I have my postponed impending surgery coming up at the end of July for my hysterectomy and diaphragmatic endometriosis excision, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t actually pretty terrified. While I’ve wrapped my head around the hysterectomy (as much as one can) and what that recovery might look like, I’m so worried about the excision on my diaphragm and the long term impacts of what this could mean for my ability to work. The prospect of having even a percentage of pain relief is incredible, but on the flip side I’m scared of going through it all for no relief, or surgery on my diaphragm leaving me unable to breathe properly or with phrenic nerve damage. I was diagnosed with pelvic endometriosis just over 5 years ago, and I chose to address it holistically, through lifestyle change and minimal hormonal intervention. While hormones can often suppress the symptoms of endometriosis, they don’t necessarily stop the disease from progressing (with the exception of some new drugs which help to slow progression and shrink lesions)—and as women, hormones have such a huge impact on the rest of our bodily functions. Anyway, that was the path that I chose, and since then, earlier this year after a follow up scan it showed that my disease has progressed to Stage IV endometriosis, meaning it is now beginning to impact my other organs and stick things together. It’s also decided it wants to be all up in my diaphragm muscle! I guess the reason I’m sharing this is to say, that if you’ve got endometriosis and your pain is being dismissed, you’ve GOT to keep advocating for yourself. For ages, I had convinced myself that I had a huge tumour under my rib cage that no one was finding, and before doing the MRI in January I was crossing my fingers that they would find one so I had a reason for all the pain I’ve been in for the last 2-3 years. #Endometriosis is not just a pelvic disease. I think I’m also sharing in solidarity for all of my fellow endo pals, because I’m sure there are other people out there that are sh*t scared about their own surgeries and journeys too… I see you 💛 P.S. Please no femme-splaining or one-downing. All of our pain, experiences and choices are valid.