Sorry I've been MIA

I have a good reason.  Unfortunately, I do not know how my half marathon is going to happen this year.  I just got home from the hospital for a diagnostic laparoscopy.  It has been confirmed that I have endometriosis.  I feel like I've been down and out forever, but this really answers the questions I've had about the fatigue I've dealt with in the past years and months.  The doctor cauterized what he found and said that was most likely the cause of my pelvic and back pain.  This is a bittersweet moment for me because I've been in a lot of growing pain with some swelling in places that shouldn't swell.  It was to the point that I was sleeping with an ice pack between my legs, and sitting with a heating pad on my back all day.  Running did help me feel better, but as the past 2 weeks went on, it was debilitating to my every day life.  Everything became a chore.  I felt terrible for B because I felt like I was constantly complaining.  I had received a diagnosis of IBS from a GI doctor who had seen me for the first time.  I felt like everyone was just trying to take their best guess.  Needless to say, I never went back to him!

*Edited to add the picture.  You can see how swollen my belly is and if you look close enough (the lighting sucks)  you can see the bruising below my belly button. *

This just proves the point that we all need to take care of our own health.  We know our bodies best, and we know when something isn't right.  People would try to tell me that it was all in my head.  I was getting to the point that I was starting to think that as well.  I kept reassuring myself that the swelling wasn't in my head, and it certainly wasn't in B's.  The back pain wasn't in my head.  I was in a lot of pain after walking around the grocery store for 45 minutes.  I knew by the way I wasn't able to stay awake past 8 on most nights.  There were nights where I couldn't fall asleep because of the pain.   Work was becoming more and more of a nightmare and I was becoming a person I didn't like.  I'm hoping this is all past me now.  I kept telling B that I was afraid that people would think I was a hypochondriac.  Something that isn't fun to be labeled.  

I'm hoping this won't sideline me for long.  I don't think I will be able to run for about 2 weeks.  Then I'll start getting back into it.   I hated that I didn't look forward to running, and I skipped it more than I ever have before.  I'm thankful that I have a great support system of caring friends and a wonderful man.   Everyone's well wishes in the blogging community meant the world to me when I wasn't sure what was going on.  I'm so happy to have a diagnosis and a plan for the future.  I will blog through out my recovery and once I get back into running.  I'm really looking forward to that day!  I just hope that if people are going through the same things with doctors as I did that they read this and find some hope.  It doesn't help to give up.  Just keep pushing because you are your best judge of how you feel.  Don't let anyone stop you from getting the answers you need.  

I will stop here.  I start to ramble when I am on the pain meds!  My aunt just dropped off Nora, and I'm going to go spend some more time with B.  Who, by the way is completely awesome.  He didn't eat all morning until after I went into surgery because I couldn't eat.  That's true love if you ask me!   I hope everyone is having a great night, and I will update you all tomorrow!