My friends always poke fun because my “Instagram life” is so totally separate from my actual life and I typically like to keep it that way, which is why I debated whether or not to even publish this post, but since 176 million women worldwide are impacted by this disease, and an estimated 1 out of 10 women suffer or are misdiagnosed, I felt obligated.
En route to DC to work the White House Correspondents’ MSNBC After Party with the Compliance Team this Saturday, I felt a sharp pop followed by immediate pain. This wasn’t my first rodeo, so I knew instantly that I had just ruptured an ovarian cyst. Stuck on an Amtrak and tied to a work commitment, there wasn’t much I could do, but luckily, my pain tolerance is quite high so I mustered through. I’m also extremely thankful that my Parker dress had some extra fabric to hide the alien bulge that was protruding through my lower abdomen all evening.
What was meant to be a night of fun (and looked so glam on Instagram) was masked by horrific pain. When I got back to Philly on Sunday, I went straight to the ER to confirm via ultrasound that it was indeed what I thought. I’m still in pain – and super bloated – and since endometriosis is one of those diseases that still requires much more research and knowledge from the medical community, there’s not much I can do about it.
ICYMI, here’s the 411: Endometriosis occurs when tissue similar to the lining of the uterus is found in regions outside of the uterus, in other words, where the tissue should not be and as a result, causes pelvic pain.
While I was researching articles en route to the ER, I came across a few that mentioned women with celiac disease (#me) are more prone to endometriosis and that a gluten-free diet is a suggested strategy for those suffering. However, the issue at hand here is that it takes on average, 10 years from symptom onset to receive an accurate diagnosis in the US, which is why it’s so crucial to spread further awareness of the disease and support research and funding.
I hope by sharing my recent experience with the disease, at least one of you can relate. I’d also like to note, that despite the pain, I truly did enjoy my time in DC!
If interested in donating to the Endometriosis Foundation of America, you can help support the mission of increasing disease recognition, providing advocacy, facilitating expert surgical training and funding landmark endometriosis research HERE.
