27/03/2024
Welcome to !
My name is Diane and I'm the face behind . I was born and live in Canberra, Australia, and grew up in Melbourne.
I have degrees in law, pharmacology, and communications, and work mainly in public policy.
I first experienced endo symptoms at 8, which got worse with my first period at 11. Like many of us, I was put on the pill very young (14), and by the time I was 15, I was taking a box of panadeine forte
(paracetamol/codeine) every period. I was diagnosed with endo when I was 29.
The intervening time was filled with pain, GI issues, and, memorably, an emergent oophorectomy due to torsion (caused by a massive endometrioma).
I had my first laparoscopic surgery at 29, where the (general obgyn) surgeon ablated endo on my left uterosacral ligament and implanted the mirena coll.
I did NOT respond well and have suffered from constant severe pain ever since. I had a hysterectomy at 30 for adenomyosis and had amazing pain relief for four years
...until I started randomly bleeding, went to the GP and found out I had approx five endo lesions in my vaginal vault (around the scar from my hyst, which was a laparoscopic assisted vaginal hysterectomy)
I was told not to do anything about the disease
"until my quality of life was unbearable" bc I would need a bowel resection and probably a stoma.
This was stupid advice, but I took it because I didn't know any better and I trusted my surgeon. So my disease was left untreated for several years, until I wound up with three ED presentations in one year for pain management. (Contd. in comments)
