Endometriosis

Warning - Dates are approximates.
I was diagnosed with Endometriosis after my son, Marcus stopped nursing.  He was born in August of 1996.  Five and a half weeks premature, spent 13 days in the NICU, (his right lung collapsed while there - Miracle people those doctors and nurses) [one day I plan on being a kangaroo for them, just a warm body that goes and sits and rocks and loves those darling little angels, too many of them there without family]  I nursed/pumped until October; when I went back to work my supervisors told me they wouldn't allow extra breaks in my schedule for me to pump.  Approximately one month later, the pain began.  Period type pain.  Every.single.day.  Making it hard for me to concentrate and hard for me to handle additional stress.  I went to the a doctor.  Pretty sure that since I didn't know what type of pain it was I started going to a Family Physician rather than a OB.  Well, that and I blamed my OB for my son being premature. 
A year later and after researching on my own, I offered the endometriosis diagnosis to my doctor.  He decided I was right and scheduled an exploratory laporoscopy.  Which turned into an operative laporoscopy while I was under.  After the laporoscopy I still had pain and then the doctor offered Lupron.  I'm not sure how long I was on Lupron at that point but he'd said "you can only have two doses of this in your lifetime."
Skip ahead to 2003, I moved got a skilled doctor, divorced Marcus's dad and married my darling Wayne.  All the while the pain is still going on and I'd been put on birth control to "control the pain".
In  2004 Wayne and I decide to have a baby, I go off the birth control.. we wait 3 months before we "try" to get pregnant. We tried ONCE and were pregnant with Olivia.  Olivia was born in June 2005.  I nursed until Olivia was 10 months old. She began to bite me and refused to nurse.  One month later, approximately, the pain was back and was more serious.  The pain extended at time into my back and down into my legs. 
So, back on the birth control I go to "control the pain."  It worked for sometime then I asked if I could try a different kind of birth control.  In my thinking if birth control was working why do I have to stick to remembering a pill.  I asked to try an IUD. It was administered in December of 2008.  By February of 2009 I'd been in so much pain daily, including a migraine that last for 18 months that I was begging for a hysterectomy.  My doctor agreed and scheduled the surgery.  During the appointment one week before surgery I asked for the IUD to be removed... my thoughts were "if my 'junk' is coming out, why do I need the IUD in".  So, he removed it.  And with it removed all the pain I'd been in for the last 2 months.  I cancelled the surgery on Wednesday.  Decided to give my body a rest from birth control for a month or so...
In June 2009, Olivia made a birthday wish for a baby sister.  Amelia was born in April of 2010. (Birthday wishes have been over-ruled in my home!)   I had gestational diabetes with Amelia, and other than a different diet we had a wonderful pregnancy.  I gained only 18# which was completely different because with the other two it'd been 50# or 60#.  I nursed Amelia for 9 months, she started refusing my milk and started getting tummy aches. 
I joined Lose Big (my gym's version of Biggest Loser) the last week of September 2010.  I worked out with my team and our trainer twice a week, religiously. I followed a better diet.  I lost 20# the first month. I began to enjoy and even crave the workout.  I felt lost if I missed a workout.  I felt great!  The sessions were 16 week sessions, two workouts a week with a team of 4 to 6 people.  It was wonderful!  In between sessions there was a week or two sometimes four that we didn't have any workouts... so we'd buy extra sessions.  I did a total of 5 back to back sessions.  I never stopped going... until... May 2012 my Wayne had noticed his weight creeping up.  Wayne's father died in January 2012 and "normal" changed.  So, I suggested that he start the next session of Lose Big in June.  I was sure that with the half marathon training that I was about to begin and my teammates keeping each other accountable that I would be able to maintain my 46# weight loss. 
Little did I know that June brought my Endometriosis pain back full on. My left side was blazing in pain! I went to the doctor the following week. We know you have Endo, but you're also experiencing "pelvic floor spasms".  He prescribed a PT, said that she would likely give me exercises to do and I could do them on my own at home after the first visit.  I thought that "pelvic floor spasms" sounded like a crap diagnosis and decided to hold off on the PT.
The pain continued until July when my right side began to blaze.  That side hurt so badly that I was scared I might be pregnant in my tubes.  I called my OB. I left a message reporting the pain to the nurse.  She called me back and referred me to my Family Physician saying that it sounded like my appendix.  CT scan revealed nothing.
August, brought left side pain.  Same location as June. I went back to the OB. He referred me to the PT and I began seeing her.
September brought right side pain... so painful that I couldn't walk. I felt like a head was hanging out of me.
She referred me back to my OB saying that she couldn't help me until I get the pain managed.  My OB wants to put me on Lupron.
Lupron will medically induce menopause.  And could give us an idea of whether or not a hysterectomy is in my future.
That was two weeks ago. I've come to a conclusion since then.  It seems coincidental that my pain began every time I stopped nursing... until I was exercising vigorously.
So, I've decided to rejoin Lose Big and see if I can "medicate" myself with exercise.
I hope this blog will be the story of how an active life is the best way to fight this disease.  I hope to give others with this disease hope!!