It all happened very suddenly
Other women have symptoms for years. In my case it all happened very suddenly. I didn’t have any symptoms, but that might be because I was on the pill for many years. When I stopped taking it my periods got heavier and heavier and I often felt exhausted. That was the worst thing for me; feeling so exhausted and weak. I then had a second laparoscopy in which endometriosis tissue was removed, and I was given injections for four months. I mainly have endometrial cysts on my ovaries and some tissue on my peritoneum (ed. note: membrane lining the abdomen). On top of that, one of my fallopian tubes is blocked. During one of the operations a septum (ed. note: a wall in the womb) was removed.
After receiving the diagnosis, I gradually looked for other ways to deal with it. I basically changed my whole life around: I started doing yoga and tried out various herbal treatments. I also changed my diet, drank only a little alcohol and no coffee. I was always relieved to come home after work and recharge my batteries, which were often completely flat. The first year was really tough for me – but things improved after that.
Unfortunately I wasn’t able to get pregnant. I then decided to try fertility treatment. I saw it as a final attempt. I'm happy that I did it. I know that I did what I could, and won’t have any regrets in that respect when I’m older. I’m trying to accept the fact that I won’t have any children now. The emotional roller coaster ride every month was really very difficult for me. It also affects every other area of life, including your relationship and work. I'm happy to put it all behind me now. I have to find inner peace again. During those six years I put myself under a lot of pressure. Every month I was eager to see whether I was pregnant or not. I’m happy that that's over now.
Yoga really helps me. It’s very good for me, both for my body and my mind. Acupuncture also helped me to cope with the pain. I'm very happy that having endometriosis made me change my life around. Although I still have the illness, I'm in good condition physically.
I've had several operations, mainly to remove cysts. I could feel the cysts every month. But I didn’t have a big problem with pain. I have hardly needed painkillers recently. My biggest problem was the fatigue and lack of energy. But that was mainly only a problem during my periods. I was lucky in that respect: the symptoms I had only arose around the time of menstruation.
