#i wish it was just the bleeding and not the cysts and nausea and feeling like im being gutted constantly

[alilaro]

sorry for all the crazy emotional posts lately. you can tell my endo is coming back/currently untreated because my mania and my depression are making me act feel like I did in 2019

[toothsalad]

So March is Endometriosis Awareness Month...

Endometriosis is a disease where uterine tissue grows outside the uterus, creating internal lesions and gluing your organs together.

...and though I’ve complained talked a lot about my struggle with endometriosis on here, I haven’t really discussed the disease itself. It’s been five years since I started suspecting I had endo and I’m only just now getting any kind of real treatment, so I thought I’d make a post of 5 things I wish I’d known:

1. Endometriosis symptoms are incredibly diverse.

Most people know of endo as “the disease that makes your periods super bad”, but that’s only part of the picture. Endometriosis does make your periods super bad, but so can a lot of other things, like pelvic inflammatory disease or ovarian cysts. In fact, for people in their mid-late teens, it’s completely normal to have very painful cramps.

(Note: this doesn’t mean you should just put up with being in excruciating pain every month. Normal doesn’t mean okay)

Endometriosis has many symptoms beyond painful periods, including:

Pain/cramping during sex, bowel movements, or urination, especially on or around your period

Gastrointestinal problems (intense nausea, constipation, etc.), especially on or around your period

Pain that comes on or around your period but doesn’t feel like normal cramps (stomachaches, back pain)

Cramping, pelvic pain, or bleeding outside of your period

Bloating

Infertility

You don’t have to have all (or even most) of these symptoms to have endo, and the amount of pain you feel is not an indicator of how much endometriosis you have. This is part of what makes endometriosis so hard to identify and treat, which leads us to our next point.

2. Endometriosis can only be diagnosed through surgery.

Endo can affect so many different systems, and symptoms overlap with so many other diseases, that the only way to definitively diagnose endo is through a laparoscopic surgery. In a laparoscopy, your doctor makes a small incision, inflates your abdomen, and takes biopsies of any suspicious tissues. 

If you’re not ready for surgery, there are other ways for your doctor to estimate the likelihood that you have endometriosis:

Ultrasounds, MRIs, and other imaging: Endometriosis does not reliably show up in medical imaging (especially if it’s not done by an endo expert), but these kinds of tests can help rule out other diseases

Pelvic exam: I had never heard of this until I found an expert surgeon, but a doctor who knows what to look for can recreate the pain of endometriosis with a simple pelvic exam, basically by poking the lesions on your organs. Based just on my medical history and a 5 minute exam we are 85% certain that I have endometriosis.

3. Endo can only be treated through surgery

So, there are ways to alleviate the symptoms of endometriosis.  Birth control or other hormonal medications are usually prescribed as a first-resort for any kind of reproductive problem, and they often help suppress symptoms. Inflammation can sometimes be managed through diet. Pelvic floor therapy can also help. 

HOWEVER.

None of these things will get rid of the lesions, adhesions, cysts, and scar tissues that are currently fucking up your organs. The only way to get rid of those is through surgery.

HOWEVER.

Not all surgery is created equal. There are two kinds of laparoscopic surgeries available for endometriosis, and they’re differentiated by what the surgeon does with endometriosis once they find it. 

In ablation surgery, the surgeon will burn away whatever endometriosis they find. Ablation surgery is cheaper and has a faster recovery time. However, ablation only affects the top few layers of cells, so if you have deep endometriosis it will not eliminate your problem, and in general it has a higher rate of recurrence.

In excision surgery, the surgeon will cut out any endometriosis they find. Excision surgery is more expensive and takes longer to recover from, but the chances of recurrence are much lower. If you are getting surgery because you’re hoping for long-lasting relief, this is what you should aim for. 

Side note: not all surgeons are created equal, either. An inexperienced surgeon can VERY EASILY make your endometriosis worse, so you should make sure your surgeon is an expert in endometriosis.

4. Support groups are your friend.

Because endo is so common yet so poorly understood, there is a very strong patient advocacy movement. R/endo on reddit is good for general venting and discussion, Nancy’s Nook on facebook is good for information and finding top-notch surgeons.

However if you want advice, local doctor/specialist/surgeon recommendations, or even just a place to chat I highly, highly recommend joining your local support group on facebook.

5. You deserve help.

There’s not much to say here except that you are important. Your quality of life is important. Your peace of mind is important. Your pain is real.

