To Tell or Not to Tell, That is the Question

Hello out there! While recovering from my surgery I contemplated whether or not I should share why I had the surgery to begin with on my blog....

And I'm happy to tell you that I have decided to. I mean what the hay, ya know? Since I share this with some of my closest friends and Binderclips, some are already aware. However, others have not heard as much about it. I am simply trying to ed-u-ma-cate everyone on this not-to-well-known disorder or disease (depending on what school of thought you come from). ;)

So, here I go:

I had laparoscopic surgery for endometriosis. When ever I say the word "endometriosis" to anyone they usually; 1) Respond with "Oh, ok?", which usually means they have no clue what I'm talking about and/or 2) Since they are uncertain what it is, act like I might be contagious and they need to stay away from me.

To clear up any confusion I thought I'd include a little background on what endometriosis is. Basically, the lining of the uterus is shed each month (in child bearing women) and is excreted from the body during menstruation. For women who have endometriosis this lining does not get fully excreted from the body but instead finds it's way into the abdomen. It's essentially like the system gets backed up and the tissue has no where to go but inside the abdominal cavity.

This results in the endometrial tissue adhering to the woman's fallopian tubes, ovaries, uterus, or even other internal organs causing lesions or growths. Since the lesions/growths are made up of endometrial tissue they can essentially have monthly bouts of bleeding just like what occurs during menstruation. This back up in the system along with the lesions/growths results in organ inflammation, the formation of scar tissue, and sometimes intense pain. Adhesions can also form that connect organs together. In addition, ovarian cysts can also form, which hold blood and can rupture spilling the contents into the abdomen.

So, that's what I have and it's not contagious. YAY! --insert me doing a happy dance here--

Specifically, the surgeon vaporized the endometrial implants I had (imagine the doctor with a microscopic laser gun shooting at me on the inside saying "watch out endo here I come to vaporize you!") and removed an ovarian cyst. So, I'm feeling a lot better lately, I mean A LOT. This is the second time I have had the surgery and the last time I had it - it had the same effect.  It made me feel tremendously better afterwards.

I will be posting the rest of my Surgical Intervention story soon, so look for it! Have a great night everyone!