What does the pain feel like?

I thought menstrual cramps and Adenomyosis pain were the same. Definitely not.

Boy, I thought that I had it bad before the diagnosis. I actually miss dealing with just bad monthly cramps now that I’m dealing with a whole different type of pain. While on the DP shot, I did not have a menstrual cycle but did feel a constant deep, penetrating, pain. That was the Adeno. While on Orilissa, I still did not have a menstrual cycle and still felt some pain. When all of the drugs finally left my system, my menstrual cycle came right back and it was not playing. It was a quick reminder that menstrual cramps and Adeno cramps are not the same!

For me, menstrual cramps feel like an agonizing deep cut or slice to the body. Adeno feels like my uterus is being gripped and tugged from the inside. I often say it feels like someone is tugging me down to the earth from within my vagina and you will actually find me on the floor in pain sometimes! One is annoying and tolerable while the other is barely manageable. I only feel the menstrual cramps during my period, but the Adeno pain is constant. It’s perfect timing that I am writing about this because pain is kicking in right now, while I am at work, sitting at my desk.

This is very hard to explain, so please bear with me:

My lower mid-section starts to throb. It’s a deep, slow, penetrating throb that creeps down to the top of my thighs and up my back and stomach. The pain surrounding my thighs causes my vagina to feel achy, which makes sitting down uncomfortable. Now the pain is coming and going every two minutes. The pain started out as a 6 and I’m now at a 7. This is actually decent and tolerable for me; I can still work at a 7. Might see me wincing behind my computer screen, but I’m maintaining. Eventually, on a bad day, my body starts to feel drugged and I become light headed and dizzy. Often times, I’d need to be laying down until it passes. It can be as short as one hour or as long as two hours. I can’t think straight or even see straight sometimes. A lot of times, a sharp prickly feeling occurs on the left side of my lower mid-section and usually only on the left side. All of these things combined make my body feel numb, tender, and weak. Because I always get the urge to hunch over and hold my knees, my posture has been affected. So now, my back is always hurting. If I’m standing while these symptoms occur, I’d likely pass out. It’s exhausting.

I deal the best way that I can. I try to keep my verbal complaints to a minimum, but I do stay positive.