Endometriosis is estimated to affect nearly one in ten people who menstruate. If you honestly think you have it, there’s a good chance you’re right. Don’t talk yourself out of it, and don’t let your doctor talk you out of it. If you’re losing days to pain, missing out on class or work or fun because it hurts too bad, or are unable to have sex or get pregnant then you should find a doctor who takes you seriously and get the treatment you need.

[coridallasmultipass]

Tmi / personal / endometriosis and menstrual issues / surgery / long post / venting ... I finally had a laparoscopic surgery done yesterday and they were able to confirm for me that i have endometriosis and it feels like a huge weight has been lifted! All my fucking life ive dealt with excruciating cramps and heavy bleeding during menstruation and i just wish i could go back in time and give a big 'fuck you' to everyone who ever told me "cramps are like this for everyone!" Or "just exercise, it helps!" Or "orgasms help with cramping!" Like hooooooh boy I knew it and im so glad to have all the cysts out of me now. I had previously tried numerous birth control options to prevent cramping and bleeding and got excruciating cramps with literally All of them and constant bleeding with the depo shot. (I had a very painful internal ultrasound done, to hopefully diagnose endo by that route, but it was inconclusive - variations in the thickness of the endometrium, which could be endo or it could just be normal...) Most recent birth control was an iud and i had to go to the er the same evening because my body couldnt stand to have it in there causing so much pain, i couldnt stop screaming and it sucked. The iud was a few weeks ago ((and the proceedure to insert it was the worst pain ive ever felt in my life, and the same sharp pain continued through the following days until i got it removed) and i havent been able to sit straight since, i have to keep sitting to one side in order to not feel like having an ice pick jammed in me. Its gotten better since the iud was removed, but i still get a sharp pain when i have to sit on something hard. My doctor recommended me to have a diagnostic laparoscopy with cystectomy ASAP because of the iud problems and all my failed birth control attempts. Everyone in my family freaked out and kept pushing me to not go through with it, but I knew i needed to know what was causing me so much pain, like tbh, as a trans man, id prefer just a straight up hysterectomy, but yknow either way this is a step in that direction anyway. I have an aunt who had to have the same proceedure twice because of complications, and kept telling me her horror story about how painful recovery was and i was like 'trust me its not going to be worse than an iud because i thought i was dying' and she blew me off like 'its going to be wAY worse' like uh no bc an iud was 666/10 on the pain scale for me, i genuinely thought i was dying or would have a heart attack with how bad the pain was; plus ive had surgeries before and was completely fine after... Anyway fuck what my family said i went through with it anyway and it wasnt that bad of a proceedure to wake up from! My first thought was 'oh no, did they hospitalize me? I feel like ive been asleep for weeks!!' But it was just the recovery room. Ive usually done pretty well with recovery, and this was no different. The worst part of the recovery room was the sensation of needing to cough from where they had inserted the breathing tube for anesthesia. (Today my throat is still a bit sore, and my voice hoarse, but warm mint tea has been helping a lot for that.) I was also feeling cramps similar to mild-moderate menstrual cramping, (no where near the sharp shooting pain of the iud, and no where near my normal, unmedicated cramping which has had me doubled over screaming in pain until the medicine kicks in in the past), and of course a bit of soreness from the incision sites and the general soreness of having gas trapped in my body. (They have to pump a bit of gas inside you so its easier to look around, and some of it stays trapped in you after.) Its a pain similar to what ive felt before just from my fibromyalgia in general, so i was very relieved for the most part. I also felt myself bleeding a bit while i was still in the recovery room. (Gross and tmi, but im still having a spot of blood only when i wipe today, so thats a relief after having been bleeding a majority of the days over the past few months trying different BC options.) Strangely, when i got home i didnt feel groggy or in need of a nap like i have for surgeries in the past. I was also warned of having nausea from the anesthesia, but i had none at all!! And i was warned by multiple sources that i wouldnt have an appetite, but boy i ate almost Everything in the kitchen yesterday im pretty sure ive gone through a whole box of protein bars since yesterday too. Multiple sources (including my family member who had the same proceedure) warned of a sudden bad mood drop immediately after the proceedure, And i dont wanna jinx it, but I have been in such a good fucking mood since i got home yesterday, but maybe thats just the painkillers talking, but still I was at a total low point, like, cant-get-any-lower low point in terms of mood, but i just... feel so good (besides the aching and incision site pain lmao) On to the pain now... The worst of it was waking up this morning after the surgery day. I had quite a bit of the trapped gas pain when i first lied down at night (and when i tried to lie on my side) but the feeling doubled when i tried to get up. Im very bloated still. While the bloating itself isnt very painful, it feels like the stretching of my stomach is pulling at the medical tape covering my incisions which is making them hurt. Im not getting the trapped-gas-roaming-my-body feeling As Often, but its obviously still trying to dissipate. I feel it most while trying to take a deep breath like a bubble pressing against my ribs, but easing a deep breath slowly in and out moves it around and makes it less uncomfortable. Light exercise, like slow walking, is supposed to help your body absorb/dissolve/release the trapped gas. So i did 5 minutes on, 5 off for 3 times on the slowest treadmill setting earlier and im going to try again tomorrow for the same. (I feel like it made my bloating worse, so i had to go back to resting after, but ive been getting up and down to get food for my insatiable appetite lmao) Now the actual tmi and gross stuff: It is really fucking hard to pee. Straight up i have to concentrate so hard. Normally i lean over on my arm to help push it all out at once, but i cant do that with the incisions over my belly lmao. Shitting is just as hard, but the Shit Gods have blessed me with the Antibiotic Runs this morning so im all set for today lmao. Im really bummed tho they put a bandage over where my belly piercing is supposed to go, so i couldnt put it back in after the surgery. The whole, not being able to bend over thing, is reminding me of what its like to have a fresh belly piercing, and im groaning bc im gonna have to go thru with it again to get it back.... and i feel like i jUSt got it done... (it was summer last year) ughhhhhh.... oh well, like at least this time it should go in straight i hope? Also, obligatory vent that... having a fucking uterus does not make me a woman i wish doctors and nurses would use gender neutral language... TLDR; had a laparoscopic surgery to diagnose endometriosis and remove the uterine cysts caused by it, having a great recovery so far!! Still waiting on follow up from the doctor for my next step, but im feeling a lot better than when i was suffering cramps from every birth control i tried to get Rid of cramps

