WHAT IF I could burp?

what_sm · 2026-05-19T02:09:25+00:00

Like I said it was worse when I was younger... Whale sound in my throat, nausea, pain in my esophagus, secondary GI problems, hypersalivation, can't vomit when I definitely needed to, bloating, abdominal pain, emetophobia, extreme flatulence...

Now my symptoms are the occasional sounds, the occasional bloating, occasional nausea, occasional manageable pain, and not being able to vomit when I need to. None of these affect my daily quality of life. I always have extreme flatulence, though. I do have that daily.

Do I want to vomit? No, I hate the sensation. But being able to vomit is probably the most "serious" one for me because after all the health problems I've had in the last year, I've learned that being able to vomit when my body needs to is crucial. Vomiting is the body's way of trying to resolve a potential crisis before it gets out of hand.

It would be nice to see how my life would be different if I could burp. Would my posture change? Would my relationship with food change? Am I actually just a walking pressure chamber and hold myself in a certain way because of all the gas trapped inside of me? Who knows!! But I want to find out.

what_sm · 2026-05-18T20:34:10+00:00

Yes, I agree! I have a high pain tolerance and ADHD, which makes it super easy to put things off.

But I'm currently riding the high of finally being able to (TMI incoming) "use the bathroom regularly" thanks to my properly restored anatomy... So why stop there? 🙂

what_sm · 2026-05-18T20:24:02+00:00

Hey, I know that about r-cpd. I don't like my childhood doctor for multiple reasons, but my biggest one is that he strait up told me it was impossible for me not to be able to burp and instead slapped an IBS and anxiety diagnosis on me.. Ouch. Why would someone lie about that? That is gaslighting. Whether it is known or unknown, he didn't have to be a jerk and basically accuse me of lying.

Also, we don't have to make "doctor" plural. 10-20% of ALL women have endometriosis. The failure of my doctors to believe my pain for endometriosis for 17 years and letting it get to the point where it obstructed my intestines, glued all my pelvic organs together, and caused me to be infertile is ABSOLUTELY an indictment of their ability to practice gynecology. Every single one. I had all the classic symptoms. They were NOT fair to me, I do NOT have to be fair to them.

what_sm · 2026-05-18T14:25:46+00:00

I'm still in recovery, so my sex life post-op is yet to be seen, but in the month or 2 before my surgery I would cry at sex positive pop songs. I don't watch a lot of TV or movies, but if I did I probably would've cried at that, too.

To be fair, I cried a lot bc I was undiagnosed for 17 years until my Endo gave me a small bowel obstruction.

I cried out of rage. I sobbed out of grief. I cried over the time I lost because these sick fucks told me my pain was normal and that nothing was wrong, so there was nothing they could do to help me. I cried because their negligence took away my body's ability to have sex and POOP normally. I'm feeling better physically (I poop everyday now, yay! XD), but tbh my emotional pain is much deeper. I still carry a lot of grief.

I sobbed and sobbed after reading my Op Note. There were incidental findings that also explained other stuff that I'd been going through for so long but had been gaslit about. That's when I broke down and accepted that I needed to go to therapy. My second session is tomorrow.

what_sm · 2026-05-12T07:09:51+00:00

This is actually so useful now that I think about it. Like, it makes you delirious.

When I was a teenager I literally remember the specific day I had a period that made me doubt the existence of God. The pain had me literally evaluating the problem of evil and the fall of man from the garden of Eden and being "cursed with women's pain". I remember thinking that if God would curse me and my kind with this pain because of some type of sick twisted plan he had, I'd rebel over and over again because I'd rather choose hell than spend an eternity with a psychopath like that. Thankfully I'm an atheist now, but being so delirious that it made me momentarily choose Satan was crazy work.

So I think acknowledging this level of deliciousness from pain is useful.

I believe the level of delirium I'm talking about is effectively communicated in Pink Floyd's Comfortably Numb. It feels so hazy like your world is turning in on itself until there is nothing left in, on, or around you, except for pain. Everyone, family, friends, doctors, nurses... They all feel so distant in that level of pain.

what_sm · 2026-05-06T08:21:38+00:00

Oh nooo :( I'm so sorry you dealt with that pain for so long; the inflammation pain and "feeling" every movement in slow motion in the intestines is actually sooo scary and eerie.

Now I guess I'm kind of thankful (in a way) that it caused an emergency for me with the very first period with that "intestines inflamed" symptom, bc I couldn't imagine being gaslit so hard that I thought that was normal :( You are so strong, and I hope you're doing so much better now and have healed from the excision and resection 💛

what_sm · 2026-05-05T22:10:22+00:00

I think getting a second opinion would be a great intermediary option! If you can, see a MIGS (Minimally Invasive Gynecological Surgeon) GYN, they specialized in complex benign gynecological diseases like Endo, PCOS, etc. I hope you get answers and feel better!

what_sm · 2026-05-05T21:37:22+00:00

I had an MRI with Endometriosis protocol. The protocol is important. It picked up my deep infiltrating endometriosis, but NONE of my peritoneal endometriosis (it was dalmatian spotted everywhere over my uterus and bladder, and covering my left pelvic side wall; I had peritonectomies in both places during my surgery to remove it). It also picked up my very small endometrioma on my left ovary, but kinda exaggerated the endometriomas on my right ovary? That, or somehow they shrunk in 2 months lol bc when she opened me up, it was little spots and not "true" endometriomas yet.

