
Post by lizzylou on Mar 3, 2010 22:08:30 GMT -5
Excellent Link. I was thinking of starting a diary I could bring with me to the dr to track my pain, how often, of severe, etc. This is perfect.
|
|
|
Post by novelista on Mar 11, 2010 22:21:55 GMT -5
Thanks for all the encouraging words! Sorry for the late reply, I've been trying to get my schedule on track now that I feel much better. I'm trying not to think of my paralyzing scenarios right now, and I thing staying hopeful and positive is helping a lot. Really appreciate all the support.
|
|
|
Post by Karen on Mar 12, 2010 7:39:45 GMT -5
Hey, glad you're feeling much better! I can certainly understand you wanting a break from thinking about the worst when things are going well. Just remember - on days when you're not feeling as well or need a pick me up, we'll still be here, k?
|
|
|
Post by Tara on Mar 12, 2010 11:08:44 GMT -5
Yes, really glad you are feeling better, that is great news. just remember one day at a time, and cheshish the ones that are good.
|
|
|
Post by novelista on Mar 13, 2010 14:52:19 GMT -5
Karen and Tara--
Really appreciate all the kind words. I am taking your words to heart and taking one day at a time. Here's to brighter and better days for all of us. Thank you.
Sincerely, Katrina
|
|