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After confirmation of my diagnosis of endometriosis, my doctor prescribed me the injection leuprolide. After the first injection I felt pretty good. I wasn't experiencing any pain or side effects from the treatment. After the second injection, within a couple of days, the side effects came on very strong. My skin was inflamed with acne within a couple of days. I was experiencing horrible mood swings and paranoia, as well as insomnia and low libido. I took the injection for maybe six to eight months, as long as I could take it, and I couldn't handle the side effects anymore. So my doctor prescribed me a low dose of birth control and within two to three weeks I had my full force of endometriosis symptoms back. I took the low dose birth control for a few months and continually felt worse. I returned for a routine PAP and my doctor found blood in the rectum. I had actually been complaining of that new symptom since taking the birth control. He suggested doing a temporary colostomy bag and removing part of my large intestine. I really wasn't sitting well with that, so I got a second opinion from a different doctor who had different equipment, and we were able to do a second laparoscopy where he was able to remove all of the lesions that were left behind from my first surgery. So it was a little bit more successful. And then after my second surgery, I had the choice of either trying for pregnancy with my husband or moving forward with a treatment plan. We chose trying for pregnancy. I was able to get pregnant within five months and then unfortunately had a miscarriage. After healing from the miscarriage, we decided to move forward with a treatment plan. And this treatment plan was called elagolix, which is a GnRH antagonist, a daily pill. I have had wonderful results with elagolix: minimal side effects, minimal pain. I deal with pain maybe one or two days a month, and it's extremely manageable with ibuprofen. And the only side effect I really deal with is hot flashes. But it's manageable and I would trade hot flashes for debilitating pain any day.

I was 10 years old when I first heard about endometriosis. My mother was speaking about my cousin who was struggling with severe abdominal pain, heavy periods and fertility issues. Severe pain and heavy bleeding were the biggest symptoms that I had heard that were associated with endometriosis. And after this discussion with my mother about endometriosis at 10 years old, I had never heard any mention of endometriosis by a healthcare professional or in any of my health classes growing up until my diagnosis at age 27. I know now that endometriosis is extremely painful, and it is an extremely debilitating disease. And I know now that just because somebody may look healthy on the outside does not mean that they aren't struggling on the inside. I think it's very important for women to listen to their bodies and to continue seeking help if what they're being told by their doctor is not satisfactory.

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I first started experiencing endometriosis symptoms at age 13 with my first period. I had an extremely heavy period. I would go through two to three thick pads every hour or two and had very painful cramps accompanying my heavy periods. I was told this was normal by my primary care physician. From age 14 and up, my period seemed to change a little bit. It seemed to get a little bit lighter. So for the first 10 to 24 hours, it would be pretty heavy again, and then after that it would lighten and almost be nonexistent, and I was able to use a very thin panty liner. Although my periods seem to lighten, the painful cramping seemed to continue and get worse. After complaining to my mom about having these horribly painful cramps once a month, I finally went to my first OBGYN appointment at age 16. And I was prescribed birth control to manage the PMS and cramps, and also because most girls my age were taking birth control. Between ages 16 and 20 I was diagnosed with PCOS. I would get frequent ultrasounds which would show fluctuating cysts. Other symptoms that I was experiencing were nausea, abdominal pain, headaches, but I wasn’t really thinking that they were related to my period. As I got older, I discovered that I was experiencing pain with sex as well, and the location of the pain that I was experiencing led me to believe that it was GI related. Other symptoms that started to be more prevalent were constipation and diarrhea. I was constantly in the bathroom struggling with constipation and diarrhea at the same time, a lot of times. And because the nausea would accompany that I believed that this was all GI related. By age 24 I began to experience night sweats in addition to all of the other symptoms. And again, all of these symptoms -- nausea, night sweats, constipation, diarrhea, stomach pain, headaches, pain with sex -- this was all happening throughout my entire cycle, not just during my period.

My symptoms got to a point where I really couldn't manage anymore. And I was in so much pain. I was constantly calling out of work, so I couldn't really keep a job. And I didn't even want to be touched. I was in so much pain and just so uncomfortable. I kept seeking different opinions from different GI doctors. I believed that this was GI related because of the nausea and the diarrhea and constipation issues; also, the location of the pain I was experiencing during sex. I was diagnosed with a gluten allergy as well as irritable bowel syndrome. After trying different over the counter medications, different prescription medications, dieting, eliminating different foods from my diet, and getting nowhere, my boyfriend who is now my husband happened to see a commercial for endometriosis which described heavy bleeding, heavy pain, and I think it described pain with sex as well. I didn't really believe at the time that I had endometriosis because I had such a light period. But I was looking for any answers, so I made an appointment with an OBGYN that I had never seen before. And this doctor was the first doctor that actually listened to me and listened to my symptoms. I came to him with the idea that I might have endometriosis. My doctor was open to it. He said, you know, that absolutely makes sense. And we did an ultrasound. I was lucky that we were able to see what looked like a large cyst. I know now that it was an endometrioma, and on the left ovary, which was the location that I had been complaining of. A lot of the extremely, extremely intense pain was coming from that area. After confirming that it probably wasn't like a regular cyst because it almost doubled in size after 90 days of birth control, that was another supporting factor to the belief that I might have endometriosis. So we went ahead with a laparoscopy. When I woke up from surgery, my doctor described seeing a basically red carpet encoating my uterus and my large intestine and my bladder. Once confirmed that I had this diagnosis of endometriosis, I was so relieved because I had been struggling for so long and had been dismissed of my symptoms and almost laughed at. I felt frustration that it took so long. But I felt relief because I knew that I fought for myself, and I listened to my body, and I didn't give up. And I finally had gotten an answer.

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How To Use About Endometriosis Symptoms Diagnosis Treatment

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