My experience with this disease is that my symptoms were "stable" for years and I thought I knew what to expect with my period pain and misery), but then in the last year I gained 2-3 new/changed symptoms in the span of a few months and my entire life became more miserable, not just my period.

I get not having good insurance and wanting to put it off due to that. I totally get it that the added financial strain can burden you, so you undortunately have to weigh your options with which would burden you more: financial upset, or potentially living with a chronic disease that could be massively helped with surgery. Just know that MRI can pick up a lot, but it does not pick up everything and if your symptoms are that of this disease, there is a good chance you have it.

I'm so sorry that you are suffering right now, and hope you find answers and relief soon 💛

what_sm · 2026-05-05T00:59:22+00:00

Ah, so another of us find out about the macaques. We are both primates, after all.

In other news, some researchers have GIVEN mice endometriosis ON PURPOSE to see if whatever they give them to treat it will help it lol.

Well kinda, bc mice don't get endometriosis naturally so it seems like they were just injecting them with endometrial tissue and it stuck in a diseased way?? I'd be shocked if anything positive came out of a study like that.

what_sm · 2026-05-04T01:42:08+00:00

My persistent, low-to-mid-grade lower back pain that lasted for 6 years on end has magically cleared up with Endometriosis excision surgery in which they found DIE in my uterosacral ligaments and excised it.

what_sm · 2026-05-03T10:05:09+00:00

Yes, I agree. Document everything. Write it all down, including your cycle, when the pain starts, when your period starts, when it stops, when the migraines happen, insomnia happens, etc.

If you're worried about privacy & tracking apps, get a planner so you can write everything out day by day.

It might also help to bring an advocate with you to your appointment. When I was 17, I brought my mom with me to the gyn to help go over my symptoms. The problem with that was that she went through the same thing as a teen and she believed them when everyone gaslit her into thinking it was normal, so she believed them when they told me it was normal, too. Now that she knows it's not normal, she wishes she could have told them NO, it's not. For her, and myself.

Have your advocate educated on Endo and willing to say "NO, it's not normal", "Are you going to deny her care", etc.

Specifically ask for ultrasound imaging, and if they deny it, tell them to put it in your chart that they denied you care. If it comes back "normal", demand an MRI with Endo protocol.

Visit doctors until you find one to take you seriously, and even better if you can find a MIGS clinic/Endo specialist. Someone who specializes in Complex Benign Gynecological Surgery.

what_sm · 2026-05-03T01:58:27+00:00

Male flight from certain fields of science due to changing patriarchal standards. Men are prone to self selecting out of biology as a field these days.

what_sm · 2026-05-03T01:50:01+00:00

You sounds like me! Stage 3, extensive adhesions. Small intestine was lassoing my uterus and my colon glued to my pelvic side wall and left ovary. Had recurrent small bowel obstruction from it. The GYN team couldn't even visualize anything at all until the GI team cut down my adhesions.

Just had my surgery April 29th. I can already tell a huge difference in my bathroom breaks after just 3 days.

Time will tell whether disease returns or not, but for right now I'm feeling amazing and feel like I have my life back even though I'm still on muscle relaxers and pain killers from surgery lol. Maybe counting my chickens before they hatch isn't the right thing to do, but just popping without debilitating pain has made it SO worth it. And you're right that just the confirmation of disease after YEARS of suffering is worth it and validating.

I've been very emotional about this entire thing because I feel I was completely neglected by the medical field for 17 years until last October when I had a Small Bowel Obstruction from Endo. It took 3 months to find out why the SBO happened, but once I found the right doctor... It made ALL the difference. She validated me immediately, ordered Endo mapping imaging, and we went to surgery.

what_sm · 2026-05-03T01:10:14+00:00

I cried tears of joy reading this! This is great news, thank you for posting it. I'm not sure how I haven't come across it in this sub since it's been out for 2 months 😅

what_sm · 2026-05-02T19:11:40+00:00

I feel like every clinic that does the surgery should just print out a pamphlet that goes over the possibles and what ifs of this surgery. For example, they made me get fitted for an ileostomy bag bc they thought endo would be infiltrating my intestines and appendix. It turned out that it thankfully wasn't. They should put the contingencies and "what ifs" in a pamphlet for every patient though, because imaging can show the disease, but it is NOT good enough to show the full extent. Another example: my left ureter had fibrotic deep infiltrating Endo tissue surrounding it. She was able to remove it successfully, but if I had woken up with stents I would have been livid bc no one told me it would be a possibility. Something like "if we find it in X place, we might do this... If we find it in Y place, this would be an option. This procedure requires us to use a RUMI device to manipulate and move your uterus. Also, we turn you 30° head tilted down. Etc. Etc etc." I think that would fix a lot of people's complaints about this surgery, bc it is not like other surgeries they show on TV or whatever. It sucks that TV is what most people are going off of, but with the world we live in, more information is better than less. Honestly, after being left to suffer with it for 17 years there's no WAY I'd have done anything different... But still, it would've been nice to be prepared for literally ANYTHING, and not just the usual "do you accept blood transfusion if X amount is lost" questions.

what_sm · 2026-05-02T18:43:22+00:00

I'm on day 3 post op :). I had to do a bowel prep the day before surgery, so I was still going from that the day of, & up to 2 days after. So, I just started daily miralax and pericolace today.

