The Distractions — Good and Bad

“That's one of those fears I'm fighting with is, Well, is the pain going to be worse? Will it get better? Will it get better? The other thing is, Is my gas just painful? Am I just not going to the right doctor? Oh, all the questions and the doubts and everything.” — Emily, 5 Days Until Uterus Eviction Day

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In This Episode:

• It’s the end of a day during ovulation and I (Emily) feel like a truck hit me, and I’m dragging around this now-18-pound bowling ball between my hips. The pain gets worse as the day goes on. It might almost be worse pain during ovulation than during my period.

• I’m trying to get my work done and it’s already hard enough fighting with my ADHD, let alone dealing with awful cramps and bloating. And I feel like the pain and discomfort adds fuel to the ADHD fire sometimes, too.

• Another thing that happens at the end of the day when I’m like this is I contort myself to sit comfortably and find a position that helps me get the blood flowing or put pressure on my uterus. This has been a regular occurrence for the last three years, but I don’t think I should have normalized it as much as I did.

• I have some fears about the pain following surgery — if you look below at the “Note from Future-Emily,” you’ll see how that turned out ;-)

• Despite my introversion and the fact that parties with lots of people tend to drain me, I still want to attend and not have something like wanting to sit like a newborn giraffe all the time to get some relief from Adenomyosis (and Endometriosis).

• My enjoyment of going to the casino just to walk around and people-watch is the same excitement I get about the mall when I don’t have any other particular reason for going.

• It’s been a wonderful practice over the last few weeks and months of hysterectomy prep and recovery to mindfully pinpoint those instances of “Lovely Day” makers — those things that don’t cost a lot or anything, but that fill me with joy.

• Before I knew it wasn’t “normal” to be in pain as often as I was, I used to love being a passenger in my best friend’s car while we’d drive around. She had heated seats and the car rides would relieve some of the cramps, pain, and discomfort.

• The car heating pad I have: https://amzn.to/4aQ5jLe (affiliate link)

• Thanks for this parasocial relationship! Hope you’re taking “me” along on your road trips!

Note from Future-Emily:

The song currently in my head: Supermassive Black Hole by Muse. Also, no I am NOT listening back and thinking my recovery pain is “so much worse,” like I worried I would! LOL Oh no, the pain I had when recording this episode is, thankfully, a fleeting memory! :-) 

Additional Links and Resources:

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• Adenomyosis - Symptoms — Mayo Clinic

• Adenomyosis - Diagnosis + Treatment — Mayo Clinic

• Adenomyosis: A Significantly Neglected and Misunderstood Disorder - Book by Maria Yeager 

• Adenomyosis Advice Association Facebook Group — Facebook

• Helpful Reddit r/hysterectomy Post To Read If You Have Pre-Op Anxiety — MamaO2D4

• HysterSisters — Hysterectomy Support & Stories

• Tara Brach’s Podcast and Radical Acceptance Book

• Adenomyosis at hysterectomy: prevalence, patient characteristics, clinical profile and histopatholgical finding — PubMed

• Adenomyosis: An update regarding its diagnosis and clinical features — PubMed

Disclaimer: This podcast is based on personal experience and should not be taken as medical advice. Resources are provided for you to look into further and talk with your medical support team about.

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