Of course (she says, nonchalantly) conversations that stray within 50ft of ‘women’s health’ are generally considered taboo to one degree or another and those that involve the intimate and bloody nature of such issues are even less appropriate for polite society.
*sigh*
Still, the more my own embarrassment and squeamishness is eroded simply by dealing with the day-to-day ramifications of the condition and the investigations, poking and prodding that come with it, the less inclined I am to help maintain the illusion that women are purely fragrant, delicate flowers and the belief that evidence suggesting otherwise should be hushed up for fear of offending someone’s sensibilities.
I’m not planning on marching on parliament to recognise a minority issue. I don’t have the energy, to be frank, and you can bet the day I did I’d have to cancel so I could stay home, off my head on painkillers and bleeding all over my sofa. Nor will I be creating ‘menstrual art’ (yes, this exists) or top tips for recycling blood (dilute & use to water plants, apparently it does wonders).
But I do want to talk about it, because it’s driving me mad. I can’t believe I’m the only woman out there living with fibroids and pretending that no amount of pain, anaemia, exhaustion and ruined clothing will stop me living a normal life. Life isn’t ‘normal’ round here and it affects my partner almost as much as it affects me. We stagger from one bloody incident to the next, stoically buying yet more bed linen and waiting for the next doubles-you-up-drops-you-to-your-knees-and-wrenches-long-held-back-tears-from-your-anguished-eyes wave of pain to pass.
There are reasons why I haven’t yet opted for the fast fix, a hysterectomy.
There are other reasons why I’m not taking any hormonal medication, such as the pill, or patches.
Despite doctors’ eye-rolling “well you’re not really helping yourself, are you?” attitude, my reasons are sound enough for me to want to stick to them.
Now, I find myself with a good few years to live with this condition before I’ll be happy to go ahead with a drastic operation that could potentially change both my life and me as a person.
In the meantime…WombFury is my venting outlet and information portal on the wonders of living with uterine fibroids.
