MARCH IS ENDOMETRIOSIS AWARENESS MONTH

My Endometriosis journey properly started around 18 months ago. Within these last 18 months I have undergone two surgeries in order to firstly diagnose and then to remove what they can of this disease, this is when I was diagnosed with Stage 4 Endometriosis.

What you need to know about Endometriosis is that this is a chronic disease that does not go away. It is manageable and treatable however it continues to grow. I have been suffering chronic pain since around the age of 16, from when my menstrual cycle started, unfortunately a lot of women like myself get diagnosed with painful periods and are fobbed off by GP's with the usual 'just accept the pain this is normal' - however this is far from normal.... 

Endometriosis is a condition where tissue similar to the lining of the wombs starts to grow in other places, such as the ovaries and fallopian tubes and my bowel. Main symptoms include: painful periods (and in my case pain pretty much 24/7) pain during sexual intercourse, chronic fatigue and it can lower your chances of becoming pregnant.

In my case I was told that my chances of conceiving and becoming a mother were very low, after trying to conceive for a short while its become obvious that the route I will need to take will involve a little help from what is commonly know as ....IVF. 

If the physical pain isn't enough for each and every woman to deal with, we then face the mental / well-being pain too. Being told you have a chronic illness that you will need to battle with, live with and suffer in constant pain is just indescribable. Then to then be told I may not be a Mum was the hardest things I have ever had to deal with. Words can not explain how you feel until you hear it out loud, nobody will ever understand what that feels like unless they have experienced it themselves - and I pray for each and every woman out there that is experiencing ANY of this. I hear you, I see you and I feel you. 

So this is why I am raising money for this amazing charity, lets spread awareness like wildfire to try and get more women to take any symptoms seriously, do not give up, do not think this is normal and do not accept this is the normal. Lets take the TABOO out of women's private areas, and talk about it. This disease is as common as Diabetes, yet hardly anyone has heard of it! 

We deserve better and we deserve to be heard! 

Much love and thank you for reading

Alex xo