I'd just like to validate your concerns. My unit was a small, 50-person rapid deployment medical team. About a quarter of the unit was women. Not a single one of us got through Desert Storm without major female problems. Regardless of age, regardless of whether or not we'd had children, regardless of whether or not we'd had sexual relations with anyone or several people. I developed female problems at the age of 32 shortly after my initial "overseas" vaccines. I have never had children. And I had already had my tubes burned in an irreversible tubal ligation. The first signs that told me I was in trouble was heavy, painful periods that never stopped. Next was heavy use of pain killers for massive cramps across my lower abdomen, and crippling pain in my lower back. I started missing three days of work every three weeks because I was in bed knocked out beside my bottle of Advil, Aleve, aspirin, prescription strength Tylenol, and finally intramuscular injections that knocked me out for two days. Then, intercourse became very painful, unbearable. The general diagnosis was endometriosis, even though there is not another female in my huge family with a history of such. An endometrial ablation was performed. That is, my uterus lining was lasered out so that the inside of my uterus is like a Teflon skillet. The surgeon said that there was so much tissue growth, uterus lining ridges and scar tissue, that the surgery took a couple of hours longer than anticipated. He also noted some endometriosis along the lower inside of my abdominal wall particularly along my ureters, which stretch along each side of the lower abdomen. Two weeks after the surgery, major infections flared up. Doctors were unable to diagnose what the problem was. My high white blood count was at a morbid level. My fever spiked to 100 at least twice a day. And my abdomen swelled to that of a mother in her sixth month of pregnancy. I have never fully recovered from the infections. But the pain is gone. My uterus, which started out being about the size of an 8-weeks pregnancy, remains distended to somewhere between 6 and 8 weeks. The scariest part about the whole thing is that I infected my husband, who is not a veteran, with some of the infections that fall under the umbrella of Gulf War Illness. Both of us experience sexual dysfunction, most likely because we both have Infectious Diseases. Those diseases previously were known only to AIDS patients and organ transplant patients. Infectious Disease rips apart your hormonal balances. It causes all sorts of pains throughout sex organs (urogenital tracts) and throughout the entire trunk. There is no doubt part of your problems are sexually transmissable. So, you might want to visit an Infectious Diseases doctor, if you can find one who will listen to you. You also need to visit an endocrinologist, a specialist I have yet to visit because of lack of funds. And you also might want to visit a necrologist (kidneys and adrenaline glands, extremely important in helping the hormones function correctly). You might want to have your husband visit a urologist. Both of you should keep a running diary of your symptoms. Go to your doctors armed with symptoms and their respective cycles. