Individuals with endometriosis need your help now to adapt endometriosis education to online learning, fund cutting-edge research on endometriosis treatment and diagnosis, advocate for endometriosis education on the state and national level, and promote disease recognition in our broader communities.

My Story

My name is Kim and I was officially diagnosed with with Stage 4 #endometriosis through laparoscopic surgery on April 5th, 2021. Like many #endowarriors, my symptoms started long before my diagnosis, which I thought were completely normal. Most women that experience painful, debilitating periods automatically assume that this is completely typical. We’re just told to suck it up, deal with it, and just take pain meds. Painful periods that impact your daily functioning are not normal and this is why many women end up not having children, unable to have a fulfilling career, and unable to function day to day.

As you can imagine, when my diagnosis was first suspected, I had absolutely zero knowledge of this disease. I was placed on hormonal birth control pills in my teenage years. When I was 28 years old, my fiancé and I made a mutual decision to stop birth control to wean my body off the hormones in preparation for possibly starting a family.

I experienced painful cramps that caused me to miss daily activities and work, ER visits, nausea, “lightning bolt” feelings through my rectum, pain with urination and much, much more. I was dismissed by my gynecologist and was told that my cysts and symptoms would go away and just continue to take pain medications. To her and many people, I appeared healthy, normal. I looked “fit.” I didn’t look sick. But does @iamhalsey look sick? How about @oliviaculpo, @padmalakshmi, @chrissyteigen, @mandymooremm, @daisyridley? Unable to seek answers from medical practitioners, I turned to self research, which then lead to Facebook and Instagram communities, and finally, to my excision specialist, Dr. Lora Liu at @pelvicrehabilitation.

So here I am, introducing myself to the world with my 𝗯𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲 𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗿𝘀 to show that endometriosis is a 𝙨𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙤𝙪𝙨 disease and should be treated as such. I want to do my part in spreading awareness, provide support and find the silver lining in this chronic illness. If more awareness was spread and all of the stigma surrounding a woman’s period was taken away, the possibilities would be endless.