Introduction To Pain!

The first time I came in contact with the words ‘Hormonal Imbalance (HI)’ was when I was about to get married to my Prince Charming around 1991. Till then I had suffered dysmenorrhea (painful menstruation). You know the type that  keeps one indoors for five days every month. Initially, in my late teen years, I would go to the hospital to get jabbed for it.  Then I graduated to taking Schnapps and other forms of gin. Bertola was my favourite. I loved it for its sweetness, the calming and sedating effect it had on me whenever i took it.

When I became a good girl, early twenties, I resorted to taking strong analgesics like Clinoril and Feldene.  The effects of these two drugs were magical. They were answers to my prayers at that time. Then, I encountered a medical Doctor who advised me to stop taking them. Because of their potential to damage the female ‘body-works’ if used regularly. He gave me a simple formula which helped in alleviating the pain to a certain degree….

This was much later in life…sha… early in the  ’90s.  So instead of going through four days of excruciating pain, I would go through two.  As I was saying, it was the fear of  Period cramps that made me consult a renowned endocrinologist for a check-up. After a series of tests, he diagnosed me primarily of  Hormonal Imbalance (HI). He said the condition can hinder one from conceiving if left untreated.  So he put me on a treatment regimen. The pain reduced drastically, and i conceived not long after.  I lived a normal life for a long time… I mean life without menstrual pains and the accompanying drugs.

Fast forward to a few years later, when I started experiencing shortness of breath. It was initially slight but was inconveniencing. I thought the smell of our Alsatian dogs was the culprit, so I asked that their cage be moved farther away from our windows. I also thought the shortness of breath could the after-effect of living in the same compound with a Paint Factory. That was the first place  my husband and I stayed for the first year of our marriage. But gradually, steadily and less severely, my menstrual pain came back… I just ignored it…since it was nothing comparable to my nightmarish pains of the early 80’s.

In my search for a herbal tea called ‘Breathe Easy’, I stumbled upon a herbal shop owned by a friend who studied Pharmacy at the university but had now gone into alternative medicine. I had read that the herb could clear the lungs and enable one breathe easily.  She however advised that we get to the root of the matter by checking what was actually wrong with me.  She suggested  using her body scanning machine. This I obliged her. After about 30mins she reeled out what the machine captured. You wouldn’t believe it…!

Have you experienced any of these symptoms in my story? How did you deal with your situation? Don’t keep quiet…share with somebody…you may save someone from excruciating but avoidable pain!

You can write here or send email to Iretunde at [email protected]