[thegoldenlily3]

Part 2/2 My Story 2019

Trigger warning/graphic photos ahead

My goal for 2019 was to sell our house and try to get pregnant. I was told by my surgeon that I should have a baby before I reverse my ileostomy. Even though my colon was removed in 2017, at this time I still had my rectum with active UC(Ulcerative Colitis). My surgeon said I couldn’t wait more than 10 years to get this removed and my ileostomy reversed because the disease can affect other parts of my body. Even then, I am not 100% cured. Since UC is an autoimmune disease, I will always have issues in some way. The disease manifests in ways other than bleeding ulcers in the colon. I’m prone to mouth ulcers because of this and I also believe, although I’ve not read this to be proven, that my skin issues are also a manifestation of my autoimmune disease. I deal with this later on in 2019. I’m also always tired and exhausted from all of the pain both mentally and physically.

At the beginning of 2019 my skin issues around my stoma continued to be bothersome. It had been months and months of having issues with my ostomy bag not wanting to stick and my skin oozing non stop. It wasn’t like I could just treat the skin and be done with it. Anything I would put on my skin would interfere with the adhesive of the bag. So I would cut around the edges and basically jerry rig my appliance so that I could treat my skin in different areas with each bag change. I will say this. For 2 years of having this ileostomy and all of these issues, I only ever had one leak; meaning I only had stool push through the adhesive and get all over me one time. Just one. That is actually really really good. My support groups are full of people that have been worse off than me. I was also fortunate to only have to change my bag once while in public and it was at work. I found a single person bathroom with a sink to use. My surgeon once told me that my stoma was very pretty and she herself thought she did a great job. She was an amazing surgeon here until I got a letter saying she was moving out of state so I needed to find a new surgeon. That was devastating and I definitely cried over it knowing that I would have to start over with someone new.

In April 2019, I finally had allergy testing done. I was actually supposed to get this done in 2017 but they called while I was in the hospital. So the first round of allergy testing was all environmental. They put these patches on my back(not what’s pictured) and they read them same day. They were all negative. Then they used needles to put the most common environmental allergies on the inside of my forearms. I wish I had pictures of that. This may sound like it was painful but it really wasn’t at all. The needle only goes through the surface of the skin. I had so many needles stuck in me in 2017 that I didn’t think twice about this test. This test was also negative. So great news, I have ZERO environmental allergies! A few weeks later, I had the chemical allergy test done. This is the white patches on my back in the picture. I had to go home with these patches on and come back in 2 days and have it read then. I wasn’t allowed to shower through that time nor was I allowed to sweat so I couldn’t go to work. Good thing I’m also a side sleeper. After they read the results, I had to come back in the next day and they read them again. Guys, I’m allergic to some pretty weird stuff:

