My name is Katie Pulver and I am 22 years old. I was diagnosed with endometriosis at the age of 19 years old.

I was diagnosed during an emergency CT scan due to issues with my appendix. When the doc told me I had it, I never thought it would have such a big toll on my life. I have always had sharp pains and painful periods but I never thought anything of it. After I was diagnosed I started to have even more pains and the depression set in.

A year after I was diagnosed I got married. Shortly after my husband and I got married, I got pregnant (much to my surprise) but at 18 weeks pregnant I lost our baby girl. After that I hit rock bottom I didn't know what to do. I felt like a failure as a woman and a wife. Every time that I found out someone was pregnant I would cry for days. I became so sick after the miscarriage I was in the hospital at least once a month. I then had a laparoscopic surgery before we moved to Arizona.

Shortly after we moved here I became pregnant again. I made it to 12 weeks and I really thought that this was my time, but instead I went to the hospital because I was spotting and my baby had no heartbeat. Again all of the same feelings came back I didn't know what to do or how to feel.

After that miscarriage I got called for some tests from my doctor due to an irregular pap smear. They had found a lesion on one of my ovaries so I had to get it removed. After the biopsy came back I slowly lost it. I felt like one bad thing after another was happening and I had no idea what to do anymore.

About 5 months later I became pregnant again. With this baby I only made it to 9 weeks. The baby had no heartbeat when I went in for an ultrasound. Since then every month that comes I always think that I am pregnant and I cry every time that I find out I'm not.

I dread my period every month because of the pain, stress and anxiety that comes along with it. I never ever thought in a million years that I would be dealing with this. The hardest part of it all is the fact that every time I mention it to someone they look at me like I'm an alien. No one realises the pain it causes and the depression as well. It's more then just a bad period. I'm writing this story so that people can become or aware of what us women go through. People need to be more aware of what this horrible disease puts people through.


Thank you for sharing your story Katie.

If you would like to contact Katie, you can follow her on Twitter @KatiePulver07.

Remember, every one of us has a different story, and the more shared, the more we can learn. If you are interested in sharing your story, please contact me at shireen.emlwy@gmail.com.

S.