Another Endometriosis Post. I.e. Men, Look Away.

Several of you have asked me to keep you posted on the progress of my acupuncture visits.

By now, I should have had three visits. I actually only made it to two, but I'll get to that later.

I'm not sure if it's the acupuncture itself or the Chinese medicine I've been taking, but SOMETHING has made my non-period time MUCH better. Almost immediately after starting my first session, I noticed I wasn't feeling super exhausted all the time, I wasn't feeling nauseous all the time, and I didn't have the pains in my back that had been gnawing away at my left flank for the past X months. There's no question about it, I've felt considerably better since starting the visits with my acupuncturist.

However...

I've since started and ended my last cycle, or as I prefer to call it "Hell Week" (HW for short) and, MUCH to my dismay, it's been a much different story.

Once my insides kick-started this endo party, pretty much everything went back to normal in the unbearable department. -Which is why I couldn't make it to my last appointment. Extreme gut-wrenching, bowel-twisting pain on and off for three days straight. The toilet action was right on par for HW. Which was really great when it had me up in the bathroom for 30 minutes at a time in the middle of the night all three nights. The only difference between pre-acupuncture HW and post-acupuncture HW is that I had no back pain this whole time. Which is actually pretty surprising now that I'm thinking about it. That's usually a guaranteed party-killer. So I guess that's one more point for the Traditional Chinese Medicine side.

After going through both of those experiences, is it worth it?

In my opinion, yes. If I hadn't been feeling any difference and was getting a load of shit from my acupuncturist about how it will happen over time, I would probably feel differently. But I felt better right from day one. And despite the letdown I felt during HW, I think it makes up for it during the other three weeks of the month.

Since someone has already asked me about the name of the pills I'm taking (and also since I'm feeling generous because it's actually really expensive to keep getting this ish straight from the acupuncturist), I'll tell you I've been taking Shao Fu Zhu Yu Tang. Like I said, I'm not sure if it's been the pills or the acupuncture that's been helping me, so don't sue me if you run out, buy a Costco-size supply of them, and nothing happens. Also, don't sue me if you start taking them and you die. I'm no doctor. I'm not prescribing shit.

Some other semi-related stuff going on...

I went for an ultrasound a few weeks back. The ovarian cyst that's been chillin' like a villain over the past several years has grown. Disgusting, right? I know. I'm totally grossed out. They also found that I now have two "tiny, tiny" uterine fibroids, "but it's nothing to be concerned about", according to my doc. Fuck you. I TELL YOU WHEN IT'S TIME TO BE CONCERNED, GOT IT??!

After being laid-up over the past few days, I made my way back into work today. Within 10 minutes of walking in, my creative director gave me a hug and asked how I was doing. Which was precisely when my face crumbled like bleu cheese and I started crying like a mega psycho. That was a pretty special moment.

I'm not really sure why I started crying, it just happened. And I couldn't stop it. For like an hour. While sitting at my desk. I guess the best explanation is that endometriosis really wears you out, physically and emotionally. Not to mention, it's kind of like the hormone capital of the body. So when things are out of whack there, they're probably out of whack everywhere. Like your brain. And your eyeballs. That's why they cry. All on their own. Even though you're like "GET A FUCKING GRIP, EYEBALLS!! WHAT'S YOUR PROBLEM?!?"

In other nonsense...

Boyfriend and I watched "Behind the Scenes: The Go-Gos" last night. It was pretty interesting. And all day I've had this song stuck in my head.



I also learned that Belinda Carlisle grew up like 20 miles away from me.

Weird.