“Most people think it’s just pain during your period. If only it were… but it’s sadly far from being the case. A poignant observation, this one was painted on February 19, 2024, in Quimper by Laetitia Crugni. That evening, Fussenantise, 43, a medical assistant south of Finisterre for a year and a half, had just left work. and struggles to hide his exhaustion. Severe, persistent fatigue. mixed with deep fatigue. Many women with endometriosis know it by heart.
“I never heard that word”
Letitia does not know exactly when this “dirty” illness entered her life. She, who only “always had very heavy, hemorrhagic and painful periods,” affirms. Without further ado. And then, one day in the fall of 2011, a “screaming” crisis. “I was shaking, I didn’t understand what I had, why I was in so much pain,” she recalls. A few days after her period, severe pain appears on the right side. The general practitioner thinks it might be appendicitis and advises him to go to the hospital.
On the site, the analysis looks good. However, an operation is scheduled for the next day. In the OR, hours will fly by. is dissolved. only. During the process, “brown lesions” are identified and then removed. When I woke up, “I was told I had endometriosis… I had never heard that word in my life. And we didn’t talk about it at all at the time,” she confides. A few searches on your phone will effect a cold shower. The disease is at stage 1. A progestin pill, which must be taken continuously, is prescribed. “I have been told the disease will not progress,” Laetitia explains.
“I’m crazy”
But the pain will reappear after three years. “I didn’t understand what was happening to me. I was tired all the time, I hurt everywhere. In the morning, when I woke up, it took an hour and a half, two hours, sometimes three hours for my body to unlock.” The diagnosis may have been made long ago, but Fussantize will enter into an unbearable medical wandering. “I saw, I don’t know how many doctors, specialists… I was put on morphine for eleven months because they couldn’t find what I had.” A link with endometriosis will never be made.
“I was thought mad, though I suffered in silence and suffered much!”
The first two MRIs will not reveal anything. “And now I know why,” Laetitia explains: “It’s because we need radiologists who specialize in the disease.” At the time, however, he was told that his condition was due to fibromyalgia, a post-traumatic stress disorder following his father’s death. Tests for Lyme disease will also be conducted… “I’m furious,” she said today. Because they thought I was crazy, they told me it was all in my head… while I suffered in silence. I have a lot! “
€2,700 to find
Despite taking the pill, the hemorrhages and pain in the abdomen and right side will continue. In the summer of 2023, a new MRI is performed. There, “I’ve been told I’m in stage 4… I have a digestive lesion and a 60 to 70% risk that it will be found elsewhere”. For Laetitia, sitting or staying still for too long has become a struggle. And this, despite taking powerful painkillers. “That’s what’s ruining my life,” she says. I’m tired of being in pain all the time.”
In November, she discovered the existence of an exclusive clinic, “world-famous”, located in Bordeaux. A clinic that “takes care of serious cases only”. It is there that on March 28 Fussantize will be operated on. “Coincidentally, on World Endometriosis Day,” she emphasizes. That day, the surgeon will remove her uterus and part of her intestines. A thoughtful and thoughtful act. Which, however, has a price. To cover the costs, Laëtitia opted for an online fundraiser. The rest could be around €2,700. The price to pay for that, she hopes, will be a return to normal life.
Practical
The online prize pool is accessible at lacanottedesproches.fr