I hadn't planned on posting anything tonight, but something I read today compelled me to reach out to anybody and everybody out to there to PLEASE SPEAK UP.
Every month at
Womanist Musings, Renee writes a special post when she begins her period. (This month's post, however, is from guest
Ruth.) Since women are generally taught to see their periods as something disgusting and repellent, it's very refreshing to be able share my experiences with the other women who visit the site. Then I read a comment left by
Froth:
When you're folded into a little ball on the floor of a halls bathroom, unable to stand or walk (and therefore reach pain relief) because you faint when you try, afraid to leave the bathroom because you're bleeding like crazy and you didn't know you would so you don't have a pad and the hormones have given you diarrhea, sweating through your last clean pair of pyjamas with the pain, there is exactly nothing good about having a womb.
Ladies - and gentlemen - PLEASE get yourselves checked out. If something doesn't feel right, then it probably isn't. Do not ignore your symptoms.
Alright, story time...I wish I could say that this one has a happy ending.
My mother suffered from severe menstrual cramps for most of her life. She would go to one gynecologist who would tell her, "Some women just have worse cramps during your period. Here, I'll prescribe you some ibuprofen." Being an Air Force family, we moved often. So, she would go to her new gyn complaining of her severe cramps. That one would say, "You need to stop smoking. In the meantime, I'll prescribe some ibuprofen." Another move, another gyn. This time: "You need to lose some weight. In the meantime, I prescribe some ibuprofen." It was the same thing every time: lose weight, stop smoking, quit whining, here's some pills. Since my mom wasn't getting any real help, she would swallow dose after dose to get rid of the pain. Yet, there were still those days when her menstrual cramps were so bad, she stayed in the bed the whole day.
Well, my mom was approaching 50 and she decided to make some changes for the better. She started walking to and from work, and she quit smoking cold turkey. She dropped 3 dress sizes and was in excellent shape.
So we thought.
Despite the positive changes to her lifestyle and wellness, she was still having severe, incapacitating menstrual cramps. She went a gynecologist and told her that she was tired of getting the run-around. Something was wrong, and she wasn't leaving until someone did something about it!
She was admitted to the hospital for a
laparoscopy. They discovered that she had such a severe case of endometriosis, that the only thing to do was to perform a full hysterectomy.
My mother was elated! At almost 50, she wasn't planning on having anymore kids anyway. She was so ecstatic about finally being able to live without that pain.
The operation was performed. It was a complete success. For a few sweet months, everything was fine.
Then my mom got sick.
The doctors told her it was just a virus. They gave her antibiotics. She began to feel somewhat better, but then the symptoms kept returning. On top of that, she became weaker and weaker, to where she started to walk with a cane.
One day, she collapsed at home. She was admitted to the emergency room, and they performed test after test after test after test...
The result: Liver cancer.
All of those years of suffering through endometriosis and not knowing about it. All of those years of not being listened to. All of those years of having to self-medicate because the "professionals" wouldn't hear her...
She was diagnosed in February of 2005. She passed away in June of that same year.
Mama was 49 years-old.
Listen, if something feels wrong, then something IS wrong. I don't care how many certificates and diplomas are on somebody's wall;
nobody knows your body better than you. Shout. Stomp your feet. Throw a tantrum. Cry like a baby. If you believe that something is not right with your body, listen to your instincts. Get yourself checked out.
AND MAKE THEM HEAR YOU.
