CW: mention of childlessness
They say dress for the job you want. Well then would this be me dressing for the surgery I both want and need?
You might remember I was given the mirena coil back in early 2022 as a ‘treatment’ for Adenomyosis after being diagnosed in 2021. Rather than the mirena coil, I wanted a hysterectomy but was refused one on the grounds of the severity of my M.E. at that time. I have been quite vocal about how I feel about the coil being inserted into a faulty uterus during an Adeno flare up. So you’ll probably be glad to hear that after going back to my consultant early this year because the pain of Adenomyosis was, frankly, still unbearable he had another temporary solution up his sleeve.
Four months ago, I was put into chemically induced menopause. This was to control my Adenomyosis, shrink the size of my faulty uterus for potential surgery, see how my body would cope if my ovaries (and therefore hormones) were also removed during said potential surgery, and to control my ‘severe PMS’/PMDD.
I found out this week that I can now have the hysterectomy and oophorectomy that I need.
The sheer relief I feel to have some light at the end of this particular tunnel! I am also absolutely terrified but I know I have to give myself this chance of a better quality of life.
If you’ve been here awhile you will know that I had already reached the conclusion that I would not become a mother. I’m 5 years in to counselling for that. So losing an organ won’t be the thing that deems me childless.
I am feeling incredibly fortunate (amongst a million other things) not least to have one friend in particular in my corner guiding me through 🌺
IMAGE: a selfie of Anna, a white woman with glasses and brown wavy hair, as she waits in the car for her chauffeur aka husband before her appointment
'M.E. myself and I' by Anna Redshaw 