• Balsam of Peru

• Benzoyl Peroxide

• Butylphenyl Methylpropional

• Carba Mix

• Cocamidopropyl Betaine

• Coconut Diethanolamide

• Compositae Mix

• Decyl Glucoside

• Fragrance Mix

• Iodopropynyl Butylcarbamate

• Nickel Sulfate

• Paraben Mix

• Propolis

• Propylene Glycol

• Thiuram Mix

• Ylang-ylang oil

May of 2019 was a pretty good month. Although I don’t have pictures of it, we went to Tappers Arcade Bar with some friends and we decided to ride the scooters around. The entire time I’m riding, we’re looking for a scooter that wasn’t dead for Issaac to ride. We came across the guys who picked them up and charged them and they started to help look. One of them got on a scooter and was riding pretty fast. We were in this narrow sidewalk and he came flying on my right and I got scared and ran into the half brick wall on my left. I scraped my ankle a little bit but I was pretty much fine. That is until I lifted my shirt...I did that, annnnd my bag fell on the ground in front of everyone. I immediately pulled my shirt down and laughed. For a second I didn’t know what to do and I was like oh I should probably pick that poop bag up off the ground before that guy comes over. I quickly grabbed it and he rushes over. He’s freaking out and worried I got hurt because of him. I reassured him that I was fine. The whole time he’s coming towards me I’m quickly walking towards Tappers while hiding my ostomy bag and my friend is with me the whole time. At this time I was wearing a two piece system so usually I’d be able to click the bag back on. When I hit the bricks, it broke the plastic so I wasn’t able to put the bag back on. Tappers was a ways down the street and we went to the bathroom and Issaac ran to the car to get my supplies down the block. Why he didn’t use a scooter I have no idea! And it turned out I still had the car keys. So my friend came in the bathroom and got the keys for him. She then returned and helped me because I couldn’t really do this on my own without doing it in front of strangers. I basically had my shirt covering my stoma so it got poop all over it and I needed help getting it over my head without it getting all over me. I was actually laughing a lot about this. I just thought the whole situation. Was hilarious. And I had a really fun time on the scooters.

Although in May I had a good time, I was still struggling with my skin issues. My allergy test didn’t really help in that area because a lot of companies won’t release all of the ingredients to their products. So it was then after very hard consideration and talking with Issaac that I decided it was time for a reversal. This meant that I was putting myself at a high risk of not being able to get pregnant. My GI doctor had told me at the beginning of the year that it was probably time to do it now rather than later because I was having a lot of abdominal pain with no explanation. It turned out that my diseased rectum was causing me a lot of pain and I had an ovarian cyst that had burst. So there are a lot of options for me if I can’t get pregnant. I’m a big proponent of adoption. I’ve also thought about IVF and surrogacy. All of these options are really expensive though.

On June 20th of this year, I had a Proctectomy, with a rectal mucosectomy, ileoanal anastomosis, creation of ileal reservoir (JPouch), with a loop ileostomy. In simpler terms, I had my the rest of my rectum removed which was about a foot long. I had my stoma stapled shut and put back into my stomach and my small intestines pulled down to my butt. They used the end of my small intestines to create a j shaped pouch that will act as a new rectum. Then they took a different part of my small intestines and created a new loop ileostomy. My previous one was an end ileostomy where the end of my small intestines was the stoma. A loop ileostomy comes outside and then back in but still with only one hole for output. It’s much smaller and a lot harder to handle. A loop ileostomy is required so that my jpouch can heal.

My recovery from my first surgery was hard because I was so sick beforehand. This surgery was hard in different ways. I had a different surgeon so he put me on different meds that I had never been on before but he was a great surgeon. I remember one was Gabopentin and I can’t remember the other but I was also on 3 different nausea meds. I ended up getting very very sick and I couldn’t eat my food. Imagine throwing up immediately after having abdominal surgery. I thought that I had been through the worst pain but this was just awful and I remember it very vividly. Issaac would hold a bowl for me because I couldn’t. Then a doctor came in who for some reason I thought he was there for pt but he wasn’t. I still don’t know what kind of doctor he was but he was just there to check on me. I started to throw up while squeezing a pillow into my gut and he held the bowl and held me up. He continued to hold me up and I just kept throwing up to a point where it was just stomach acid. He was the only reason I didn’t fall out of the bed. That there is a great doctor and I can’t even begin to express how grateful I am that he did that. I know it’s his job to be there for his patients but I feel maybe it’s not normal to go home and say you held someone as they threw up over and over and over. I imagine I can find out who he is now and thank him again. So out of the 3 nausea meds, only one really worked but I can’t remember what it’s called. I felt that the new meds were making me sick so I made the nurse request them to be switched to morphine and Oxy like before, only because I knew I reacted well to them. After that, I never got sick again and was able to eat. Another thing that was different with this surgery was my shoulder pain. It was very uncomfortable and I had never felt anything quite like it. I had to use ice packs and lidocaine patches to battle that pain. I guess the pain was from gas that they had injected into my incision after cutting me open to expand the area.

