Introducing Karen

This is Karen and her fiance Lance (or Darling Fiance as she called him =) )

I have always had terrible periods. I was told by my older sister, that it was the norm, you know, the whole women are cursed stuff. I can honestly say I cannot remember a time when I have not been in some degree of pain. It was not bad at first. The period came when I was 12, then I got a visit each month from Aunt Flow, and with her she brought Uncle Pain, and his cousin Barney the purple dinosaur that stomped on my ovaries.

As I became older the pain got worse. I was prescribed Anaprox to help with the cramping and backaches. I couldn't do many things that my friends were doing, trying out for cheerleading or the dance team, becoming active in sports. I couldn't even participate in Phys Ed.

I remember the fateful event that really brought my pain to the forefront. During intercourse, I was struck with a very sharp, stabbing pain. I almost fainted, it took the breath right out of me. I knew at that point that something was wrong. I was embarrassed to say anything to my boyfriend much less a doctor. Painful intercourse was common from then on. The backaches, heavy periods, nausea, and now headaches became worse with each menstruation. I missed a week of school when I had my period, it was that bad.

I met my present fiance, Lance, during the summer of 1995. He was a very caring guy, and we hit it off right away. We knew we were going to marry each other, I guess you say it was love at first sight. Okay enough of the sappy stuff. He convinced me to go to a gynecologist. I was referred from my mother's gyn to a "specialist". This doctor was young and knife happy, at 17 he wanted to do a total hysterectomy. I refused to give anything up. I did not event want to do the diagnostic surgery with him, I was afraid he would take my stuff anyway. I am glad I hung on to my femininity, (I still have my stuff).

Then this doctor had the gaul to ask me had I ever been molested or raped. Well, I had, but that had nothing to do with the pain I was in. He then told me that maybe I should be in counseling or see someone concerning this. I told him that I had been in counseling before, that this was NOT made up and I wanted answers. It was then that he did a vaginal ultrasound, it was noted in my chart that I had an inverted uterus. I stopped seeing that doctor once I moved.

Two years ago I moved to Tallahassee, FL. I went to see a gynecologist here in town, I'll call him Dr. A. He is a wonderful doctor, it was like he knew right from the start where I was coming from. I was prescribed all kinds of antibiotics, just in case it was some kind of infection. Of course it was not. Then on March 6, 1997, I went in for my first lap. I was scared, but if you are thinking of doing it, do it. It is a simple procedure, there is minimal pain afterward, and it is the only way to be sure you have endo. It is not a long recovery and there is basically no scar. My fiance tells me that Dr. A was only in surgery with me for 30 minutes, at the most. During my lap it was revealed that I did in fact have endo. What was surprising to my gynecologist was the amount that he found. I also had an endometrioma, a cyst that formed on my left ovary. All of it was cauterized and I was told that I would have at least five years of relief. (See Pictures)

Wrong, in August 1997, I was back in his office with the same familiar pain. The periods were becoming increasingly worse, I now had painful bowel movements and horrible backaches, around the kidney area. Then when my period came, it was the total opposite end of the spectrum, I had diarrhea and cramping in the lower abdomen. I also noticed pain when I urinated. I was sent to a urologist, there was nothing wrong with me urologically. So back to Dr. A I went. I was then prescribed Desogen 21, Continuous Birth Control Pills. It was nice not to have a period, but the painful intercourse did not stop.

I then went back in October due to the amount of pain I was experiencing. I was told to try it for 6 more weeks, then come back. Three weeks later at the end of October, I began to bleed, it lasted 14 days. Then seven days later the bleeding started again, I called my gynecologist's office and he prescribed me Ovral 21. An appointment was set up for 12/3/97. I barely made it to that day. He then told me about Lupron, and said that he would like to try it with me. I was taken off all hormones, he said they like to give it to you while you are menstruating or shortly there after. I started my period, but not without pain, I spent an entire weekend on my couch unable to move. The pain was so sharp, and stabbing nothing I took helped. Anaprox was a joke, Cataflam, forget it. I called Dr. A's office again, he called me in a prescription for Darvocet. In those I found relief, although I hate taking pain meds.

I have not gone for my shot of Lupron yet, my insurance company has not yet decided if they want to cover it or not. If they do not, it looks like another lap for me. I think I would like all the endo excised instead of cauterized. There is a greater chance of recurrence in cauterization than in excision. I also want to talk to Dr. A and see if he will spend a little more time with me in surgery, I think that if he looks deeper, he will find a lot that was missed.