Health Expert Jennifer Rackley shares health management news and commentary at HealthCentral.com. HealthCentral.com is one of the top health destinations on the Web, with more than 35 condition-specific, wellness and general health Web properties. http://www.healthcentral.com/profiles/c/370639/index http://www.healthcentral.com/profiles/c/370639/rss self application/xml en-us 15 120 19 http://www.healthcentral.com/images/hc_logo_sm.gif http://www.healthcentral.com/profiles/c/370639/index http://www.healthcentral.com/sexual-health/c/370639/103972/recovering Tue, 23 Feb 2010 20:43:00 -0500 Jennifer Rackley Don't get me wrong, the physical recovery from my hysterectomy was rough but at almost 3 months out I can say that I am in absolutely no pain for the first time in years. Unfortunately, the emotional and hormonal rollercoaster is far from over.Everywhere I look it seems like someone else is pregnant. For the most part, I am very happy for these women, but there are a few who make me cringe as they complain about the impending arrival of their... http://www.healthcentral.com/sexual-health/c/370639/103972/recovering http://www.healthcentral.com/sexual-health/c/370639/101865/recovering Fri, 29 Jan 2010 11:41:00 -0500 Jennifer Rackley I would like to tell you that I woke up in recovery from my hysterectomy feeling fantastic but that would be a lie. I was in pain! It was rough the first day but by the second I was up and walking around. My hysterectomy was done abdominally so I had a incision much like you would have after a c-section. Thankfully my previous c-section "taught" be how to move without causing additional pain so I was more mobile than with the... http://www.healthcentral.com/sexual-health/c/370639/101865/recovering http://www.healthcentral.com/sexual-health/c/370639/99870/choice-make Wed, 13 Jan 2010 12:24:00 -0500 Jennifer Rackley In August of 2008 I had a second laparoscopy because the pain had returned and with a vengeance.  They removed more endometriosis and adhesions caused by endometriosis.  They also performed a procedure to sever the nerve that provides pain sensations to part of the uterus and attempted to strengthen the muscles to hold my uterus up into a better position (it felt like it was "falling out").  We tried some hormonal options right... http://www.healthcentral.com/sexual-health/c/370639/99870/choice-make http://www.healthcentral.com/sexual-health/c/370639/90859/laparoscopy Fri, 08 Jan 2010 11:52:00 -0500 Jennifer Rackley Many people ask me what the pain of endometriosis is like but since it is different for everyone and dependant on placement it can be hard to explain. You can have a lot of endometriosis and very little pain or small areas of endometriosis placed in sensitive spots which causes massive ammounts of pain.   My pain after the birth of our twins was dull, aching and radiating from my left side. It hurt to sit upright and I could even feel a... http://www.healthcentral.com/sexual-health/c/370639/90859/laparoscopy http://www.healthcentral.com/sexual-health/c/370639/90858/infertility Mon, 16 Nov 2009 06:45:00 -0500 Jennifer Rackley After being told I might have endometriosis the doctor placed me on continuous birth control pills. The thought was that using the birth control that way would prevent the endometriosis from taking over. Since a laparoscopy is the only definitive way to diagnose endometriosis, and I had not had one, I was not convinced that was my problem anyway. Either way my first pregnancy came right after coming off of continuous birth control pills... and... http://www.healthcentral.com/sexual-health/c/370639/90858/infertility http://www.healthcentral.com/sexual-health/c/370639/90856/early-signs Fri, 30 Oct 2009 11:32:00 -0400 Jennifer Rackley My endometriosis wasn't always THIS bad.   In fact, my very first period at 12 wasn't painful at all... more of a surprise actually! It continued with that painless trend until I was about 16 when I began an episode of menstrual bleeding that lasted approximately six months. I went to the doctor and they gave me the option to wait it out or go on birth control pills. I had no desire to go on birth control. I thought that birth control was... http://www.healthcentral.com/sexual-health/c/370639/90856/early-signs http://www.healthcentral.com/sexual-health/c/370639/90853/basics Thu, 15 Oct 2009 11:12:00 -0400 Jennifer Rackley I have endometriosis. Recently the pain has become so severe that I have scheduled a hysterectomy. Due to the aggressive nature of my endometriosis they will have to remove my ovaries as well. This blog is my outlet to tell my own story and hopefully to help some of you going through this horrible condition as well but first: the basics!   Endometriosis is a condition in which the lining of the uterus called the endometrium migrates and... http://www.healthcentral.com/sexual-health/c/370639/90853/basics