Laying nauseous on the bathroom floor, weak and immobilized with pain I couldn’t deal with it any more. I was told that “all women have bad periods”, “everyone has cramping”, but this couldn’t be normal. Is it normal to be so overcome from pain that you have to vomit? Is it normal to feel like a knife is slicing you from your pelvis and through your rectum? Is it normal to have this pain even after the bleeding ends? Why do none of these medications work? Midol, Tylenol, Ibuprofen. Nothing is helping. That day, on the floor I decided I had enough. I don’t know how other women do this each month but I can’t take it. This was NOT normal, it can’t be. Something needed to be done.
I made an appointment with a gynecologist. While I can’t even remember how I found her, I do remember sitting across from her in her office and announced to her that I think I have endometriosis. She gave me a curious look. She knew I was a medical student and probably thought I had “medical students disease” – something like a hypochondriac reaction to learning about strange diseases. She ask me why and I told her. I have pain for 2 days before my period starts. I never have to calendar because I can count on having pain first. Then when my period starts the pain is so intense. I get these shooting pains in my pelvis and these strong spasms or jolts in my rectum when I try to poop during my period that just take my breath away and leave me close to tears.
I could still tell she was a little skeptical. She did a pelvic exam and said, “you don’t have endometriosis. You have fibroids”. Fibroids! Getting a diagnosis was such a relief. I felt like it justified my feelings that this was not normal and I didn’t need to suffer in silence any more. Being told that “all women have bad period” was really brushing away my symptoms. I spent many years not being heard. I know that other women are also suffering with painful periods. Sometimes even doctors don’t seem to *hear* what you are saying. Don’t give up on getting the help that you need because no, not everyone has bad periods and if yours are bad maybe there is help out there.
Infertile Obgyn
