An update on Laura’s health and life…
Hello everyone, it has been a little while. That’s because I was busy planning a wedding! But that’s done now, so here’s a little update on what has been going on.
Before I start, I would REALLY appreciate anyone who wishes to endorse me for the WEGO health awards. These are awards the recognise the work of health advocates and I have been nominated in the Best in Show: Blog category.
Just click the below to endorse me and fill out your name and email
Thank you! Now back on to what’s been going on with me.
Wedding
If you haven’t read my previous posts, and don’t follow me on social media, you may have missed the fact that the blog has been quiet because I’ve been busy prepping and then recovering from my wedding.
I’m glad to say it all went really well. I planned things quite well to take into account my needs. For example, we started quite late in the day for a wedding. Perhaps I will write a post in the future with my tips for a low-energy wedding.
But that didn’t stop it taking it out of me afterwards. The hangover was not the worst bit, it was the following day when the PEM/PENE kicked in that I felt my worst. If you don’t know what this is, I have a comic that may explain things!
It was worth it though! I was lovely to see all my friends and family in one place in one go and marry the man I love! Here’s a photo of us on the big day.
Health
There is a lot to update you on here. I think I’ve mentioned that I have been diagnosed with Adenomyosis. That is a disease with very similar symptoms to Endometriosis but instead of endometrial tissue causing issues outside of the womb, in Adenomyosis the endometrial tissue is found inside the muscular wall of the uterus itself.
This is a condition notoriously difficult to diagnose but basically, my uterus looked like I had it during my laparoscopy for Endometriosis. If you have had children it can’t really be diagnosed this way as your uterus will appear lumpy anyway but because I haven’t it, teamed with my continuing pelvic symptoms, was enough for a diagnosis.
I should also note that not having children and it looking normal does not rule out the condition.
Unfortunately, I am at the stage where I need to have a hysterectomy to treat it but we are holding off on that so I can try for children.
But, not to leave it at that, I recently had an MRI to try and ascertain whether the endometriosis on my diaphragm was just on the underside. It seems that that is not the case and I also have it on the upper side which is lovely and rare! I am yet to discuss this properly with my Endometriosis surgeon but unfortunately he himself cannot operate on it on the NHS so I’m getting a new referral to see if anyone else can help me with it.
In happier news, myself and my partner have decided to try for children. But this has meant coming off a lot of my medications. It has been a bit of a bumpy road so far, and my first period popped up on the same day I was sleep deprived from the withdrawal of coming off the medication I use to help me sleep through my pain.
I could well have some difficulty because of my multiple pelvic conditions in getting pregnant. But on the upside, I have had the majority of my Endometriosis (not including whatever may be lurking north of my diaphragm) expertly excised which should increase my chances compared to if I hadn’t had it done. It is a wait-and-see situation.
I’m using an app called Natural Cycles to help me figure out when I’m ovulating and actually, so far it has proved useful also in predicting my period. It uses your basal temperature to figure out when you are ovulating, and it says it can tell you quite early on if it thinks you are pregnant because your spike in basal temperature when you ovulate will stay high if you have successfully fertilised the egg!
You do need to use ovulation strips (and eventually pregnancy tests) to confirm it, just a heads up.
I will no doubt review the app when I’ve had a bit longer using it, but if anyone did want to give it a go too, I have a 10% discount on their annual package you can use by clicking this link. (This is just a refer-a-friend code. If enough people use it and I use the app enough then I will be rewarded with lifetime free membership but obviously this wouldn’t be a perk if I didn’t like the app itself!)
The blog
What does all this mean for the blog? Well, I spoke in my last update about how I want to get back to my creative writing and I had been letting the blog take over my life and my limited energy reserves.
So, the current plan is to change to a once-a-month blogging schedule. But I’m open to changing that if it doesn’t work.
Thank you for reading my update, I hope you’re all as well as can be.
Love from,
Laura’s Pen
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Congratulations on your lovely wedding and getting it all organised so well. Some payback was expected, right? We can’t really escape it. I hope you are recovering well. Your endo issues sounds horrible. I am glad you are able to try for children before the hysterectomy and hope that the withdrawals will calm down and allow you to enjoy this new season in your life. Exciting times for you!
Thank you Char! I’m looking at it as a positive step, just one that’s taking a bit of sacrifice to get there! X
I am delighted that you were able to have a lovely wedding, and wonder with much admiration how you managed to carry this off! Was it a question of resting and saving up “energy chips” before the event? I worry about crashing every time I venture to attend a social gathering; you showed a lot of courage in planning and participating in that most high-energy of ceremonies, one’s own wedding. Please share with us how you did it.
Hi Judith. I did several things. First the wedding was fairly low key and started late in the day for a normal wedding. I planned so that I couldn’t do wedding stuff the week of the wedding, my now husband took over everything that needed to be done last minute. I tried to pace myself with tasks before that. I didn’t always succeed. I wish now I’d planned things so other people could help out more. I did a lot of crafty things that would have cost me a lot of energy to teach someone else to do! I only had one bridesmaid so there wasn’t a big noisey fuss around me that day and I stayed in my house so no travelling/bad sleep issues. We got married locally 🙂 with all that it took a lot to recover from it but I was able to manage on the day.
Congratulations!!!!
I’ve just found your blog and recently found out that I have ME.
Your blog is a ray of light to me right now, so thank You !
Much love,
Peela