u/calicocowcat

my lifelong dream has been to be a mother and i’m scared it’s not going to be possible for me. my husband and i have been ttc for a while but with no luck, and i’m certain it’s because i most likely have adenomyosis (endometrial tissue growing in the muscular walls of the uterus).

my symptoms started as a teenager. bleeding through a tampon in under an hour, excruciating period cramps, large clots, iron deficient anemia, etc… i was put on birth control to manage it and was on that for about 7-9 years.

i’ve been off the birth control for the last 2 years and every period i have just gets worse and worse, and we’ve had no luck conceiving (although to be transparent, we haven’t been trying that whole time). i lost my job back in november and was actually relieved by that because my periods have gotten to the point where i physically cannot get out of bed for 3 days a month, and i wouldn’t have had enough vacation time to take for that. every doctor i have seen about this tells me either that it’s normal or to “just monitor” my symptoms.

i finally took my husband with me to my most recent OB appointment to help me advocate for myself because after 10 years of doctors basically refusing to look into it, i wanted answers. my doctor ordered an ultrasound, and it showed signs of adenomyosis. but my doctor told me my ultrasound looked normal. i called her out on that and she basically was like “yeah it could be adenomyosis but it also could be normal. take some NSAIDs for your pain.” i’ve been telling her for years that NSAIDs don’t work!! i feel so gaslit, unheard, and disheartened.

i found a specialist and have an appointment scheduled but it’s not for another month, and from all of my research, my odds don’t look good for conceiving. i feel like my whole world is crashing down and i feel incredibly alone as no one in my personal life has experienced this or anything similar. it seems like everyone around me is just getting pregnant on the first try while i’m stuck wondering if i’ll ever even be able to at least once.

anyway, sorry for the long post. i am just so depressed at what’s happening and needed a safe place to get this off my chest.

Hi, I just wanted to see if anyone can relate to what I’m going through. Around the time I was in high school, my periods started to get really bad. I had horrible cramps, I was bleeding through a tampon in an hour or less, etc… I was put on birth control to manage those symptoms and was on it for probably 7-9 years after that. I’m now 28 and stopped taking the pills about 2 years ago. Since then, my periods get worse and worse every time. Bleeding through a super+ tampon in 30 minutes, massive clots, and debilitating pain that is resistant to NSAIDs and keeps me in bed for 3 days. I’ve become iron deficient anemic as a result. I’ve seen probably 7 doctors over the last decade and they all just look at me and say “that’s weird, just monitor it and see if it keeps happening”

My husband and I are also trying to conceive but have had no luck. I brought my husband to my most recent OB appointment and was finally able to get my doctor to order an ultrasound and some bloodwork to look into this. I got the results back before she commented on them, and results showed signs of adenomyosis, (endo tissue growing in the muscular walls of your uterus leading to all the symptoms I have) which is what I suspect I have, but when my doctor commented on it she said everything “looks normal,” and to “take NSAIDs for the pain” despite me telling her they don’t work.

I feel gaslit and frustrated. I found a specialist and booked an appointment with her but it’s not for another month. I guess what I’m hoping for is that someone else has experienced similar symptoms and can tell me if they were able to conceive naturally? Or if they ever got any treatment other than birth control or a hysterectomy?

It has been my lifelong dream to be a mother and now it feels like my world is crashing down. I could really use some support as I don’t know anyone in my personal life who has experienced this and I feel so alone as a result.