When I got home, I had severe issues with my stoma that I didn’t realize before because the inpatient stoma nurse would change my bag and didn’t say anything about any problems. The sutures had failed all the way around and created what looks like a moat around my stoma. This caused the nerve endings to be exposed and it looks blood red in the photos. Then, my incision glue came off and my incision came apart. For this surgery, they went through the same incision from 2017. My incision created a hole and got pretty deep but not deep enough for reconstruction. I went to see my stoma nurse and she was a God send. She showed me what to do and I had to change my bag style to a deep convex to help get my stoma more above my skin level. The convex basically pushes my skin down. It took me awhile to get a handle on changing this bag with this stoma. My output was much thinner and more frequent because my stoma was higher up in my intestines. My stoma was also much lower on my belly and in a dip of my stomach which also caused problems. The surgeon couldn’t bring it any higher. Because of where my stoma was, I had to have Issaac help me change my bag. He has been great throughout all of this. I would shower and he would set up a station with everything needed to change my bag. I would cut everything and apply everything but he was essentially my eyes for where I couldn’t see. I couldn’t hold a mirror and apply everything because I was laying down. Before with my old ileostomy, I could change it standing up within 5 minutes. This ostomy had me in tears so many times. There were a few occasions where it took us up to 5 hours to change the bag because my output wouldn’t stop. *** In the pictures provided, you can see where my original stoma was and there’s a ring of damaged skin around it where my appliance was. My skin is starting to heal and scab over. It took a couple months for that to go away.

To prepare for my next and final surgery, I had a procedure done called a Contrast Barium Enema. They laid me on my side on the CT bed and inserted a tube into my bottom and injected contrast. They then took xrays while moving me in different positions. This was pretty uncomfortable and I hope to never do it again.

Pre op: Today September 26th, I’m having a loop ileostomy takedown surgery and a flexible sigmoidoscopy. And of course this morning I started my period and am having full on symptoms with cramps and fatigue. No wonder I haven’t felt good the past couple of days. I woke before my alarm this morning. I didn’t sleep well. I’m nauseous and I guess it’s because I’m scared? I don’t know if I’m scared of the surgery itself or if I’m scared of afterward. I think it’s the latter. Right away I told the nurse that I’m a hard stick so she called the team with the ultra sound so as to not waste time with my iv. I really appreciate that. Now it’s just waiting in bed until they get here. 🤘🏻 So a nurse decided to poke me anyway and failed. I do have an iv now in my upper left arm that was done with the ultrasound machine. I’ve got the nausea patch on too.

The surgery was a success. It’s now a few hours after. Waking up was really rough. I couldn’t stop crying and I was nauseous and in pain. They gave me Diladid even though I said before surgery that I didn’t want that. Then they gave me morphine and Oxy and it it took awhile but finally I woke up with no pain. I walked to the bathroom with help which was hard. It didn’t hurt to walk but I’m just so out of it. Even as I write this, I’m nodding off. I just want to get everything down before it’s hours later and I forget everything that happened. I’m still waiting on a room but they just delivered me some Powerade Zero. I ordered that but they first brought me regular Powerade and I made them switch it. So I will be in here for a few days, until I have a bowel movement. It feels so nice already laying in bed and not having the weight of the feeling of a plastic bag on my belly. I feel free. It’s just so liberating.

Thank you for reading this far. I just really needed to get my journey out so it doesn’t feel like it never happened. If this helps just one person either mentally or physically then I would be ecstatic. 🤘🏻✌🏻👩🏻‍🦰

[professorpalmarosa]

Feelin’ Lava-ly (Maxie - Team Magma)

I wanted Maxie’s blend to be spicy, but also earthy. Since I used Cassia Cinnamon as the key ingredient in Martian to a Different Drum (my blend for Commander Mars of Team Galactic), I vowed I wasn’t going to use it. It was much too sweet for Team Magma’s boss, anyway!

I selected Myrrh (a sap-like tree resin with an amber-like smell) as my main oil for the blend. Frankincense (its more famous cousin) blends with virtually everything. Myrrh’s a bit more peppery and doesn’t play as nicely with as many smells.

Originally, I wanted to use Ginger (for its warm, earthy smell) in the blend, but opted instead to use one of its lesser known cousins: Finger Root. Finger Root smells a bit earthier and paired nicely with the Myrrh.

