Getting the endometriosis diagnosis

Endometriosis is a condition that I believe a lot of women suffer from without knowing. The symptoms can be so random that doctors have a hard time putting all the pieces together. For many women it can be painfully debilitating. It took me a few years once I knew something was going on, many doctors, getting a clue from my aunt and finally research on the internet to come up with this idea. 

Initially, I had started having a lot of discomfort after eating, mainly breakfast, but it could happen at any time of the day really. Usually it would be high in the stomach, right under the sternum and very painful. I would have to stop moving and wait for it to subside. I thought making a food journal would finally lead me somewhere or give me a clue, but unfortunately nothing correlated. The first specialist I had seen, a gastroenterologist, wrote me a prescription for a pill to take every time I ate and said I was too young to have anything wrong with me. Now, I was in my early 20's, I do not take medicine unless absolutely necessary and I knew there was something going on! Slowly I had become aware of other issues as well... my lower back was always a little sore, there was a tingling/needle poke feeling in my lower abdomen constantly, occasionally I would get sharp stabbing pains, bowel movements could be excruciatingly painful. These are the things no one ever talks about, they are kind of embarrassing and gross. When I googled symptoms of endometriosis, it was my life in a list. I was fortunate to have an OB/GYN take me seriously and recommend a laparoscopy (the only way to truly diagnose endo is to physically look at it). 

My surgeon told me as soon as he opened me up and saw the pool of blood in my abdominal cavity that he knew I had it. For most women, when you ovulate your body releases cells and then reabsorbs them. In us with endometriosis, those cells stick and begin to grow. So every month when our cycles come, those cells bleed like they would if they were still inside the uterus. At the time of my first surgery, the entire left side of my pelvic wall was covered, most of the right, there were spots on the back of my uterus as well as on my right ovary. He was a little surprised with the low levels of pain that I had relative to the amounts of growths (this is also typical). Following surgery he suggested I start Lupron injections to put me into menopause. It was the only thing they know 100% works to keep it from coming back. At 25 years old, I refused. There was no way I was going through all that twice in my life. More importantly, there was no guarantee my body would kick back in and I would be able to have kids in the future. So I started a 2 1/2 year regimen of continual birth control. Unfortunately I felt terrible being on the hormones and it also did not work. My symptoms returned within one month of the first procedure. This is what led me to explore more holistic and natural treatments and lifestyles. A lot of my dietary adjustments have helped this along with other parts of my life. Below is a more comprehensive list of symptoms people can suffer from with endometriosis... 

COMMON SYMPTOMS:

• pain before and during periods
• excessive bleeding
• fatigue
• painful urination during periods
• painful bowel movements during urination
• Very painful cramps
• Back pain during periods
• Pain with sex
• infertility
• Gastrointestinal upsets: diarrhea, constipation, nausea, bloating 

LESS COMMON, BUT RELATED SYMPTOMS:

• allergies
• chemical sensitivities
• yeast infections

Hello.

My name is Teri Pettit. I am 31 years old, happily married to Kyle, and mom to a sweet 8 year old golden retriever, named Gunner. Life for me has drastically changed over the last several years due in part to several factors. I was diagnosed with endometriosis on January 6, 2012. I learned I was gluten intolerant in 2013, in 2014 we started trying for a family, in the beginning of 2015 I was diagnosed infertile and later that same year became dairy intolerant. Speaking about my experiences has proven to be somewhat therapeutic.

Female reproductive diseases and infertility have been largely considerably taboo subjects to speak about. It can carry a lot of baggage, emotion, heartache, judgement, and shame for women and families it touches. I have been very fortunate to have had a lot of women reach out to me and share their experiences with infertility. It is much more common than I ever imagined. I am not in anyway saying that my story is more important than anyone else's, but I am willing to share it in hopes that it can help someone else who is being impacted.

These days everyone knows someone with a food intolerance, but a lot of people do not know where to start when combining multiple issues. I have found a lot of tricks and life hacks to make day to day living easier without gluten or dairy. There are of course some times when we just have to suck it up and come to grips with food being difficult and more work.  Such is life and most days it is worth the extra hassle. Living gluten and dairy free is something I have helped many people with and believe I can reach more people using this format.

Welcome to my journey. I hope I can help, inspire, support or guide anyone who comes along and needs a little encouragement or extra comfort.