During the pandemic, it is easy to feel isolated and disconnected from people and even from yourself. For most of us, our lives have completely changed, some aspects for the better and some for the worse. I find that women sharing their true stories and experiences (without filters) is helpful to other women who may be going through the same thing. In a time of isolation, it is nice to know you are not alone.

So today, I thought I would share a little bit of my personal struggles over the past year, in an effort to connect with others who might be experiencing some of the same things.

I started 2020 with excessive pain in my lower abdomen which was apparently caused by large ovarian cysts. It had felt as if they ruptured inside of me, but now I realize they were just severely inflamed. I had been bouncing around to dozens of OBGYNs over the years, always complaining of severe period pain, with their only response being birth control or get over it. The OBGYN I was going to at the time, simply said the cysts needed to be surgically removed and referred me to a surgeon. I met with the surgeon the same day, and promptly stormed out of his office. He was berating and questioning me about what I knew about my cysts. His arrogance and reluctance to answer my questions left me feeling more lost and stressed than ever. Little did I know, this would be the first of dozens of meetings that would go this way over the coming weeks.