Lately...

I had a glowing review at my ultrasound in March.  I turned 35 in April.  That must be what happened.  My next period was painful.  This was a new kind of painful, or rather an old kind of painful.  There was pain in my tailbone and radiating from my left hip.  After the period passed and the pain didn't, I visited a new chiropractor.  His "big picture" treatment was very inspiring.  My pelvis had tilted, likely in response to pain.  I felt great!  I felt taller!

It didn't last long.  Soon I was having abdominal pain, if you can call it pain.  Really it felt like every organ in my lower abdomen was angry.  Next came the chills.  This wasn't the first time this angry abdomen had presented with a fever.  Several years ago I visited a reputable massage therapist that worked in freeing scar tissue.  After the first visit, consisting of some abdominal, tailbone and hip work, I had several days of aching, high fever and chills.  This felt like that and has happened a few times over the last few years.

And so it began...my current battery of tests and painful days.  I had a CT Scan to rule out appendicitis.  The next day my fever hit 102.6*.  My family doctor ordered me to the ER.  I spent June 13, 14 and 15 admitted for a "suspected" tubo-ovarian abscess.  Many IV antibiotics and one for the road, there is no way anything could survive that cocktail!  I didn't feel bad while on the antibiotics ~ 12 days.  

The day after the antibiotics ended, the burning pain in my low back began.  It worsened each day.  By Monday, day 4, I made an appointment with a doctor at my gyn's office.  My scheduled follow-up from the hospital stay wasn't until Wednesday.  I hurt so bad I couldn't wait.  I've peed in many cups during this episode.  Today it was painful.  Not a burning when I pee feeling, but the same angry abdomen pain.  Still, it wasn't obviously gyn related.  Since everything "seemed" fine upon examination, I was sent home with muscle relaxers and pain medicine and instructed to visit the chiropractor again.  Also on Monday via ultrasound it was very clear that I never had a tubo-ovarian abscess.  There were no remnants of it.  The chiropractor was scheduled for the next day but it wasn't to be.  I couldn't pee.  Not only did it hurt, but I could barely make it happen.  Another visit to my gyn's office.  A different doctor (Dr. Naymick) this time mercifully catheterized me to remove 500 cc's of urine.  This examination was bad.  It was tears running down your face, horrid pain, crying and hoping for it to end, doctor apologizing, rearranging cervix, the endometriosis seems to have invaded the vagina, nurse grabbing tissues, "the time has come" no good very bad kind of bad.  He gave me a pain shot in the hip, compassionately wiped a booger off of my nose and referred me to a surgeon.  My mom and dad came to get me.  I waited in the parking lot, in my car.  I collapsed into their arms out of pain, devastation, exhaustion and fear.  This is only the beginning!