That’s all for now really… Just hoping everybody is having a good Christmas. I have eaten an indecent amount of food and am about to drink yet another glass of mulled wine. Do I care about the calories?
No, I do not.
Happy. Am.
That is all. I am very happy. VERY happy.
I’m flying home :) Weeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So my throat still hurts but it’s now Friday. This is GREAT. If I can just get through today, and my stupid voluntary overtime and my stupid observed lesson, then maybe I’ll be able to have a relatively relaxing weekend?! (With a few reports to write, but I guess I can do that by the pool!)
In a week and 1 day I will be flying home to England for Christmas. You have NO IDEA how excited I am about that 
Hope you’re all doing okay. x
It is 2.45am. I am not asleep. I feel ill.
This week is not going to be very easy. End of term never is. Lots of marking and report writing to do, as well as now having an observed lesson (lots of paperwork/preparation) last lesson on Friday night. On top of this I’ve managed to get myself a throat infection. Also managed to collapse on Saturday morning. No reason why apparently.
It’s so hot. Wish my air con worked properly 
I went to Bangkok at the weekend for more tests…. If this is likely to be TMI, then don’t read ahead… I’ve decided to be frank and honest about my experiences rather than embarrassed, because people might actually learn something about what this condition is, what it means, and what people like me go through in order to deal with it or treat it… so here goes… Let’s start at the bottom 
So, my colonoscopy was an interesting experience. As usual, the nurses were lovely and treated me really well. I had my IV thingy put in, was given an adorable outfit of ‘hospital robe’ and was plopped onto a gurney with lots of smiles and reassuring hands-on-shoulders.
I was wheeled into a little room with a big tv screen, asked to roll onto my side and I watched the nurse injecting the happy-juice. A couple of seconds later I went completely woozy and probably fell asleep. Unlike being under a general anaesthetic though, I kept waking up and feeling intense pain in my abdomen in various areas, as they pumped a load of air inside me so they could look around. Remember thinking it was really painful to the point where I remember actually crying out a couple of times… but then went straight back to sleep. Anyway, apparently I slept for 3 hours after coming out of the room.
Doc eventually came in and told me they hadn’t found anything unusual, and that my bowel looks healthy, as he suspected.
So I went back to see Dr Boonsaeng, the gynaecologist. He told me that their conclusion/assumption (or in his words ‘consumption’) was that I have microscopic endometriosis on the bowel, and possibly in other places too. When it’s microscopic, obviously it can’t be detected by laparoscopy and neither can it be surgically removed. The only way to treat it (and it really is a case of just treating the symptoms with endo, apparently, because they don’t know what causes it) is with hormone therapy.
I had thought this meant simply going on the pill. No…. Not so simple. Basically, the endometrial cells (both in the womb where they’re meant to be and outside the womb where they’re not meant to be, which is what I have) respond to changes in hormone levels. So when your oestrogen levels are up around the time of your period, the cells respond by bleeding. This is fine for the cells which are where they’re meant to be, because the blood can escape (hence you get your period) but the cells which are elsewhere bleed and the blood cant escape so this causes inflammation.
The way to stop this inflammation is to stop the increase in hormone levels. The way to do this is to technically stop your ovaries from producing the hormone at all. This is basically what the menopause is.
So, one way to stop the ovaries from doing what they’re meant to be doing (temporarily, this is, not permanently) is to have an injection called Zoladex which will basically induce an artificial menopause. (With all the lovely side effects that go with it…)
Because this will have very annoying side effects, Dr Boonsaeng has prescribed a very low-dose HRT pill to replace a very small level of the hormones which I’ll be lacking. This should be sufficient to ease the side effects but not enough to cause endometriosis pain.
In essence, they are stopping my own natural hormone production completely and then reintroducing a very low amount of it.
That’s the first bit. The second bit is this….
The pills he has prescribed are of 2 different kinds. One is called Activelle, and the main side effect is a complete lack of libido. Not exactly a problem I guess! He wants me to try this one first, and then if it doesn’t seem to work I can alternate between Activelle and a different pill called Livial. Livial does not affect libido, but it does have the lovely side effect of obesity…
So to cut a long story short, I’m about to go through menopause, lose my sex drive and get fat. But I *shouldn’t* experience any more endo pain!
But this is only a 3 month trial period. If it works, then in 3 months I will go back to Dr Boonsaeng to have an IUD installed. (For the men amongst you, this is basically a metal coil which is inserted into the womb as a contraceptive.)
The side effect of THAT is very painful period pains, because your womb is basically cramping around a metal spring.
So…. Looking forward to all my fun adventures with various different drugs and different pain and side effects! Lots of lovely hot flushes and sleepless nights as well as emotional rollercoasting.
Gonna do everything I can to educate myself about this stupid condition, and have joined a forum on the internet to ask questions and stuff. I suggest that if you want to understand it better, you join the forum too. It’s not just for sufferers, but for friends and family to try to understand it better as well.
So there you go, there’s my update. I had the injections on Monday (The first one to numb the stomach area because the 2nd one was from a REALLY FAT needle!) so I guess in a couple of weeks or so I will start feeling what it’s like to be 55 years old. YAY me!
Thanks for ur messages of support and stuff…. It really means a lot to me. Am trying to approach all this with a sense of humour, but if I ever fail, please be patient!
God, I need a holiday….
The first thing I want to say is that I am really grateful for the fact that I’ve been told my ‘girly bits’ are all healthy and looking normal. I never want anybody to think that I take this for granted, because having kids is high on my priorities for the future. So this is GOOD.
So my question is, is it wrong to say that I’m worried that the docs are going to say “We can’t find anything wrong with you” and that will be that, and I’ll be left dealing with pain and fatigue until (and I guess it’s likely?) the endometriosis causes more lesions which need to be removed.
I wish that there was somebody reading my blog who also had endometriosis so we could talk about it. There are websites and stuff, but you have to pay a fortune in donations to join them and be able to participate in forums with other sufferers. I have questions and want to ask people about it… I’ll direct some to the gynaecologist again tomorrow, but I know I’ll think of things again after I’ve gone back to Burma, and he’s a busy man and doesn’t have time to be emailing me with little tidbits of information.
I’m feeling a bit lost…. Endometriosis is meant to affect 10% of women, but I don’t seem to know anybody else who has it! (I mean that’s good…. but I guess it makes me feel a bit isolated.)
Today I’m seeing a gastrointestinal specialist. Maybe he’ll be able to shed some light. More news later!
Oh if anybody wants to drop me a text, my Thai mobile number is +66 847 125 638. Be nice to hear from anybody at all, since I’m a tad bored
notes from a small bri-land
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