The Irony of Endo

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If a disease could have a sense of humor, endometriosis would have its own stand-up act. After all, it’s a disease of irony.
 
It’s estimated that endo causes infertility in 30-50% of women who have it. So an endo diagnosis can often mean coming to terms with the fact that you may never have children. Depending on your current situation and plans for the future, that may or may not be devastating. 

If a disease could have a sense of humor, endometriosis would have its own stand-up act. After all, it’s a disease of irony. 

The ironic part? The disease that can take away your ability to get pregnant can often make you look, well… pregnant.
 
I’ve never been pregnant. Not so much as a scare. But I have a drawer full of maternity clothes in my closet. Some of them are actually cute, but that’s beside the point. Buying maternity clothes when you’re not currently, and may never be, pregnant is not a shopping experience that I enjoy.
 
To complicate things even more, you’ll find that a lot of the clothes in the maternity section are designed to flaunt your bump. The last thing I’ve ever wanted to do as someone with endo is to flaunt it. And I certainly don’t want to be asked by strangers whether it’s a boy or a girl.
 
So you can imagine my frustration when I found myself appearing six months pregnant and searching for clothes that were both comfortable and concealing. The summer months were the worst. No layers and chunky sweaters to hide behind. Just tank tops and shorts that couldn’t decide whether they were supposed to sit above or below my burgeoning bump.
 
I don’t know if I’ll ever have my own biological children. But for some women, who desperately want a child and may not be able to have one due to endo, that shopping trip to Kohl’s could be their breaking point. After all, shopping for maternity clothes should be a positive experience, not a cruel reminder of your inability to conceive.
 
From my experience, many doctors tend to ignore a patient’s concern about a bloated or deformed stomach. But it’s not just an issue of vanity. It’s a very real indication that something isn’t right, and it needs to be taken seriously. It’s a symptom that has both physical and emotional ramifications.
 
This is the irony of endo. And it has a sick sense of humor.