Oh no....

I am actually wondering how effectively the Zoladex is working. I have been in quite a bit of pain over the past day or two and thought it was just being bloated and guts not being great, but as it turns out I am having another bleed. I am hoping that this will be the last blip and that once I have the third injection on 17th September, there will be no more problems. I need to be fully fit and well from here on in as I am about to start an MSc and will have a very full-on schedule.

It is now just over one year since my surgery....!

Back on Zoladex - 25-7-08

Despite some overall improvement in my periods and there were a few which were definitely much better, I have started to get in more severe pain again and finally resorted to restarting Zoladex injections today.

I am about to start a full-time university course and I cannot have this continual disruption; so it is back to hot-flushes again. What joy!

Good News

I have now had three periods which have been what I would consider to be "normal" and what most women would experience. Yes, I have needed painkillers, but compared to how I was existing before, this is completely manageable, and paracetamol and volterol seem to be sufficient, with a bit of codeine at night.

On two the last two periods I have even done a ballet class, which would have been completely unthinkable in the past.

I have managed to work normally, see friends and live a "normal" life. My life has not stopped because my period started.

I believe that my endometriosis was completely removed at the surgery in September, and I think that other improvements such as very, very low wheat/dairy diet have also improved things.

It is wonderful not to have my life disrupted and to experience a few days of a little inconvenience, but my body otherwise doing exactly what nature intended.

Dexa Bone Scan Result

I am delighted that my latest Bone Density Scan result was NORMAL. This means that there should be no problems in me returning to the hormone medication of Zoladex and HRT if my periods become too painful.

Based on the last period, I am going to wait and see.

Good Period

Despite the bad PMT - probably caused largely by a new bra :) my last period (8 January) was actually much better than the ones before. This meant that although I still needed painkillers, I could work normally and did not want to jump off a cliff or drown myself in morphine. This is a positive result!

Maybe the next one will be OK too....!

PMS

Things are already getting interesting this month, and since day 24 of my cycle, which happened to be the 1st January 2008 - so Happy New Year to me, I started to have the most awful breast pain - which is still going on. If anyone comes near them they will just get it - it is bad wearing a bra, and just as bad not wearing one. I can't win! It is strange because I don't normally get anywhere near as much tenderness as this.

Had a look at gynaecology book to see what the significance of day 24 of the cycle is, and it seems that both oestrogen and progesterone have totally dropped off at that point, so maybe that is why.

Books suggest no dairy or caffeine, both of which I had cut for over 5 weeks, and for much of the last few weeks as well - so there is no justice at all! Bring me a latte right now!

E-Petition

"Endometriosis is a severe, chronic, extremely painful, debilitating disease yet it is not being recognized by benefits services. There is no cure. Women are left debilitated with pain and are unable to carry out normal daily tasks in many many cases, let alone hold down a job. We are asking the government to make new guidelines for endometriosis sufferers, especially those being assessed for Disability Living Allowance."

petitions.pm.gov.uk/endometriosisdla/

Please sign this petition!

Thank you.