Content warning: this piece contains talk of menstruation, sexism, and also contains photos of my abdomen after surgery. by Keira Edwards-Huolohan
Thirteen years. I waited thirteen years before I was diagnosed with endometriosis. When I was twelve, I had terrible period pain; I would have to call my mum from the school office and ask to be picked up, then spend the day in bed loaded up with painkillers, trying to sleep through the pain. I would dread my period each time it was coming, thinking about the pain that I would be in. I had to take time off work and uni whenever it came. The pain became a part of my normal life. Doctors and everyone around me said that period pain was normal. Doctors dismissed it as a 'normal women's problem', probably assuming that I was just 'weak' and complaining and 'hormonal'. So I never really questioned it after that. At age twenty-two I started being in pain during sex; I avoided sex for 3 months due to fear. That's when I realised I should maybe ask a doctor about it. A year later, I went under the knife and I was diagnosed with endometriosis. I finally understood why I had been in pain for all those years. Unfortunately, my story is not uncommon. |
Keira's Blog
This blog contains posts about my personal life, as well as feminism, gender, comics, eco-friendly products and other things I find interesting. My fiction/poetry works can be found here. All posts are written by Keira Edwards-Huolohan and belong to me. Please credit me if you share them. My pronouns are they/them. Archives
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© Keira Edwards-Huolohan 2013 - 2016. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Keira Edwards-Huolohan with appropriate and specific direction to the original content. |