I wasn’t crazy, I had severe endometriosis

Alicia Galligos suffered from sciatica, limited mobility, debilitating spasms and heavy bleeding for eight years before doctors finally took a closer look at her “mysterious” symptoms.

When she was 16, the Melbourne swimming teacher started experiencing fatigue, acid reflux and unexplained pain out of nowhere.

Alicia, now 20, told FEMAIL that she visited countless medical professionals who insisted she simply exercise more and change her diet if she wanted to control her heavy periods.

She now knows that her painful symptoms were caused by endometriosis. Endometriosis is a disease in which tissue similar to the endometrium grows outside the uterus, causing severe pain.

“It was really awful to go through all of this alone,” she said. “I experienced a lot of anxiety and depression. I felt like I was going crazy and everything was happening in my head. I kept telling myself that I was okay. But there were days when I couldn’t even walk.”

Alicia’s pain was often downplayed by her classmates, who considered her “over the top” and “dramatic.” But her truth was revealed when surgeons discovered lesions on her ovaries and abdominal wall.

Alicia’s symptoms began when she got her first period at age 12.

“I always had pain and cramps, but I thought it was because I had to get used to my period.

“When I turned 16, my GP (general practitioner) put me on birth control pills. I used an Implanon rod, three different pills, a Mirena IUD, and a birth control injection. I took Depot, which is.”

“The doctors seemed to have this weird obsession that my periods were heavier because I wasn’t losing weight,” she said.

“They kept encouraging me to change my diet and exercise more. I asked him to start eating. But the only reason his values ​​went down was because he was losing a lot of blood.

“I have now taken two birth control pills and no longer have my period, but ironing is no problem at all.”

Alicia first saw a gynecologist at the age of 18 and was shocked when the man tried to tell her everything.

“He told me there was nothing on me and that it definitely wasn’t endometriosis and that I was too young to have a problem. He said it was just my period and that I could deal with it if I took birth control.

“He asked me very few questions and felt like he just wanted to take me out and wasn’t interested in my pain. Considering I was paying high prices to see him. I was very hurt.

“But I knew he must be wrong. My periods were so heavy that I bled from everything. The sciatica traveled down my legs and I could barely move, let alone walk. I couldn’t do it either.”

Alicia’s mother, a nurse, finally found a general physician who specialized in women’s health, the first one to consider endometriosis.

“I was referred to a surgeon who found lesions along the abdominal wall, Douglas capsule, ligaments and ovary,” she said.

After surgery, Alicia’s pain has subsided, but there is no future in which she will no longer need hormonal birth control pills, powerful painkillers, and anti-inflammatories.

“I still have nerve pain, an upset stomach, severe reflux and all the other symptoms I was experiencing before.

“Doctors didn’t have a way to deal with them, so I have to find a way to deal with them myself, with the help of a nutritionist and over-the-counter medications.” If it gets worse again, perhaps another surgery. will be required. ”