Because mine starts out with me having three beautiful baby boys, 21, and 18 month apart from each other. Before that, I was alway in great health; rarely ever getting sick. After each pregnancy, I lost vast amounts of weight - attributing it to post-pregnancy hyperthyroidism. It may have been that, it may not be, we still do not know. But after my third child, everything changed.
I started having debilitating pain on and off throughout the month, with excruciating pain during my period (usually ending with me on the couch, lots of meds, and a heating pad). I was taken from a vibrant young mom weighing around 140 with lots of energy, to a sad looking 118 pound mom struggling to juts get out of bed and feed my boys in the morning. It was tough and I actually thought I was going to die. We did not have medical insurance of any kind (we had just moved to a new state), so I went to a free clinic. They sent me in for ultrasounds, and found that I had some good sized ovarian cysts. Follow-up ultrasounds showed that they would come and go, so the doctors said that was all that they could do until I was able to see an OBGYN. I tried and tried to get into the one at the clinic, but they only had one male OB, so I waited on the waiting list. After a while, I lost hope and gave up trying to get in to see him.
I then sought natural options and found Shaklee, what a breath of fresh air! I dove into researching everything from eating organic to what was in my store-bought cleaning products. Horrified at my findings, I then journeyed down a "going green" path, gaining momentum and my first blog - The Lean Green Mommy Machine. The natural products worked for a while and I started to feel better and forget what I had been through almost a year previous. We moved back to our home state, and the pain started creeping back into my life and disrupting the "normality" I had tried so hard to find. Not only did I have pain throughout the month and during my cycle, but adding insult to injury - intercourse became increasingly painful either during or afterwards. That was the last straw. I called up the closest OBGYN that was a DO and worked close by, and made an appointment to find out what was going on with me once and for all.
From my research, I had two options that I thought it might be....endometriosis or ovarian cancer. I didn't like either, but knowing that only 20% or so of all ovarian cancer is found in the early stages, I hoped that it was endometriosis. My doctor was great, and scheduled an ultrasound and blood work right away. When it came back, she said some of it was abnormal, and she wanted to do a CT scan to rule out ovarian cancer.
I have never felt so numb and scared at the same time.
Cancer?? At 27 years old and with three kids? Now this would be a statistic for the record book! With the support and prodding of my husband, I sought the Lord in prayer - searching for hope and renewal. I found a spring or refreshment and hope, and went into the CT scan about a week later. Everything came back normal, and cancer was almost ruled out. The next step was to do a laparoscopy to see what my ovaries looked like and if I had any endometriosis.
Surgery went well, and my husband talked with me about what the doctor had done after I woke up. They did find endometriosis, but it was still in an early stage. My left ovary had been partially taken out to biopsy, but my right was healthy and left completely intact. The endo was taken care of as best as they could, but there was a chance it could come back. At least I had an answer. And it at this point was a blessing. I have three boys, and almost 50% of all women with endo are infirtile! Thank you Father - for blessing me with life before this diagnosis.
A few days after my surgery, I got a call from my doctor's office letting me know that the biopsies were clean, no cancer in sight. Another blessing and answer to prayer! Thank you Father. I have life to live for Your glory.
For now, I am feeling well. I am taking lots of supplements from Shaklee and using all of their natural cleaning products. As for treatment, I chose the Mirena IUD (which took a lot of research and thinking to come to that decision, it wasn't an easy one...and I might have it taken out if I start to have bad side effects) - we shall see how that pans out. I'll be starting a journal on how I am doing so I can catch any unwanted symptoms and make changes to stop them if needed. I have no clue what my body will do next, but I do know that I have a wonderful life to live right now - and this disease will not get the better of me. I want to glorify my Father in everything I do and say.
If you would like to share your story, or have questions for me, please contact me via email at eliam05 (at) yahoo (dot) com.
May God bless you richly today!
