Dorothy Haron: My 10 years of endometriosis pain and the myth that made it worse
Dorothy Haron, a mother of one currently undergoing pain management for endometriosis. Growing up, she did not know that period pain was not normal—until she was diagnosed at stage three and finally began treatment.
What you need to know:
- Endometriosis changes everything. For me, it has taken three-quarters of me, including my happiness. I was a jovial person, a sporty girl, but currently I cannot even go to the gym.
"From when I started having my menses in high school back in 2011, the pain was there, and it grew gradually as I got older. Luckily, our school nurse would give me painkillers. After taking them, the pain would calm, and I would continue with my classes. The same would happen when I went home during school holidays.
I was always told that once I give birth, I will not experience this pain. And I thank God, the baby came. After I gave birth, I actually thought I was going to be okay, but that was the saddest part because the pain doubled. It was so severe that I could no longer manage it with painkillers, and I would bleed more. I was now using more tampons and pads compared to what I used previously.
Fortunately, by this time, I had gotten my current job. So, I did a walk-in to the hospital in March 2023 and was booked for a laparoscopy. That is when I learned that I had endometriosis. All those years, I had no clue about it. However, as much as I have had the laparoscopy, it does not mean that I got healed completely. It is just a way to manage the pain a little bit, but with time, the endometriosis seems to come back again.
I have gotten to the point of having opioids used on me, and that just shows how I am at the highest point because these are drugs used on stage 4 cancer patients to curb the pain. So, you can imagine you are not able to use a simple dose of, let’s say, Buscopan, which we would always use when I was growing up. But now, I cannot use it because it does not calm the pain at all.
I am not able to do heavy jobs after the laparoscopy. I still have some pain in me, and the most challenging thing with endometriosis is that even when I am not on my period,
I also normally experience some pain, which comes with severe migraines, pain in my pelvis, feeling dizzy, and not being able to work or walk.
My periods are irregular. I can miss two months or a month, or I can have them twice or even three times a month, which makes them something that can happen anytime, anywhere. So, with that, I cannot tell that I am done with my menses and that I am currently okay. It always comes like a shock. I have had episodes of getting sick while travelling, whereby a bus had to stop, take me to the hospital, wait for me as I went through injections, and once I was done, that is when the journey began again to
Malindi. I was travelling from Nairobi.
Endometriosis changes everything. For me, it has taken three-quarters of me, including my happiness. I was a jovial person, a sporty girl, but currently I cannot even go to the gym. Sometimes people tell me that I have added a lot of weight and that I look pregnant, but I am not pregnant. It is just an endometriosis tummy, because when I am sick, I cannot work out or do heavy weight lifts. I only do light exercises like walking on the stairs.
I was an athletic person and used to play football, basketball and badminton while in primary and high school, but I can no longer do that. When I was in high school, I used to miss my lessons a lot, and right now, I do miss work a lot. But luckily enough, my job supports me through our team leaders, managers and the company as a whole, because they know that I have endometriosis. If I am unwell, eventually I will have to take a sick day off, and when I am on my menses, they will have to exclude me from working.
Other than that, I have been given a flexi-shift, whereby when I am not feeling well, I can take a rest and then come back again to work. It is also important to note that I work from home.
At times, if my periods last five days, I will need drips and injections, and that is how my son normally knows when I am sick. Endometriosis is a very complex journey, but all in all, I have hopes that all is going to be well, not only for me but also for other endometriosis sisters who are on this journey. We are going to make it. To the young girls experiencing this, please let us not normalise having painful periods. If you have painful periods, it is better you go to a gynaecologist and do the tests, because it is better to be safe than sorry.
Also read: The hidden pain of teenage endometriosis
I have changed my diet because I cannot always rely on drugs. Initially, I would eat anything, but I had to switch and tone down to what helps me boost my immunity. I also have my family and friends, who are my biggest pillar. My baby normally knows when mummy is not well, and he will always come and ask, “Mummy, sorry, you will get well. Are you going to the hospital?”
