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Hello, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Daryl Januszewski, named after actress Daryl Hannah when I was born in the late 1980s. I'm 31 years old as I write this, on this chilly September day.
I created this blog because of the realization that my "personal journey", my recent medical diagnosis and all the tell-tail signs leading up to it, are relatable to a lot of women. I want to share my story with you, with the hopes that I can empower you, or at least educate you a bit if you are going through something similar and want to know more about it.
Please know, if any of this seems familar or even overwhelming to you in some way, you are not alone. If you need someone to talk to, please reach out to a trained counsellor (inquire with your family doctor) and work through your feelings about it ❤
Now without further ado, here is my personal story about being recently diagnosed with fibroids:
I began my menstrual periods about age 12/near 13. I guess that's pretty early for some girls, though I was told by my mother and my grandmother (raised in an all-female household) that early menses run in the maternal side of the family. Anyway I still recall standing in the school bathroom stall, in tears and basically shaking, because the mere idea of sitting down to pee while menstruating, absolutely terrified me!! Though my mother did give me "the talk" shortly before this happened, and I knew what it was and to expect it, that realization that "bleeding from my privates" is the new norm, left me really shook. I didn't even know the hell I'd be in for yet...
At the time, I wasn't sure how much blood would fall out, or how it came out (dripping? gushing? could I voluntarily stop it at any time? what if it was too much? how would I know?) but after a few months, I eventually got used to it. Sadly, with my lack of experience with knowing when they were coming (and trying to establish a regular cycle), I lost a few favorite pairs of underwear. I guess that was a small price to pay for officially feeling like a REAL young woman now!
Fast-forward a few years, and as I was in my late teens/early 20s, and casually dating, I'd had a couple of "scares" with being late. I did the usual stuff - got some 'Plan B' from the doctor, took a pregnancy test, and then awaited the results with dread (just because I couldn't afford a baby at the time, not because I hate kids because I don't). I was relieved to find they were false alarms...
And then in 2008 I met my now-husband, Rob, and the following year after moving in together, I had another such "scare" - I recall sitting at the kitchen table late at night, crying and wondering how we could've carelessly let this happen... we'd need more money, and what would our families think (we weren't yet married), etc. etc. Then that one turned out to be a false alarm. Okay. I guess this was a lesson that we were meant to wait until after marriage to start our family...
Then a few years after getting married, it happened again... I was nauseated and had missed a period, so during a check-up with a doctor (I actually went about the digestive woes), he tested me for pregnancy and sure enough, results came back negative. I wasn't bothered by that, since we weren't planning at the time anyway. We'd sort of talked about "maybe having a family someday" but wasn't top on our list of priorities... but I still assumed we'd find a time that we'd buy a bigger home and start making babies.
Now fast-forward to Spring of 2017, when I eventually landed in the ER due to heavy menstrual bleeding! (see the story at my former blog)
This one particular cycle, I'd suddenly been losing what seemed like gallons! I became shaky, light-headed, cold (trouble warming up), and with Rob's encouragement, got to the hospital to get that checked out. To this day I credit them with saving me - they took me seriously from the moment I got there, and after several tests (including pelvic exam, blood test, pregnancy test, ultrasound, and many more), they concluded that I had menorrhagia (meh-no-rage-ia) which is abnormally heavy menstrual bleeding. They gave me prescription Cyklokapron, which is the pill-form of tranexamic acid used to slow down and bring heavy bleeding to a near stop. This worked for awhile...
To be honest, I thought the increase in blood loss was primarily from consuming too much coffee (increasing my blood pressure) and also from emotional stress... so I started to cut back on coffee and made an effort to consume less caffeine overall. I also began journalling more, and doing some stuff to increase my ability to relax & calm down. For awhile, this approach seemed to be working...
In the meantime however, I was having some pretty extreme menstrual cramps. It was difficult to find pain relief that actually worked... it took my a variety of different pills until I stumbled upon Aleve - yay!
However, sometimes the pain was so intense and I needed relief from it so immediately, that I began to use those peel & stick icy-hot patches on my lower belly. Aaahhh... so very soothing... but then they seemed to start a cycle of extremely heavy bleeding! After this happening more than once, I did some research and made the connection: Icy-hot peel & stick pain relief increases blood flow to the site of pain (even when it doesn't feel warm at the time) and so they are *NOT SAFE* to use for menstrual pain relief when you suffer from menorrhagia. So now that leaves me with Aleve - no more heating pads or anything of the like.
The above picture is one I shared on facebook, shortly after I had a horrible experience at work. At the time I was working in a retail store, where part of my job was to greet customers on the salesfloor - this one particular time, my cramps were so severe that I was not able to even stand up straight, much less smile and greet people. I tried my damnedest, but felt like someone was running a Jack-Hammer through my belly! Finally, I went to a (male) manager and tried to explain why I needed to go home - he blushed and agreed to allow my shift to end early, and while I was at my locker, a female co-worker - whom I'll never forget, because I appreciate her so much! - saw my agony and offered to walk with me to the Shoppers Drug Mart in the mall, and help me purchase some Midol. She was so supportive and helpful - the way we women should be in our sisterhood ❤
Come to think of it, I've had a few excruciating cramps over the years... I used to have to take at least 1 day off school per month when they were the worst. I've had them pop up while eating and become so nauseated that my appetite disappears. I've had them one time recently when Rob & I were actually out on a date, and I opted to go home because I couldn't even focus on what we were doing and I desperately needed relief... generally, extreme cramps aren't really part of menorrhagia, and are often more associated with something like endometriosis (when lining of the uterus ends up on the outside, often around the fallopian tubes).
Although these cramps were horrid (and sometimes downright debilitating!) I assumed they were normal, especially since my mother and grandmother, again, taught me that "bad periods" just run in the family. But then I began experiencing seriously prolonged periods... some lighter days which I pegged to "spotting", and eventually spent 6 weeks (yes, SIX WEEKS) in June to July 2019, continuously bleeding at various intervals... and prior to this happening, I had a frustrating situation while travelling in April. We had been in Las Vegas to see Terry Fator perform at The Mirage, and that entire day I'd been soaking through all the pads & tampons I brought along on our trip - I was stunned! Throughout the day, we'd stopped at various CVS and Walgreens locations to see if I could find any cheaper than $6 per package... I was hoping to spend no more than $4USD since this was a necessity and not a luxury item. I wish I'd just bitten the bullet & bought a $7 pack of pads when I had the chance, since just before the entrance to the show, I was soaking my LAST pad and needed some more, pronto. The only store nearby (a high-end hotel gift shop) ended up costing me a whopping $35!! By this point I had no choice... and I still kick myself over that.
So it dawned on me that these massive "blood floods" and cramps should be seen by a doctor and there's no harm in at least checking me out... so that's what I did. Our family doctor is incredible, and quickly sent me for an ultrasound where they discovered it...
I've got fibroids.
Tune in later on for the next part to this story.
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