By this point, the blend smelled bitter and like a bunch of dried roots. I needed to give it a bit more spice and heat to round it out! I used about 10 drops of Red Thyme to add some “flavor” to the blend, and then proceeded to christen the rest of the blend with CO2 supercritical Turmeric.

(And if you don’t know what CO2 Supercritical means, that’s okay. It’s just a process that makes a stronger, purer, more intense oil with a longer shelf life).

The Myrrh and Turmeric are what you smell predominantly in the blend. Once it hits the water, it’s a gorgeous rich crimson. Imagine you’re bathing in a hot tub of lava, or the blood of your Team Aqua enemies.

Now it’s time to talk about the pros and cons of these oils from a safety perspective…

Aromatherapy isn’t just about pretty smells and scented bath water. Essential oils are in such a high concentration that even absorbing them through your skin can leave you with the therapeutic (and potentially toxic) benefits.

If you are allergic to a plant, you are 100% without question going to be super allergic to the essential oil.

There’s also such a thing as contraindications: where some oils may affect you in weird ways if you have a certain medical condition or take certain medications.

The information below is for your safety if you want to attempt to make this blend at home (as a bath bomb, a body spray, or even scented bath salts). And do be sure to wear gloves. Some of these oils have recommended dilution rates as small as 0.4%. You don’t want that to slide on bare skin!

Myrrh Essential Oil (40% of Synergy)

Myrrh (like Elemi and Frankincense) is a resin that comes out of cuts in the bark of Commiphora trees. It’s primarily used to make medicine and is one of the most ancient (and most purchased) essential oils on the planet.

For Christians, the name may sound familiar. Myrrh was one of the three gifts provided to the baby Jesus by the Three Kings. It was a symbolic gift, seeing as myrrh was used (at the time) for embalming purposes. Pros: Myrrh is used to treat stomach problems (indigestion, ulcers), respiratory problems (cough, asthma, colds), pain problems (arthritis), cancer, leprosy, spasms, and even syphilis. You can also use it as a stimulant and to increase menstrual flow (making it perfect for cramps and endometriosis).

With a carrier oil, myrrh can be applied to sores, wounds, boils, and abrasions. It cuts down on inflammation. It’s one of my all-time favorites for my occasional fibromyalgia flares. Myrrh digs in deep and melts the aches and pains away!

Cons: Myrrh has several potential health warnings, so please read this section with care.

Some people experience nausea when exposed to myrrh. If ingested (not that you should EVER take essential oils internally without your doctor’s recommendation), myrrh can cause diarrhea.

Although small doses are considered safe for the general public, excessive use and abuse of the oil could result in heart and kidney complications.

If you are pregnant or breast-feeding, avoid using Myrrh Essential Oil until your baby is safely weaned. Myrrh stimulates menstrual flow and may cause a miscarriage. Breast-feeding parents should avoid myrrh, since it’s not a baby-safe oil.

If you are diabetic or taking diabetic medication, you need to understand that Myrrh Essential Oil might lower your blood sugar. Please monitor your blood sugar carefully if you’re using this oil.

If you have heart problems, large amounts of myrrh may impact your heart rate (and not in a good way). Get your healthcare provider’s advice before using this essential oil.

If you plan to have surgery in the next 2 weeks, avoid using Myrrh Essential Oil. Myrrh might interfere with blood glucose control during and after surgery.

If you have a uterine bleeding condition, exercise caution when using Myrrh Essential Oil, as it may worsen your condition.

Lastly, Warfarin (Coumadin) interacts with Myrrh. This drug is used to slow blood clotting. Using Myrrh Essential Oil on the regular might decrease how well warfarin (Coumadin) works and could increase the chance of blood clotting.

Turmeric Essential Oil (25% of Synergy)

If you aren’t familiar with Turmeric, you may be familiar with its smell: as it is the key ingredient in curry and many Indian cuisines. It has a spicy, savory, and flavorful aroma that makes you think of hot foods.

Pros:

Turmeric has wonderful pain relief properties! People can use it for joint pain, arthritis, abdominal pain, fibromyalgia, headaches, and menstrual cramps. I’ll add it to my lotion on cramping days, but I’ve been holding off on it lately because I’m trying to lose a little weight and Turmeric makes me hungry.

Relieve digestive upset! It’s great for constipation, diarrhea, intestinal gas, nausea, and loss of appetite. If you’re feeling a little queasy, Turmeric might be your new best friend.

Reduce inflammation! Bloat, retained water, bladder inflammation—Turmeric is here to help you!

Cons:

If you suffer from gallbladder problems, you may want to avoid using Turmeric essential oil, as it may worsen your condition.

