It's been eight days without coffee, and the withdrawl symptoms are finally easing up. I honestly had no idea how difficult it would be. I more or less needed to isolate myself for a few days as to not inflict others with my horrible mood.
It's a long road back from hell...
I realize endometriosis is not the worst disease one could have. It's not a killer. It doesn't require chemotherapy. Yet it is one of the most frustrating illnesses, made even more so by doctors who do not acknowledge just how little they know about it. They do not know the reasons for its occurrence. They don't know why some women are more affected than others. And they do not know why the manipulation of hormones works for some and does not work for others.
Currently I am reading The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, which is about a Hmong girl with epilepsy, and the struggles between the medical community and the family. The Hmong, like many other cultures, believe in the wholeness of body and spirit, and do not try to isolate the two when treating illness. It makes me realize, more and more, how little my doctors have examined anything other than a narrow section of my insides--and how quickly they were willing to prescribe surgery, and then mess around with my hormones. Yes, I was in a ton of pain, and ready to do almost anything to alleviate it. But when the shots stopped working, why did we not talk about other methods for treating endo? Why have the simplest treatments--exercise, change in diet--not even been mentioned?
I do not know yet if it is the lack of caffeine that is causing a reduction in pain. My pain has not been constant since the surgery. It could be the lack of caffeine, or it could be just a painless point in the cycle. But the two seem correlated. So another week, and then I will reintroduce the caffeine, but keep it limited to two cups. Perhaps if I had been willing to learn more about my illness, it would have made sense to fiddle with my diet-- estrogen found in caffeine can cause more pain, or the fact that certain foods have inflammatory properties, and they should be limited. But I wanted a fast fix, and so did the doctors.
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1 comment:
I didn't know coffee has estrogen in it. That's interesting.
The doctor thing is really frustrating. Why do they limit their methods? or views? Do they not know?
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