Ellen is now 48 and lives in Milwaukee, WI. Her mother is a nurse and always grew up with painful periods.  At 16 years old when she began her cycle her cramps were mild. But at 18 years old she began to notice things were a bit off, she has intense fatigue and brain fog and if she laughed too hard she would pee a bit.  Starting at this point her pain & fatigue began to interfere with her daily life.  She did not tolerate birth control well and did not take it.  She adjusted her life to live with her pain, and at 44 she finally had her first laparoscopy surgery for an ovarian cyst. A year later she finally got her diagnosis and at 46 years old she was able to have excision surgery, she started a fundraiser to help with the cost of the procedure. Today 1.5 years after that surgery she is PAIN-FREE.

Listen to the rest of her journey on the show.

Want to keep the conversation going?  Join our Facebook Group: tiny.cc/7mpbnz

Thank you for listening and supporting this podcast. We need awareness about this disease. If you want to be on the podcast or have feedback please reach out via my website www.melissaboudreau.com or find me on Instagram @endo_lady.  Thank you for your support and time.

Please consider subscribing and writing us a review on Apple podcasts it really helps us get more awareness and with guests agreeing to come on! You can do that here! http://tiny.cc/f74onz