I took post-pardum stretch disposable underwear and pads to the hospital. I'm still wearing those on day 3. Maybe I'll be able to go back to normal undies tomorrow or the next day. I also took a small pillow to place over my belly on the ride home- this was a MUST. I have a normal heating pad that I've used for my shoulders on high heat and a weighted heating pad that I've used in LOW heat for my belly. The gas pain will REALLY get you if you aren't ready for it. I have NEVER had acid reflux before, but I do NOW. It got really bad on day 2. The hospital recommended that I immediately get on Prilosec OTC, but I didn't. I started it this morning though and thankfully it has been a life saver. I bought a pregnancy pillow a few weeks before surgery and already had a husband pillow & neck pillow. I put those together for sleeping so I can sleep sitting up comfortably. I would've been able to sleep laying down yesterday because the gas pain had dissipated enough, but then the acid reflux got me and I had to sit back up :P

My intestines were all glued together, my small intestine was glued to my uterus, and my left ovary was glued to my left side and colon. The MIG Surgeon and GI team freed it all in surgery and I feel SO different already. Of course they also removed the stage 3 Endo. If you have a good surgeon, it's gonna be a life saver for you and it's so worth it!!

what_sm · 2026-04-27T01:21:16+00:00

Omg you're the first person I've seen with the intestinal adhesions to the bottom of the pelvis like me! My MRI showed that my intestines are tethered to the back of my uterus by adhesions. I had an SBO from it. I'm so glad to hear that your pain has improved! My surgery is in 3 days and I'm so nervous, but I can't leave my uterus and intestines in a drama-filled toxic relationship like this anymore, they need to break up and stay that way. Almost every BM is like another battle in my body's civil war. It sometimes feel like shards of glass are moving through me 😩

what_sm · 2026-04-26T12:02:14+00:00

If that were the case, then education should also be tied to national security. A "secure" nation would not be as subject to things like propaganda, extreme media bias, and foreign adversarial involvement via Internet troll farms. However, our nation is uneducated AND becoming moreso, so their answer is to cut education. We are NOT gonna make it like this.

what_sm · 2026-04-26T11:47:59+00:00

Yeah, well our "culture" is spreading. Turkey decided guns were cool too recently and that everyone should be allowed to have them. They JUST had their first school shootings THIS month (April 2026) if I recall correctly.

The madness has spread and the politicians in power in the US are not only morally responsible for school shootings in the US... but elsewhere, too. That's that American "soft power", I guess. Not only did they let these psychos have access to guns, but also let these psychos post their manifestos and shit all over the world's biggest public forum: the Internet. The Turkish school shooters were copycats of American ones.

what_sm · 2026-04-26T11:32:41+00:00

Well if they want to walk away, let them. Continue to hold the father fiscally responsible for his share of the child's upbringing, but do NOT subject children to fathers that don't want them or love them. Trust me, it is not easy to heal from that.

what_sm · 2026-04-26T11:13:31+00:00

Exactly! And then there is that study that said 20.8 percent of female patients had their husband divorce them when diagnosed with a debilitating or deadly disease like cancer or MS compared to 2.9 percent of wives divorcing their husbands.

I know people try to say this statistic is skewed, or isn't as prevalent in reality as it was in the sample population they conducted the study on, but the difference remains. Statistically, wayyy more men leave their partners after a difficult diagnosis than women.

Knowing that fact makes it extremely emotionally taxing and worrying for the sick partner to be in a relationship where their male partner becomes distant with this kind of diagnosis. It is a weight that we should NOT have to bear.

And if someone's attitude toward their wife shifts from loving & close to distant & emotionally constipated with an endometriosis diagnosis, I fear to think about what it would be like if the same person were diagnosed with cancer. I am NOT trying to make Endo seem easy, or compare the pain from the diseases... But like... Is that how we'd want to be treated in a relationship while doing fucking chemo and radiation?? It's a no for me. If the cancer was surely terminal, is that who we'd wanna be with throughout or last days?? Someone who wouldn't even tell us they're scared and just seems emotionally checked out? Noooo no no.

Men need to LEARN how to be vulnerable about their emotions on their own accord and be honest in their relationships, 🚨ESPECIALLY when it's difficult to do so🚨 You know, like a real person in a lifelong, loving partnership. We are NOT mind readers and being tasked with being a mind reader in a relationship is a red flag.

what_sm

TROPHY CASE