Episode 85--Adenomyosis in April

Hello everyone! Welcome back to Childless not by Choice, where my mission is to recognize and speak to the broken hearts of childless not by choice women, and men, around the world.  Civilla Morgan here! I am spreading the great news that we can live a joyful, relevant, and fulfilled life, although we could not, did not, have the children we so wanted.   'To recognize and speak to the broken hearts of childless not by choice women, and men, around the world.' Spreading the great news that we can live a joyful, relevant, and fulfilled life'.     Patreon Contributors: (Patreon contributors are those who have taken an interest in my platform whether they fit the childless not by choice demographic or not. They have decided to contribute a certain dollar amount on a regular basis to help fund my dream of creating awareness and conversation for the childless not by choice community globally. Click the Patreon link for details and to become a Patron!)   https://www.patreon.com/21stcenturyhannah   Jordan Morgan   I had never heard of Adenomyosis until just a month or so before this recording. I was searching around for what infertility issues were highlighted in particular months throughout the year, when I happened upon Adenomyosis, and that it was highlighted in April. After reaching out to an Adenomyosis website, and never hearing back, I back burnered my research. After all, I had never heard any of the women in the Facebook group mention it. But then, I had the opportunity to speak to one of the women in our Facebook group Childless not by Choice with Civilla Morgan Facebook group, and she said that was her issue! Go figure! She asked that I look into doing an episode, so here we are! The next thing I wanted to know after figuring out just what Adenomyosis is, was how is it similar or different from Endometriosis. Because at first glance, they seem very similar.  In fact, I did an episode on Endometriosis a while back. Here is a link to that episode.   http://childlessnotbychoice.net/episode-59-endometriosis/   So, what is Adenomyosis? Well, according to our friendly neighborhood Google, 'Adenomyosis (ad-uh-no-my-O-sis) occurs when endometrial tissue, which normally lines the uterus, exists within and grows into the muscular wall of the uterus. The displaced endometrial tissue continues to act as it normally would — thickening, breaking down and bleeding — during each menstrual cycle.'   But before we continue, I would like to ask our guest, Sandra, to talk to us about her experience with Adenomyosis. Hi Sandra, welcome to the show!     When did you find out you had Adenomyosis? What did the doctors suggest you do? You have a global audience right now, what would you tell other women who suffer with Adenomyosis to do as far as coping, interacting with the medical community, and with their family and friends, even foods that you avoid? Is there anything else you would like to add before we wrap up this portion of the episode?     Thank you so much for your time today!   I so appreciate Sandra coming on and telling us in her words and experience, more about this disease. As I continued my research, I found this website, dr.seckin.com, on that website, they explained that, quote:   'Adenomyosis is endometriosis strictly in the uterus. It causes the endometrial tissue of the uterus endometrial cavity to grow into the uterus muscle-damaging the uterine wall. It is similar to endometriosis, except with endometriosis the tissue grows outside of the uterus. Endometriosis and adenomyosis are both metaplasia conditions, meaning that the diseased cells will change into the organs in which they invade. In the case of adenomyosis, this causes abnormal uterus cell growth. Due to the similarities, but subtle differences between adenomyosis and endometriosis, adenomyosis is often referred to as the "sister" disease of endometriosis.'   So in a nutshell, endometriosis affects the outside of the uterus, and adenomyosis affects the inside of the uterus. Just when you think things can't get worse, there is just a different way for childlessness to infiltrate itself. To complicate things even further, apparently, with exceptions, of course, endometriosis tends to cause infertility, meaning you will probably not have children. And in Adenomyosis, you may still be able to have children before Adenomyosis sets in your later years. Go figure. So, once again, according to drseckin.com, a younger woman can get Adenomyosis and end up never having children...why? Because if she has Adenomyosis, she probably has Endometriosis. Wow!   Interesting Statistics from drseckin.com:     About 40% to 50% of patients with adenomyosis are likely to have endometriosis. 50% of patients with adenomyosis will also have cases of fibroids. 1 in 5 patients diagnosed with endometriosis after the age of 30 will have adenomyosis or be at risk for the disease. Patients with adenomyosis will often also present with anemia, which is a condition where the body has a deficiency of blood cells or hemoglobin and in turn will result in a pallor and weak appearance. Adenomyosis is a major cause for hysterectomy.   Symptoms: Symptoms can range from heavy periods, to difficult bowel movements, to no symptoms at all. See the drseckin.com site for the full list of symptoms. And of course, talk to your OB/GYN about the options that suit you. Everyone is different, so what may have worked for your friend or even your sister, may not work for you. And while we are on that subject, I know I sound like a broken record, but have questions when you go to see your doctor. If you feel you need to, based on what he or she suggests, get a second opinion. In the show notes, I added a link for webmd.com because there seemed to be a video embedded I would guess, more information about Adenomyosis. I was not able to get it to play. Hopefully, you will be able to.      I also went to healthline.com because I have used them for research in the past. But after several websites, the information is generally the same. I just want you to see the research links that I used. 'Much like Fibroid tumors, Adenomyosis produces physical, emotional and psychological challenges that can significantly affect a woman's lifestyle. As symptoms progress, many patients begin to feel "trapped" without a way to escape this disease.'-- http://www.alternativesurgery.com/education/adenomyosis/   Now keep in mind, my podcast episodes are not suggestions for treatment. I am simply researching issues and diseases that affect our childless not by choice community, to bring awareness. You should still see a doctor of your choice and come to decisions with your doctor as to best treatments for yourself. Having said that, I have put the link to alternativesurgery.com in the notes below under 'links used for research.' Also, there is a video on that website under the Adenomyosis section, that is just over a minute long. As I said, I had no idea this disease state existed before this month, the time of this recording. I truly learned quite a bit in conducting my research. If this is something you have been diagnosed with, or you are now wondering if this is what is actually the diagnosis, I hope you can talk to your medical professional with less trepidation after listening to this episode.      Thank you for listening. And please check out the show notes for each episode, and for my contact information. If you would like to leave me a message in 90 seconds or less, visit the website, www.childlessnotbychoice.net, look to your left, and click the link below our old timey telephone! We have more great episodes coming up, so stay tuned! Links used in my research:   https://www.drseckin.com/adenomyosis https://www.webmd.com/women/guide/adenomyosis-symptoms-causes-treatments#1 https://www.healthline.com/health/adenomyosis http://www.alternativesurgery.com/education/adenomyosis/   Articles of note: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30343129 http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5605513/Men-getting-shut-fertility-discussions-warns-leading-gynaecologist.html https://slate.com/human-interest/2018/03/childless-women-are-not-necessarily-workaholics.html    My contact information: Website: www.childlessnotbychoice.net and www.civillamorgan.com  Facebook: booksbycivillamorgan Twitter: @civilla1 Instagram: @joyandrelevance Pinterest: Civilla M. Morgan, MSM LinkedIn: Civilla Morgan, MSM    Please help me out by taking this very short survey! https://survey.libsyn.com/21stcenturyhannah     Thank you for listening to this episode of Childless not by Choice. I appreciate it!   Until next time! Bye!