40. Diagnosed herself at 26, via Google, then yearly surgeries, adenomyosis symptoms, 10 years to finally found a doctor who helped.
Mara is 36 years old from WI. She had heavy and long periods starting at 15 years old, at 17 years old she had her first GYN appointment where she was put on Birth Control which helped reduce her cramps, but as years went on in her twenties she began to have increased symptoms such as large blot clots, back pain, pain that felt like contractions and GI symptoms. At 26 she was googling and self-diagnosed with endo... about 6 weeks out from her wedding, 3 weeks before she got married she had surgery! She had back surgery and post-surgery she had bladder retention one month after surgery due to the inflammation of her uterus. Over the next 10 years, she had surgery, changed her diet, and was diagnosed with Adeno. Listen to the rest of her journey on the show. Want to keep the conversation going? Join our Facebook Group: tiny.cc/7mpbnz Thank you for listening and supporting this podcast. We need awareness about this disease. If you want to be on the podcast or have feedback please reach out via my website www.melissaboudreau.com. Thank you for your support and time. Please consider subscribing and writing us a review on Apple podcasts it really helps us get more awareness and with guests agreeing to come on! You can do that here! http://tiny.cc/f74onz
30 Okt 20201h 1min
39. Diagnosed with IBSD at 11, pain in back, ovary in high school, only have one "good feeling" week a month.
Annie is 22 years old and from Flordia. She is a hairstylist and is on her feet most days all day, her first sign of Endo was when she was 11 years old, when she always had stomach issues and was diagnosed with IBSD when she began high school her period pain began to get worse mostly in her lower back. She always wondered why her friends were not "as sick" during their cycle. She was placed on birth control, and many different types, she began to miss school and only have about one good week a month. She knew something was off and keep telling her doctors. She had a large cyst that continued to grow until it was 11cm at this point she had to have surgery. She was 21 years old when she had her first laparoscopy and got her diagnosis. Listen to the rest of her journey on the show. Want to keep the conversation going? Join our Facebook Group: tiny.cc/7mpbnz Thank you for listening and supporting this podcast. We need awareness about this disease. If you want to be on the podcast or have feedback please reach out via my website www.melissaboudreau.com or find me on Instagram @endo_lady. Thank you for your support and time. Please consider subscribing and writing us a review on Apple podcasts it really helps us get more awareness and with guests agreeing to come on! You can do that here! http://tiny.cc/f74onz
19 Okt 202049min
38. After suffering for 29 years, finally diagnosed with Endo at 45 years old, and now PAIN & fatigue FREE!
Ellen is now 48 and lives in Milwaukee, WI. Her mother is a nurse and always grew up with painful periods. At 16 years old when she began her cycle her cramps were mild. But at 18 years old she began to notice things were a bit off, she has intense fatigue and brain fog and if she laughed too hard she would pee a bit. Starting at this point her pain & fatigue began to interfere with her daily life. She did not tolerate birth control well and did not take it. She adjusted her life to live with her pain, and at 44 she finally had her first laparoscopy surgery for an ovarian cyst. A year later she finally got her diagnosis and at 46 years old she was able to have excision surgery, she started a fundraiser to help with the cost of the procedure. Today 1.5 years after that surgery she is PAIN-FREE. Listen to the rest of her journey on the show. Want to keep the conversation going? Join our Facebook Group: tiny.cc/7mpbnz Thank you for listening and supporting this podcast. We need awareness about this disease. If you want to be on the podcast or have feedback please reach out via my website www.melissaboudreau.com or find me on Instagram @endo_lady. Thank you for your support and time. Please consider subscribing and writing us a review on Apple podcasts it really helps us get more awareness and with guests agreeing to come on! You can do that here! http://tiny.cc/f74onz
27 Sep 20201h 32min
37. Bounced around the medical system for years before endo was found & Ireland, how it is underserved for endo patients.
