FEELINGS AND EMOTIONS EXPERIENCED WITH ENDOMETRIOSIS: RELIEF, DENIAL AND OTHERS
Relief
When a doctor finally puts a name to all that pain and suffering you feel relieved. At last someone has recognized that you do have something wrong with you and it is not all in your head. No, you are not neurotic and your symptoms have a name. Endometriosis. You do not have cancer and you can at last do something about your problem.
Denial
Some women cannot accept that they have a disease. They will not accept the fact that it may cause infertility, may interrupt their lives, relationships and careers. They believe that if they ignore it the symptoms and disease will just go away. They turn a blind eye to it all and bury their head in the sand.
Confusion
For others, the relief of finally knowing what is wrong is clouded by fear and confusion, particularly if they have never heard of endometriosis or know only a little about the disease.
Many women are told the best ‘cure’ is to have a baby. For teenagers, those not in a relationship, or those who had decided not to have children, this can be a confusing and annoying ‘solution’.
It is normal to want to know the answers to several questions. The most common questions are:
• what causes endometriosis can I have children
• what treatment is available
• will the treatment I choose get rid of the pain
• can I be cured
• is it hereditary
• is it a sexually transmitted disease
• where do I go from here.
The more accurate information and support that you receive soon after you have been diagnosed, the less likely you will be confused and unsure of the next steps in dealing with this disease.
Overwhelmed
• You may feel overwhelmed by the various options of treatment that are presented to you. These options may include having no treatment at all – adopting a wait and see approach. This may be the case especially if your endometriosis is mild with few symptoms and you are planning to get pregnant.
Perhaps you were trying to get pregnant before your endometriosis was discovered and the prospect of a six to nine month course of drugs which will prevent you from getting pregnant during that time will be exasperating.
You may have to consider going on a course of fertility drugs if you want to get pregnant – something you may never have considered before.
Having to make a decision about which hormonal or surgical treatment is best for you will almost certainly be overwhelming.
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