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My menstrual history prior to being diagnosed with endometriosis didn’t include heavy bleeding or even that much pain, but I did have a history of irregular periods since coming off the pill and there were several occasions when I felt exruciating stabbing pain that would last a few minutes and then go away. I was concerned about this at the time and at one point I went to hospital where they did some tests but nothing was picked up so it became something that I ‘normalised’ with.
The actual diagnoses of my Endometriosis came about after experiencing a second Spontaneous Collapsed Lung in 2005 which had me in Auckland hospital on morphine for a week and a tube inserted into my chest cavity to drain the fluid. After a follow up appointment with a Cardiothoracic Surgeon, he referred me to a Gynaecologist after suspicion of possible endometriosis. I was told there is a link between the right-hand side of a woman’s lung collapsing and possible endometriosis.
Soon after being referred to my Gynaecologist she performed a laparoscopy on me. I was diagnosed with severe, aggressive, widespread endometriosis - almost on it’s way into the fallopian tube. She felt I had endo since I was 15 years old. I was 23 at this stage.
Post surgery, things improved temporarily but it wasn’t long before I started suffering from more pain and additional health issues. I wasn’t pain free, if anything I was in more pain than before. After having an MRI scan I was diagnosed with Adenomyosis which is endo in the uterus muscle which cannot be removed. My periods were consistently extruciating, sometimes so bad I would howl my head off in bed, completely debilitated, unable to move, my head would feel like it was going to explode, my eyes would swell up and I felt like a walking zombie drugged up on pain killers, unable to string a proper sentence together.
There were occasional times when I would throw up, have to crawl to the toilet and sometimes I would have diarhoea or be constipated. I used to find travelling long distance in the car and going around corners would activate the pain, I often had blood with bowel motions, stabbing pain like someone had a screwdriver inside me wrenching my organs, throbbing, heavy pain and I was prone to constant cystitis infections, a weakened immune system and was constantly picking up viruses and infections. I was suffering depression, exhaustion and feeling very isolated. I often felt like no-one really knew and understood how intense everything really felt for me, even those closest to me. I started to become quite introverted and found it hard to enjoy life.
During menstruation the pain would spread from my abdomen right down to my knees, to my back and often came with a migraine. I used to take panadol which very quickly led to paradex and then codeine and synflex and sometimes tramadol. Gradually over the years I built up a strong resistance to painkillers and they actually stopped working, hardly providing minimal relief. Pain on this level takes you to places you really don’t want to go. I felt very scared, fearful and sometimes found it very hard to remain hopeful. There was a time when I had to have penicillin injected into me after experiencing a ruptured ovarian cyst on the way back from Auckland. I was rushed to the doctors screaming my head off with some of the most instense pain I had ever experienced in my life. I’ve been told it’s on a similar level to labour pain. I almost passed out in the car and lost my voice from screaming so loud.
I would have to say that most months were a living hell for me and those around me and dealing with endo took it’s toll on my emotions and my moods, my relationships and my friendships. I have searched high and low for things that would bring me relief and this has been a really strong theme for me in my life from 2005 until present. I have tried alot of different therapies and have spent thousands and thousands of dollars. In October 2009 my gynaecologist performed a second laparoscopy. There was little endometriosis found but a lot of adhesions and scar tissue which had my ovaries completely glued down. They had to remove an endometrioma from underneath my left ovary and break up the adhesions which were quite extensive. I was told by my surgeon that there was a possibility that I might have reacted to a product that was used in my first operation called ‘spray gel’ which is meant to prevent adhesions, but in my body it may have caused the adhesions, but apparently this can’t be proven. I don’t know much about this but I have heard that it was a product that hadn’t been tested properly. I felt very upset and angry about this because I had been putting up with horrendous periods for so long and wondered what my life would have been like if I didn’t have this to contend with every month.
After my second operation I was still not pain free. I had new pain and some old familiar stabbing pain. I was still searching for something outside conventional medicine to bring me the relief I so desperately craved. I was so sick of living on painkillers. Eventually I was very fortunate to be given the opportunity to undergo some treatments with Danni Orani from Wellness at Work. I believe this has been the icing on the cake for me in coming out the other side of my condition.
Danni performed 3 deep tissue treatments on me one week apart and then a follow up a month later. The first session for me made me realise just how much pain I was storing in my body. I was so tender, even just touching my lower abdomen felt extremely overwhelming, would make me tense up and want to cry. The first session had me screaming in agony as the stored pain was being released. The following day I noticed that it had completely got rid of my chronic back pain which was a new symptom after my operation and it has not come back since. The second session released a huge amount of deeply buried stored emotion. I cryed the whole way home after that treatment. I had held on to so much for so many years trying to be brave and felt a massive emotional and physical release. The third session I really noticed that the amount of pain I endured when he performed the techniques wasn’t as bad as the first two and I actually noticed dramatic improvements instantly which got better and better after each session. When I had my fourth session I still had this one stabbing pain which felt like it was coming from my uterus and Danni managed to find an adhesion that was attached to the uterus and carefully break through it. Since then I have been almost 100% pain free. I am a new person now! I feel so much more balanced mind, body and soul. I no longer live with the anxiety and extreme stress that I used too. I am able to exercise again, something I wasn’t able to do for about 9 months. I can do the things I love, I can plan trips away and have faith that I won’t fall sick and feel guilty that I have let everyone down by having to cancel at the last minute because I’m not feeling well.
I am so extremely grateful for their work. I would not hesitate to recommend these treatments to anyone suffering from pain. It really does work!!!!!! Danni and Chris are very dedicated individuals and their passion for seeing people get well really does come across.
I wish that more woman suffering from endometriosis could experience their treatments - I have found them truly life changing.

Source: http://www.wellnessatwork.co.nz/WAWEndorefpatient.pdf