Pain pants

WARNING: This blog is about endometriosis and other yucky girl things. If such subjects turn your stomach, you might want to go look at cute kitties.

Still with me? Good. This is my first public blog, and I'm a bit nervous...go easy on me.

A little backstory on the blog: I've been reading all these articles about the importance of blogging and social networking (usually on other people's blogs), but never felt I had anything to blog about. I mean, sure, I have my personal blogs, shared with friends, but a blog open to the world? What do I have to say that anyone would care about?

Today, I was reading Penelope Trunk's blog about, well, blogging, and she said something that flipped the switch in my mind: "pick a topic you have a lot to say about." I could talk about what I do (copyediting) or what I enjoy (video games, crafts, reading), but quite frankly, I'd rather do those things than talk about them.

However, I do have a lot to say about endometriosis. I've been blogging about it for years, both in my LiveJournal and on 43 Things. I've done what feels like an insane amount of research. My doctor and I have been trying different treatments for years. And I realized that there are probably women (and men!) out there who would be interested in what I'm learning. However, my LiveJournal is only open to my three closest friends (all guys...guys who will probably be grateful that I've moved the yucky posts elsewhere), and it's going to stay that way. My 43t entries are only seen by a select few (though if you're interested, go here). So...here I am.

A little backstory about me: I'm 33, divorced, childless, and was diagnosed with endometriosis when I was 28 -- though I suspect I've had it since I started having periods (14). I also have fibrocystic breast disease, which does not help one bit. My mother had both of these conditions; her mother did not.

A laparoscopy (aforementioned diagnosis) revealed I had minor lesions ("chocolate cysts," my doctor called them), though quite a bit of scarring. He burned them off, and I got three months of "normal" periods before all hell broke loose again. (Note to "normal" women: Those aren't cramps. That is not a heavy flow. Buck up.) I could have another surgery to clean up the new globbies, but I don't feel a mere three months is worth the risk and expense.

My typical symptoms include severe cramps and back pain that can (and frequently do) reach from my waist to my ankles. Hence the blog name. For added fun, the pain is usually accompanied by migraines, severe (read: borderline suicidal) mood swings, and of course the zits and bloating you hear women bitch about.

I've been on a merry-go-round of birth control pill regimens in the past two years. I've been on Yaz since January, and it seems to be working reasonably well....mind you, my definition of "reasonably well" has been drastically altered. I'm also test-driving some of the dietary advice I've read, though I'm probably not devoted enough for it to do any good. More about all that later.

That should be enough to get us started, I think.