Curcurmin (a chemical inside Turmeric) may lower your blood sugar. If you are diabetic, you may want to exercise caution when using this essential oil for prolonged periods. Be sure your blood sugar looks good to go before you use the bath bomb.

Turmeric essential oil may slow blood clotting. If you are taking blood thinners, this blend may not be for you. Also, if you are going to have surgery in the next couple of weeks or just had surgery, don’t use this oil.

Although Turmeric essential oil is considered generally safe, some people have complained about diarrhea when exposed to large quantities. This bath bomb shouldn’t do that to you.

If you have any estrogen or hormone-related conditions (such as breast cancer), don’t use this oil.

Finger Root Essential Oil (20% of Synergy)

Finger Root is a cousin to Ginger and has a slightly earthier smell. It’s also more camphorous than Ginger, as well as has a mildly floral after-scent.

Pros:

Like Ginger, Finger Root works wonders for nausea and digestive upset. If you’re feeling a little queasy and ginger doesn’t do the trick, maybe consider giving finger root a try!

Finger Root is a calming aroma, and works well for meditation, stress relief, and anger management.

Finger Root has decongestant properties and may be able to help you if you’ve got a stuffy nose, any type of nasal drip, or a sinus-related headache.

Finger Root works wonders for your hair and scalp, too. If you suffer from dry winter skin or a flaky scalp, consider putting a drop or two of this essential oil into your shampoo or conditioner!

Cons:

Due to its elevated camphor content, this is not a cat-safe essential oil.

Finger Root may increase your insulin levels, so monitor your blood sugar carefully if you are diabetic or on diabetes-related medications.

Very high dosages of Finger Root may worsen some heart conditions, but bathing in a bath powder shouldn’t be enough to trigger this kind of reaction.

Prolonged usage of Finger Root may increase your risk of bleeding.

A small percentage of the population have reported a dermal sensitivity to Finger Root, but it is generally considered to be universally safe.

Red Thyme Essential Oil (15% of Synergy)

Red Thyme has an unforgettable, warm, herbal smell reminiscent of a dry rub or your first real scents of autumn air. It conjures up thoughts of walking through a forest full of dead, dry leaves on the first cold evening of the season.

Pros:

The medical benefits of Thyme have been known to the Mediterranean part of the world for thousands of years. It is also a commonly prescribed herb in Ayurvedic Medicine.

Alleviate several illnesses! Red Thyme can be used to relieve and reduce the impact of chronic ailments such as gout, chronic fatigue syndrome, menstrual and menopausal problems, and athlete’s foot. It’s also a lovely hangover cure.

It has antidepressant properties! Red Thyme has an anti-anxiety component to its chemical makeup. When diffused or applied with a carrier oil, it can reduce the impact of depression, strengthen cognition, and calm jittery nerves.

It’s an asthma-safe oil and works wonders on respiratory problems! Got a nasty autumn cough you can’t shake? What about the early signs of a sore throat? Red Thyme may be able to help you. It certainly does for me!

Improve your skin! Red Thyme can reduce the amount of sebum your pores extract, meaning it can reduce your chances for acne or sebaceous cysts. It can clear up oily skin, as well as speed up the healing process for scars. As for aged skin, Red Thyme is a wonderful toner.

Reduce hair loss! Red Thyme, when added to shampoos and other hair products, can reduce or even prevent hair loss for some people.

It can be used to improve your oral health! Like Peppermint, Spearmint, Eucalyptus, Rosemary, Lemon, and Wintergreen, Red Thyme Essential Oil can be added to a mouthwash or oral rinse to fix bad breath and improve the health of your gums.

Bugs HATE Red Thyme, so keep the creepy-crawlies at bay! Mosquitoes, lice, moths, ticks, and fleas in particular hate Red Thyme. That said, I really wish roaches were on that list. Your best oil for that is still Peppermint.

Cons

The good news is that there are very few side effects to Red Thyme Essential Oil. It is generally safe for most people to use, but it’s never a bad idea to first consult your physician before adding essential oils to your daily health routine.

This is not a cat-friendly oil. In fact, Red Thyme is listed in several places as one of the worst things you can diffuse around your cat. As much as I love this essential oil, I always lock Gaius out of the room if I choose to diffuse this one.

Some people are allergic to thyme. It’s actually not that uncommon. If you are allergic to other plants in the Lamiaceae family (Basil, Sage, Rosemary, Lavender, etc.), you may have a sensitivity to Red Thyme Essential Oil. Allergies may surface as gastrointestinal issues (fussy stomach, diarrhea, nausea, or vomiting) if ingested.

