Curse you, lady parts

Not sure what's up with me...two blog posts in one day. I gotta rant for a little while though.

All my life, it seems, my lady parts have been giving me grief. I was diagnosed with endometriosis when I was 24, just shy of NumberOneSon's first birthday. As a matter of fact, I had surgery and then had his birthday party the following weekend. What can I say, you have a lot more energy when you're in your 20s.

Just six weeks after my surgery, the pain came back. A month later we moved to Louisiana so I got to try to find another doctor. The first one I saw was a quack. I thought maybe I could just muddle through for awhile. But no, I needed a doctor. The second one was pretty good and we managed for several years.

After I graduated from nursing school and got a job, I got new health insurance and had to find a new doctor. I asked around and Dr. B came highly recommended. I continued to muddle through but eventually the pain just got to be too much and I had surgery again. This time I had real relief. And apparently real fertility too, because I was pregnant with Ms. Thang three months later. In spite of the Pill.

And then 16 days short of two years later, BabyBoy came along. Also in spite of the Pill.

**Boys and girls, do not trust just one form of birth control if you really don't want to have a kid.**

Don't get me wrong...I was excited to have my babies, we were just surprised, that's all. If I had waited till I thought I was ready, well, I'd probably still be waiting.

My lady parts had gone from giving me pain to working a little too good.

All that pregnancy and breastfeeding helped keep the endometriosis at bay for awhile. But when BabyBoy was about three, I started to have some pain here and there. It was livable but in the back of my mind I knew at some point I'd probably have to have another surgery.

In 2010 I got my upper lady parts squished and found out I had breast cancer. I had the surgeries and chemo, took a shot and pill to suppress estrogen since it was an estrogen receptor positive cancer (the most common, least aggressive and most treatable kind). The added bonus was that it cured my endometriosis.

Unfortunately, the miracle shot and pill have given me old lady bones. In an effort to not break a hip, my doctor changed my pill from an aromatase inhibitor to a SERM (selective estrogen receptor modulator). Apparently SERMs are anti-estrogen in breast tissue but pro-estrogen in the uterus. I'm still trying to figure out how that works.

Anyway, the pro-estrogen causes the lining of the uterus to grow and since endometriosis is simply uterine tissue growing outside the uterus, that's growing too. So now I have severe intermittent pain. I went to the GYN NP today and I go back to see the OB-GYN in two weeks.

There are a few treatment options...progesterone to counter the estrogen. Going back on the aromatase inhibitor. Stopping the SERM and just taking the shot. Surgery to clean out the endometriosis. A hysterectomy.

So now I've gotta do MORE research and try to figure out what's best. As if I don't have enough things to keep me busy.

So curse you, lady parts. You're nothing but trouble.

RDG