defective plumbing

since the health card doctor diagnosed me with endometrial cysts way back in 2002 (has it really been that long?), an ultrasound has been pretty much a way of life for me. thank goodness that soon after i got operated on (to remove cysts, which eventually led to a ruptured ovary, leaving me with one fully-functional ovary) tita celia trained to perform ultrasounds - these days, no matter what my health card states (it's almost always a pre-existing condition, boo!), i can get myself checked out for free.

or, well, at least all it would take is a weekend away from manila + the bus fare to get here.

in any case, my period the past couple of months has been the horrible kind, so while i'm not exactly the pill-popping kind of girl (i actually abhor taking meds), i've resorted to regularly to pain medication. thing is, i just don't get PMS when it's close to my period -- once in a while, i get major cramping, the kind that makes me want to double up and ask the doctor to take out every bit of reproductive organ i have, just to make the pain stop. but, since i know what i have, and i know in my mind that this is part of the entire prognosis, i'm pretty much resigned to things being the way the are. it's not like some miracle will restore my ovary to full health, right?

this morning i had another ultrasound and as my aunt probed and poked around (it sure does feel that way!), she made the tsk!tsk! sound several times and proclaimed that while my ovary is healthy (miracle!), my uterus isn't. turns out i have this.

if the wikipedia article could be trusted, then i could very well say i'm an overachiever (or at least my reproductive system is -- while it rarely occurs together with endometriosis (10%) and in women from 35 to 50, i, the girl who had endometrial cysts + is only 34 years old have been diagnosed with it. it isn't cool, but it's good to know that there are parts of me that aim to be "ahead" of the pack.

still:

1. it's not cancer

2. i'm not dying

3. it'll go away once i enter menopause

and for now, those three things are good enough for me.