EndoMEtriosis

Tamer Seckin

Description

From the award-winning Dr. Tamer Seckin comes a book written for all of the Endo Warriors out there, from the thirteen-year-old girl who is being told that her pain is “part of becoming a women,” to the woman who has been misdiagnosed for decades—and needs to know she is not alone.

Every girl has the right to be pain-free. To live the life they want to live. The journey toward new and happy lives for young women begins now!

Endometriosis is a physically and mentally debilitating disease that has tortured women for centuries. It currently affects 176 million of childbearing age worldwide, including one in ten in the U.S. Despite those startling statistics, this horrific and incurable ailment is still relatively unknown to the general population and medical professionals alike. Symptoms of heavy periods and excruciating pain most often begin in middle school or high school, yet doctors take an average of twelve years to diagnose it in a patient. As a result, these undiagnosed and misdiagnosed women suffer into at least their mid-twenties or early thirties, repeatedly told that the pain is in their minds, that it’s simply part of becoming a woman, or that it’s caused by some other disease or condition. That nonsense must stop, and it must stop now!

This book will explain what endo is in terms that adolescents can understand, along with potential remedies, treatments to avoid, and how to manage the psychological and social effects of the disease. It will also include riveting stories from women in their teens and mid-twenties, and from those closest to them such as mothers, fathers, teachers, and coaches. One of the most terrifying aspects of having endo is feeling like nobody believes the pain is real or severe, which can cause a woman to feel scared, isolated, and depressed. This book will fully arm her with the truth and knowledge about the disease so that she can overcome her fears and confidently advocate for herself. If her cry for help has been dismissed by anyone, she will be able to educate them so that they can empathize with her and fully support her in her quest for healing.

Sujets

• Young Adult Nonfiction
• Daily Living
• Pregnancy
• Sexuality
• Health

Informations

• Publié par: Turner Publishing Company
• Date de parution: 17 mars 2020
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781684423675
• Langue: English

