Ivana O's Story

Endometriosis

I got my period at the age of 12 and always had excruciating period pains which were heavy. At the age of 14 I was put on the pill to manage my pains however this did not work. Every three months I was given new pain killers to use during periods as the medication didn’t work. When I was 16 I was diagnosed with PCOS. Then at 24 I developed lots of extra issues with my tummy playing up and was diagnosed with IBS. A colleague encouraged me to get a laparoscopy and I finally did this 3 years ago at the age of almost 30 and was told I had severe endometriosis. Since the age of 12 up until my laparoscopy I had missed out on school each month and work as an adult. I could not move around and would cry myself to sleep in pain, I tried everything and nothing worked. Since having the laparoscopy almost 3 years ago I am happy to say that I now get my period without any warning and the pains are managed with ibuprofen and Panadol and I am able to attend work and get out of bed. I definitely can see some changes in the last year which lead me to believe that it’s possible it is coming back, but my life has improved so much. I had developed a lot of anxiety thinking there was something seriously wrong with me for so long because of the pain and with no resolution until the laparoscopy. I am so glad I took my colleagues advice!

I was also told after laparoscopy of the options: have a baby, Mirena or a special pill. I chose the first and became pregnant very quickly post surgery however this resulted in a pregnancy full of complications. When I gave birth I realised that the pain I was in every month during my period was the same as labour.