COVID and endometriosis

The pandemic has been an uncertain and anxious time for everyone, but living with a chronic illness has amplified the anxiety and uncertainty surrounding COVID 19. My struggle with endometriosis has been impacted greatly and I know I’m not alone on this one.

The care for women who have endometriosis has been disrupted by the pandemic, for myself it has pushed back waiting for my next operation hugely. Prior to the pandemic I was added to the waiting list for an operation in December 2019. Throughout the last two years that I’ve been waiting there has hardly been any communication with the endometriosis specialist or the gynaecology department, which has made the situation worse as the waiting game heightened my anxiety. I would call every couple of months to check on the status of my wait but each time I was told it would be soon. I understand that obviously it wasn’t life threatening and so I would be pushed further down the waiting list, however my symptoms over the last couple of years have gotten worse.

Not only has my endometriosis been impacted but this has then had a domino effect upon my mental health, employment and social life. My mental health has gotten worse as my symptoms have, my anxiety has been high and I have been battling with my depression as it’s been a debilitating time. My work and social life have been impacted greatly as most days when my endometriosis has flared up all I want to do is stay in bed, take my medication and sleep. Which is what I have done quite a few times as I have had to call in sick or cancel plans, however it’s not something I can do all the time and so I have to force myself to make it through my days even when I am struggling.

Luckily, I have other methods that help to manage my symptoms. Without naproxen and codeine I would have not been able to cope with my endometriosis, but I try to only take it once in a while as I don’t want to become reliant on medication and feel the need to use it constantly. My sleeping tablets have also been a god send as without them I would not be able to sleep when in pain, they let me sleep through most of the night without waking up from the pain. My hot water bottle is also like my best friend when I’m suffering, I carry it everywhere including around with me at work and when I go out. The heat from the hot water bottle relieves the cramping quite a bit as my medication makes me drowsy I can’t take it all the time, but this as meant that I have burnt myself quite a bit as I need it constantly.

A few months ago I was at a point where I was getting the Prostap injection as I was unaware of how much longer I would be on the waiting list. But at 24 years old I don’t fancy putting my body into temporary menopause and to suffer the side effects that menopausal women go through. However, a couple months ago I received the best phone call possible from the endometriosis specialist. They explained that due to the waiting time and the impact of covid on surgeries, that they had referred me over to a private hospital who have reviewed my file and want to take me on as a patient and it’s completely FREE!!!! I finally got a letter through for an appointment and my first consultation is in January so hopefully this should get the ball rolling for the excision surgery.

After so long it’s finally good to see some progress being made with my endometriosis struggle. There’s only a few more weeks to go and I cannot wait to start this new journey and share it with you all.

With love,

Nakeita xoxo