Thank you for the love & support over the past year. I started this site to raise awareness for Endo & by doing so, I’ve had the opportunity to connect with & learn from many different people. There was so much I had wanted to share during Endo Awareness Month but I was just managing to keep up with daily life.
However, one awareness act that I wanted to share was started by Georgie Wileman, #thisisendometriosis, where those with Endo date & photograph their surgical scars as a way to bring more awareness to surgeries that potentially could be causing more harm than good, thus leading to multiple surgeries. Find an experienced Endo specialist, not an ob-gyn who says they do excision; that’s why I needed to have a 3rd surgery
Aside from surgery, managing Endo requires a lot of work & consistency. It’s a complete lifestyle change, not just in terms of medications or surgery, but diet, exercise, sleep, & self-care as well Making changes is not easy, especially if you have bad habits from before like I did. Junk food? Yes! Gym? No! I know how hard it is, believe me. And it’s not going to happen overnight. Take it day by day & do what you can...most importantly, DO WHAT WORKS FOR YOU; you know your body best. And don’t be discouraged if you slip up one day. This is a part of the process of making things a part of your routine I know those suffering right now are probably thinking you have no idea what it’s like to do something when you are in pain. You don’t know how hard it is when you are trying to work and going through this. But I do
Photography: Ishu Kler Creative
I was diagnosed with severe deep infiltrating Stage 4 Endo & Adenomyosis. I have been in ER’s, crying, screaming & doubled over in searing, sharp, shooting, cramping pain. I have gone to work the very next day & cared for sick patients while barely able to walk. I have looked 5 months pregnant thanks to bloat (& still can some days!), not ate all day because of severe nausea, & fatigue has made me miss out on many outings & celebrations. I have sat & looked at the life I lost. I have spent countless nights awake. Many times I have wished that the ground would just open & swallow me up because I didn’t want to do this anymore & I said that a lot. And if I didn’t say it, I thought it. But somehow, I did do it, just like we all do. You think you can’t, but you can I am not pain free yet & I haven’t had a minute of being pain free in almost 5 years but I am starting to have better moments because I’m trying to be consistent with all my therapies and do what is best for me It is work, hard work...but nothing good ever comes easy
Roop Bassra, RN
BSc Psychology, BSc Nursing
@endointhe604