My name is Brandie Hall, I am 31 years old, and I live in Jacksonville, FL. Born at 27 weeks (pre-mature), I weighed 1 pound 13 ounces and spent two months in the NICU. I have Retinitis of pre-maturity, Scoliosis, and I also have Von Willebrand disease (a condition where my blood does not clot good.) Everyday, my doctors tell me how lucky I am to be alive!
I started by menstrual cycle when I was 12 years old. From the beginning, my cycles have been heavy; so heavy that I spoke to Hema oncologist about it because I thought maybe it was my clotting disorder that was causing cycles to be so heavy but that was not the case. Every month I had horrible cramps that felt like someone was stabbing me over and over again. Often, I would miss school because of my cramps and my cycles being so bad. I took birth control pills and even did the Depo shot, which couldn’t help either.
At 19 years old, I had by first daughter, by C-Section because she weighed 9 pounds and 11 ounces at birth. Then, 2 years later, I had my second daughter. After both children, I still seemed to have heavy period cramps. I decided to get and IUD for 5 years, after my second child, it did help me with cramps and I had no period. 4 years into the IUD, I decided to get it removed. I got pregnant for the last time with my son. I had Placenta Previa with him, causing me to be in and out of the hospital for months. I had to have him through an emergency c-section, 7 weeks early. 3 months later, the doctor took a look at my uterus, ovaries and tubes and said it looked pretty bad. He sent this information to my GYN to review. She reviewed it and said that I had to do a vaginal ultrasound to confirm the findings. Turns out, I had scaring on my uterus muscle, black (dark chocolate) cysts on both ovaries, and both tubes were clogged. I had to have a full hysterectomy in 2011. When the pathology results came back, she confirmed that I had endometriosis. She said that the hysterectomy should cure me, but 6 months later, that was not the case. My pain had returned, worse than before. She decided to put me back on birth control pills for over a year; that didn’t do anything either.
In July, I got a CT done which the results landed me in another surgery in August 2013. After 4 hours in the operating room, the doctor told my husband that it was endometriosis again and my bladder had fallen. She put me back on birth control pills, and even suggested that it may be time for Lupron. She decided to do another exam and said “you look fine, I don’t see or feel any endo. Have a good day!” WHAT? She was my doctor since 2001 and she was giving up on me!
Today, I am still in pain. So much pain that it affects me being an army wife. It effects everything in my life. Endometriosis is a horrible, nasty disease. I am sharing my story with hopes that people will listen and be willing to help me. I am going to the Center for Endometriosis in Atlanta. The cost of my procedure will be thousands of dollars. I am accepting donations for anyone who would like to help.
http://www.gofundme.com/88aor4
I started by menstrual cycle when I was 12 years old. From the beginning, my cycles have been heavy; so heavy that I spoke to Hema oncologist about it because I thought maybe it was my clotting disorder that was causing cycles to be so heavy but that was not the case. Every month I had horrible cramps that felt like someone was stabbing me over and over again. Often, I would miss school because of my cramps and my cycles being so bad. I took birth control pills and even did the Depo shot, which couldn’t help either.
At 19 years old, I had by first daughter, by C-Section because she weighed 9 pounds and 11 ounces at birth. Then, 2 years later, I had my second daughter. After both children, I still seemed to have heavy period cramps. I decided to get and IUD for 5 years, after my second child, it did help me with cramps and I had no period. 4 years into the IUD, I decided to get it removed. I got pregnant for the last time with my son. I had Placenta Previa with him, causing me to be in and out of the hospital for months. I had to have him through an emergency c-section, 7 weeks early. 3 months later, the doctor took a look at my uterus, ovaries and tubes and said it looked pretty bad. He sent this information to my GYN to review. She reviewed it and said that I had to do a vaginal ultrasound to confirm the findings. Turns out, I had scaring on my uterus muscle, black (dark chocolate) cysts on both ovaries, and both tubes were clogged. I had to have a full hysterectomy in 2011. When the pathology results came back, she confirmed that I had endometriosis. She said that the hysterectomy should cure me, but 6 months later, that was not the case. My pain had returned, worse than before. She decided to put me back on birth control pills for over a year; that didn’t do anything either.
In July, I got a CT done which the results landed me in another surgery in August 2013. After 4 hours in the operating room, the doctor told my husband that it was endometriosis again and my bladder had fallen. She put me back on birth control pills, and even suggested that it may be time for Lupron. She decided to do another exam and said “you look fine, I don’t see or feel any endo. Have a good day!” WHAT? She was my doctor since 2001 and she was giving up on me!
Today, I am still in pain. So much pain that it affects me being an army wife. It effects everything in my life. Endometriosis is a horrible, nasty disease. I am sharing my story with hopes that people will listen and be willing to help me. I am going to the Center for Endometriosis in Atlanta. The cost of my procedure will be thousands of dollars. I am accepting donations for anyone who would like to help.
http://www.gofundme.com/88aor4
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