Extrait

Endo me triosis
Endo me triosis
A GUIDEBOOK FOR GIRLS
By Tamer Seckin, MD
TURNER PUBLISHING COMPANY
Turner Publishing Company
Nashville, Tennessee
www.turnerpublishing.com
Copyright 2019 Dr. Tamer Seckin. All Rights Reserved
Endometriosis: A Guide for Girls
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, [phone], fax [phone]. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to Turner Publishing Company, 4507 Charlotte Avenue, Suite 100, Nashville, Tennessee, [phone], fax [phone], E-mail: [e-mail] .
Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and the author have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a professional where appropriate. Neither the publisher nor the author shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages.
Cover design: Jenny Carrow
Book design: Tim Holtz
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Seckin, Tamer, author.
Title: Endometriosis : a guide for girls / by Tamer Seckin, MD.
Description: Nashville : Turner Publishing Company, [2020] | Audience: Ages 13-18 | Summary: This book will be the only comprehensive and accessible guide for young women and girls who are or may be struggling with the physical, psychological, and social effects of endometriosis --Provided by publisher.
Identifiers: LCCN 2019027341 | ISBN 9781684423651 (paperback) | ISBN 9781684423668 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781684423675 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Endometriosis--Juvenile literature.
Classification: LCC RG483.E53 S432 2020 | DDC 618.100835/2--dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019027341
9781684423651 Paperback
9781684423668 Hardcover
9781684423675 Ebook
Printed in the United States of America
17 18 19 20 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Table of Contents
Foreword by Alaia Baldwin Aronow
Introduction
I Endometriosis
Chapter 1 What Is Endometriosis?
My Name Is Lexie
Chapter 2 Painful Periods Are Not Normal
My Name Is Dilara
Chapter 3 And Then There Are These Symptoms
My Name Is Emily
Chapter 4 When Your Doctor May Be Wrong
My Name Is Stephanie
Chapter 5 Managing Endo Symptoms in Public
My Name Is Winnie
II I Think I May Have Endo. Now What?
Chapter 6 Who Can I Ask for Help? And When?
My Name Is Melissa
Chapter 7 Help Yourself by Knowing Your Family History
My Name Is Ali
Chapter 8 Empowerment
My Name Is Bankes
III Ways to Treat (and Not Treat) Endo
Chapter 9 Diet and Nutrition
My Name Is Tanya
Chapter 10 Physical Activity
My Name Is Brandilee
Chapter 11 Birth Control Pills
My Name Is Kim
Chapter 12 Excision Surgery Is Gold
My Name Is Rachel
Chapter 13 What Laser Surgery Will Do to You
My Name Is Grace
Chapter 14 From Dependency to Addiction: The Dangers of Pain Medication
My Name Is Nicole
Chapter 15 Avoid Lupron
My Name Is Jenna
IV How to Support Her
Chapter 16 To Mothers of Those with Endo
My Name Is Donna
Chapter 17 To Fathers of Those with Endo
My Name Is Richard
Chapter 18 To Girls with Endo and Their Significant Others
Our Names Are Mel and Chris
Chapter 19 To Girls with Endo and Their Friends
Our names are Meg and Amy
Chapter 20 To Girls with Endo and Their Teachers
My Name Is Liz
Chapter 21 To Girls with Endo and Their Coaches
Our Names Are Sophie and Prince
Epilogue Endurance
My Name is Madeleine
Acknowledgments
Resources
Index
To the young women who are affected by endometriosis, you can find the answers you need and seek the health you deserve. Your pain is real and treatable, and your courage is unparalleled.
Foreword
I ve been a fashion model in New York City for about four years, since I was twenty-two years old. I come from a family of movie and television entertainers who date back several decades, so I guess you could say I m comfortable in front of the camera. I m into that whole social media thing, mostly because I have to be. Instagram has become a second portfolio for many models, and always being out there comes with the territory.
One day last spring, lying in bed exhausted, bloated, cramping, and helpless, I was passing the time by scrolling through my Instagram feed, which was filled with photos of other models. While it is part of my job to follow people like this, I realized that following beautiful, thin women was not exactly great for my current emotional state. I was growing weary of the perfection that Instagram users had chosen to portray. I was tired of the fake, curated, aesthetically pleasing and perfect lives that I had to look at every single day, especially on days when pain was plaguing me. Though my own posts occasionally portrayed a similar lifestyle, that was not the reality at all. Most of the time I was at home in sweatpants cooking with my husband, hanging out with my family and lifelong friends, taking college courses and popping Vicodin every four hours to stop me from shrieking, having to use heating pads on my belly and back, and going down an endless spiral of depression.
This is the real me, and this is endometriosis.
I decided that I couldn t live a lie anymore. I couldn t have young girls look at me the same way that I was looking at those perfect models profiles. While I had contemplated getting rid of Instagram altogether, I wanted instead to use my voice and my truth to send a real message to girls out there. I was going to be honest, open, and real with my struggles so that other girls might not feel so alone.
So, I rolled out of bed and crawled into the bathroom, phone in hand. I was wearing plaid pajama pants and a sports bra. I turned sideways, took a photo of my bloated stomach, and posted it.
This is not a pregnancy announcement, I wrote in the caption. This is what some of us in the endo community like to call endo belly. I spoke about my views on the deceptive ideals that the modeling industry portrays, and I told my followers to please feel open and message me if they had endo. I promised I would be an ear to listen.
Within minutes, I had more than a hundred messages in my inbox.
Many girls said they were in pain, desperate for any help or advice. Many girls were about to go into their second, or eleventh, laparoscopic excision surgery. Many girls were in middle school getting their first period. And many women were mothers with children of their own. This disease crossed all barriers, regardless of age, weight, economic background, language, and country. Women messaged me from Paris, from Milan, from all over the world. As far apart as we were, and as different as we could be as people, we all had that one connection. We all knew each other, understood each other, and loved each other immediately. We knew the exact pain that the other was going through. We had a bond that no other woman could understand unless she, too, had endo.
Regardless of our cultural differences and the stage of the disease, I felt more connected to these women and girls than most other people I knew, because these women and girls knew firsthand my pain and my struggle. While my endometriosis story is not nearly as bad as others , I have had my share of the bottomless black hole of this disease, just as all who share their stories in this book have.
I did not experience any endometriosis symptoms until I was in my early twenties, and my life was instantly flipped upside down. I was always the laid-back free spirit, the fun girl with loads of energy who never complained. But, very quickly, I became the antithesis of that. Suddenly, I was spending thousands of dollars on doctors, specialists, naturopaths, vitamins, acupuncture. My energy dwindled, and even the most mundane of tasks was difficult to perform. I canceled plans with my friends, events with my family, and dates with my husband. This soon became my normal. Doctors couldn t find answers, and I was told to just go on birth control. I felt like I was losing friends and becoming a burden to everyone around me, which led to depression and a diagnosis of pre-menstrual dysphoric disorder. Add that to a previous diagnosis of polycystic ovary syndrome, along with a daily schedule of taking metformin to regulate my insulin levels.
What was the scariest part of all this?
I felt like I was losing myself.
I felt like my old body was gone, and my new one had been overtaken by a demon.
I was very fortunate to have been diagnosed early in my journey. I found Dr. Seckin through my sister-in-law who, at the time, was dealing with endometriosis as well. After one appointment with Dr. Seckin, I felt heard. After three appointments with Dr. Seckin, I was scheduled for surgery because my pain was increasing rapidly. While no endometriosis showed up on any scans, it was found during surgery, and it was everywhere. Dr. Seckin removed multiple lesions and diagnosed me with stage II endometriosis. What most people don t understand is that this disease never leaves you. It s chronic, which is why I still have difficult and dark days. But overall, since my surgery,