Endometriosis is a very difficult and frustrating medical condition to live with because most people don’t see how it affects every aspect of your life and think that it’s just a bad period. Some people with endometriosis have less pain than others, but there is no cure, and people with endometriosis spend their whole lives trying to manage symptoms to have less pain. Friends and family want to be supportive of their loved ones with endometriosis, but often struggle to support them because they aren’t affected by it. I have endometriosis and sometimes struggle to explain to friends and family how it affects my life because most people think you just get a few bad cramps a couple of days out of the month, and I only wish that were true. Endometriosis affects all areas of your life because, despite what most people believe, you can have increased pain when you are not on your period. Endometriosis pain is often unpredictable, and the way it is managed is going to be different for everyone because there is no one-size-fits-all solution for pain. How does endometriosis pain affect my everyday life? In this post, I am sharing a few ways that endometriosis pain has affected my life.
It affects what activities I am able to do that day– People who live with painful conditions such as endometriosis often will have good days when the pain is lower and bad days when it’s unbearable. Endometriosis can cause a lot of fatigue because your body is always fighting pain, which requires more energy, and your body is constantly working overtime. There are a lot of reasons why someone with endometriosis may struggle with fatigue, such as sleep disruptions and iron deficiency, because when you have endometriosis, you bleed more heavily, which can lead to anemia in some people. Some days I have more energy than others, but my pain affects every activity I am able to do that day, because sometimes I barely have the energy to function, especially if it’s getting close to my period. I have written a couple of blog posts in advance because my pain can change on a day-to-day basis, and even though I feel great today, it doesn’t mean I will feel the same tomorrow. My pain affects what activities I am able to do that day, and sometimes I will have tasks I want to do, but wake up with elevated pain levels unexpectedly, and I can’t execute those tasks because of pain.
It affects the quantity I am able to eat at one time- As a disabled person with a physical disability, I try to eat on a regular schedule because my bowels don’t work properly and can easily get constipated by poor nutrition. People sometimes may think that endometriosis pain has not affected my eating because they see me eating regular meals, but it affects it in more ways than you realize, and I am just good at hiding my food struggles. Eating can sometimes be a very painful experience for people with endometriosis because bloating is a real struggle, and it’s not uncommon for people to lose weight. My endometriosis pain has affected my eating habits in a very significant way, and I am not able to eat the quantities I used to be able to eat without pain.
It affects how much exercise I am able to do that day- Exercise can support endometriosis pain, but it can be difficult because it can also trigger more pain when it’s done incorrectly. I exercise regularly, but my pain affects my entire exercise routine, and the intensity that I am able to push myself depends on my pain levels. My pain levels determine how hard I am able to push myself or if I am even able to exercise at all, because sometimes I want to exercise but don’t have the pain levels to be able to do it safely. It is more difficult to improve your physical health when you have endometriosis because sometimes pelvic pain makes it difficult. On bad days, sometimes I will be able to take pain medication that will improve my pain significantly so I am able to exercise, but sometimes I have to accept it needs to be a rest day. Endometriosis pain can affect your mobility because it can become so painful that you can barely walk, and exercising is not always safe. It is not the type of pain that you can push through, because pushing through severe pain often can be dangerous.
It affects my ability to move– When people see me struggling to walk, they often assume that I am having a hip problem because most people don’t associate mobility problems with endometriosis. If I am struggling to walk, it can be an orthopedic issue, but most of the time, I am in crippling pain because of endometriosis. Mobility problems are not always endometriosis and can be a sign of an orthopedic issue, but if you have endometriosis and live with severe pain, you always have to entertain that idea until proven otherwise.
It affects my motivation- Endometriosis pain can cause insomnia because pain often keeps you up at all hours of the night, especially when it’s getting close to your period. I struggle to motivate myself to do things because most of the time, I am so fatigued and all I want to do is sit in bed and do nothing. I don’t have as much motivation to do things because of endometriosis pain, and it’s not because I am lazy and don’t want to, but I don’t have the energy to do basic tasks most days.
Endometriosis is often associated with bad period cramps, and although it is true that you do have more severe period pain, it doesn’t only affect your period. When you live with any type of chronic pain, it changes your whole world because you can’t do things to the same capacity that people without pain can. Endometriosis is frustrating because it can cause pain in areas you didn’t think could hurt, and it goes beyond period pain. A gynecologist may treat endometriosis, but it’s not a gynecological disease and can cause a lot of health issues not related to your period that are often overlooked. Surgery can help some people get significant pain relief, but there is no guarantee it will work, and sometimes you get no relief from surgery. Endometriosis does not always cause pain, but for those of us who do get significant pain, it is often disabling. I have learned to adapt my life to my pain, and most times, you may not notice how it affects my life, because you only see what I want you to see. People who live with chronic pain often are accused of being a faker because we are too good at hiding pain, but even though you don’t see my pain, it doesn’t mean it’s not real. How does endometriosis pain affect your life? If you liked this post, please leave a comment below and share it with your friends.
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