Elva is 36 years old and from Ireland, where at this time we are not sure there are any doctors that perform excision surgery. At 17 years old she had a large cyst detected after years of burning pain and heavy periods. The cyst was removed but she was never told she has Endo. For years she continued to suffer on birth control and the copper IUD, she was ping-ponged from doctor to doctor in the UK and IRE, until she finally found someone who would listen. She has surgery on Dec 2109 which confirmed Endo, but also put her on a new path fo find relief. Listen to the rest of her journey on the show. Want to keep the conversation going? Join our Facebook Group: tiny.cc/7mpbnz Thank you for listening and supporting this podcast. We need awareness about this disease. If you want to be on the podcast or have feedback please reach out via my website www.melissaboudreau.com or find me on Instagram @endo_lady. Thank you for your support and time. Please consider subscribing and writing us a review on Apple podcasts it really helps us get more awareness and with guests agreeing to come on! You can do that here! http://tiny.cc/f74onz
11 Sep 20201h 4min
36. How one surgery helped her become almost pain free, as of today.
Dani started her period at 15 years old, she had mild cramps growing up but did not really experience endo pain until she was in her late 20s. But when it came on, she was not sure what was wrong and was misdiagnosed several times before she found out she had Endo. She was told she may have ovarian cancer and needed to have surgery quickly for a 7cm cyst that grew quickly. We believe she had an ablation surgery* for stage IV endo in September of 2019 and she remains almost pain-free today. *excision is the gold standard for treatment vs ablation Listen to the rest of her journey. Want to keep the conversation going? Join our Facebook Group: tiny.cc/7mpbnz Thank you for listening and supporting this podcast. We need awareness about this disease. If you want to be on the podcast or have feedback please reach out via my website www.melissaboudreau.com or find me on Instagram @endo_lady. Thank you for your support and time. If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review and subscribing on Apple Podcasts/iTunes? It takes less than 60 seconds, and it really makes a difference! Thank you!
4 Sep 202052min
35. She saw TWENTY doctors in one year fighting to be treated correctly.
Abby started to feel off at 11 years old, but her period did not start until she was 16 years old. She would have a great deal of pain before her cycle started. Her pain increased in her 20's and she began to miss work, she was on the roller coaster of different birth controls. She was told by doctors the pain was from depression. She kept fighting and finally got diagnosed with Endo and she had THREE Endometriomas. She does also suffer from PMDD and chats about how she is managing that now. Listen to the rest of her journey. Want to keep the conversation going? Join our Facebook Group: tiny.cc/7mpbnz Thank you for listening and supporting this podcast. We need awareness about this disease. If you want to be on the podcast or have feedback please reach out via my website www.melissaboudreau.com or find me on Instagram @endo_lady. Thank you for your support and time. If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review and subscribing on Apple Podcasts/iTunes? It takes less than 60 seconds, and it really makes a difference! Thank you!
22 Aug 202056min
34. Very painful cramps early on & KNEW something was off, the fight for diagnosis.
Sarah shares her journey with us, she had painful cramps early on at 13 years old. She knew something was off and was started on birth control at 14 years old. After fighting to be heard she had a laparoscopy at 18 years old and was told there was no Endo present. She was also told she had IBS and was going Doctor to Doctor to get someone to listen to her, she was convinced to try an IUD, which she had removed very soon after. Listen in to how she finally found a doctor that would listen, and how the Depo shot has been helping her. Check out her blog: https://happyandunwell.com/ Want to keep the conversation going? Join our Facebook Group: tiny.cc/7mpbnz Thank you for listening and supporting this podcast. We need awareness about this disease. If you want to be on the podcast or have feedback please reach out via my website www.melissaboudreau.com or find me on Instagram @endo_lady. Thank you for your support and time. If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review and subscribing to Apple Podcasts/iTunes? It takes less than 60 seconds, and it really makes a difference! Thank you!
7 Aug 202054min
33. Recovery from thoracic excision. Recovery is not liner, but there is light at the end of the tunnel.
Anna and I talked last summer as she was recovering from pretty much 3 back to back surgeries. She was recovering from her latest thoracic excision at the time where a large Endometroma was hiding and found on her liver. (here is the original episode) https://anchor.fm/dashboard/episode/e4os0t We chat about how to recover well and she updates us on how she is feeling now. Want to keep the conversation going? Join our Facebook Group: tiny.cc/7mpbnz Thank you for listening and supporting this podcast. We need awareness about this disease. If you want to be on the podcast or have feedback please reach out via my website www.melissaboudreau.com or find me on Instagram @endo_lady. Thank you for your support and time. If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review and subscribing on Apple Podcasts/iTunes? It takes less than 60 seconds, and it really makes a difference! Thank you!
31 Juli 202035min
