She told me endometriosis meant extreme pain in the days before a period - I've had extreme, nauseating, on-the-floor-screaming, difficulty-breathing pains during my period and once around ovulation. And yes painkillers do not work.

Symptoms do not always correlate with the stage. Meaning that, some people may experience excruciating pain, yet have stage one (minimal) and vice versa.

Trigger Warning: Menstrual Cycle / Growth Diagram / Cyst and Lesions and Adhesions / Infertility / Digestive Issues / Pelvic Cavity.

Ain't abuse, ain't some horrible accident or a battle scar, just God trying to murk me before I got teeth to bite him back with LMAO

Last month I had to go the hospital because a sebaceous cyst in my stomach bust, and I just so happened to have been with my mother at the time so she drove me. I personally don’t usually lead with the fact that I have a severe panic disorder when I see a doctor, but that’s the first thing my mother tells them about me.

Everything was going fine, the lady seemed concerned because like, I’m bleeding from my naval and I had no idea why. UNTIL, my mother interrupts me while I’m talking to tell her I had anxiety. After that the lady got super dismissive with me, and didn’t really seem like she cared too much about the mysterious source of blood dripping from my stomach.

“where do you tend to carry your troubles?”

“my head

and my hands.”

• • • • • • • • • • • • • •

a few months ago these hands said “pain”, but now they say “healing” — so symbolic of my year so far. i’m so thankful that my hands are longer swollen, bleeding evidence of my anxieties. i’m learning how to redirect these feelings and turn them into something useful, which has been really hard. lastly, ridding my body of the ganglion cyst that plagued my wrist for 5+ years has helped my sleep at night.