If you have sensitive skin, do not apply Red Thyme neat to your skin. While Red Thyme is generally safe, some people have experienced inflammation, hives, rashes, itchiness, and redness when the oil is applied to the skin without being properly diluted with a carrier oil. The good news is that Thyme Machine contains fractionated coconut oil as a carrier. If that doesn’t dilute the Thyme enough, the bath water will.

Red Thyme is an emmenagogue and should NOT be used by pregnant women. I use Red Thyme for a number of reasons. One of them is to regulate my period, as it’s started to come a bit more slowly since I started dieting in April (every 5 weeks instead of every 4). Red Thyme has emmenagogue properties, which means that it stimulates menstruation. Menstruation is something you do not want when you’re pregnant, as it could potentially be dangerous for the fetus or trigger premature labor or a miscarriage.

Exercise caution if you have hypertension. Red Thyme can be used to increase circulation, meaning your blood pressure may rise while using this oil. If you are already dealing with hypertension or experience palpitations on the regular, Red Thyme Essential Oil might not play nicely with you.

Exercise caution if you have hyperthyroidism. Red Thyme may stimulate the thyroid gland for some people.

[misskittygrimm]

So, about my health...

Folks who have been following me since day one may or may not remember this post. That post was written after I was hospitalized for a ruptured ovarian cyst, which was not my only one but was still the most painful experience I’ve ever had in my life. 

I bring this up because I have been experiencing some irregular bleeding lately, which was a symptom that I made the mistake of shrugging off as an early period before that cyst happened. I went to my doctor about it and she said that it was more likely to be an irregular period, which is totally normal and happens for a lot of different reasons (i.e. stress, anxiety, poor diet, too much alcohol, etc.), but she recommended getting back on the pill just to be safe and to get an ultrasound if I keep bleeding or experience any nausea or abdominal pain. 

It’s been about a week now and I’m still bleeding, though not as heavily as before, so I’m booking an appointment for an ultrasound. So far, I have only told my best friend and I am just on the verge of telling my partner. 

I’ll be honest, even though my doctor tells me that it’s most likely nothing to worry about and my best friend tells me that I will find a solution and be okay, I can’t help but feel anxious. I just want to go back to living my life. I don’t want to go through that pain again. I’m scared.

I’m telling my partner now. Wish me luck!

[theveryworstthing]

thanks anon friendos and thanks to everyone else who sent well wishes. i am glad that cancer turned out to be not a thing but as for my health being okay, well. gross uterus stuff beneath the cut:

so, for those who don’t know me irl, for a long time i just thought i had a bleeding disorder. when i had a period i was in crazy pain and it was super heavy but i was always told that periods just hurt a bunch and that it was my blood that was the real problem. now when i say my periods were bad i mean that eventually they got so heavy that they didn’t go off. i would spend 6 months at a time on my period and then a month off and then it would start all over again, each time with longer stretches and shorted breaks. my most recent period lasted 18 months and was so heavy that i was changing pads every 1 to 2 hours before it stopped. i couldn’t go anywhere, i couldn’t do anything, and i learned from my new doctor that i was basically living below the transfusion line (the point at which you should get a transfusion) for who knows how long. just walking around without blood. it got to the point that i had to have people time my showers because if i hit 5 minutes i would get hit by a wave of vertigo and possibly faint.  and i just powered through it because my last doctor was so bad it made me nervous to go back because i thought i’d spend money just to be told that uterus probs are tough and i was just whining.

welp, i came back from the doctor today and after going over my tests he found that my ovaries are COVERED in benign cysts because uterus decided it didn’t feel like making eggs for years (which explains the times i would just feel pain explosions out of nowhere. those were cysts popping but i didn’t know and i was used to pain so i just went to work lol) and the lining to my uterus, which is supposed to be between 5 and 10cm is actually 22cm thick.  which is bad, and i’m bummed because it pretty much means that this won’t be quick to heal and might never ever go away but i don’t want surgery if i can help it because real talk, 3 doctors visits almost cost me $500 and i straight up don’t have the money for it right now. plus, i would still have to do hormone therapy. so for right now i’m doing the hormone therapy first and seeing if my body evens out over the next three months because bills don’t stop just because you’re hurt. if it does work, i go back to hopefully a little less painful normal periods. if it doesn’t, they gotta cut me open because i’ll just straight up bleed to death.

so yeah. that’s what’s been going on. got no blood, got no energy, living that low level buzzing nausea life constantly, and just trying to fix it. hopefully the next three months will turn it around now that i’m on these medications. we’ll see.