Hi I'm 24, and whilst I have never been officially diagnosed with endo, I strongly believe that I have it. Over the past 10 years I have suffered the following symptoms;
weight struggles
extreme PMS - sickness and throwing up, violent behaviour, sobbing, headaches etc.
anxiety
depression
acne
diarrhea (linked to my time of the month)
EXTREME bowel pain during period - once had to go to A and E
VERY painful penetrative sex - brings me to tears
a lot of fatigue - could spend 15 hours in bed if I allowed myself
These symptoms (as well as others) have been ongoing since I started menstruating. Sometime they get worse or improve but always seem to come back around.
I have been diagnosed with IBS but over time I have done my research and I strongly believe that I was incorrectly diagnosed.
Anyway, the main symptom that is affecting my life is painful intercourse. I never used to suffer with this issue and slowly it has become worse and worse until now, I actually think it has worsened due to anxiety of pain. I am getting married next year and my partner is very understanding but this issue is making me feel like a failure as a partner and very unattractive. I used to feel very attractive and sexual, now I have stopped wearing nice clothes, doing my hair and make up and this in turn makes me feel worse. It's very difficult to untangle all of my symptoms and figure out what is linked and what is just a coincidence. All I know, is that all of them indicate to endometriosis. I have been led to believe that if I have exploratory surgery to confirm diagnosis and remove scar tissue it will not guarantee an improvement in pain or prevent it developing further. Does anyone have any advice. This is something I have been dealing with alone for many years.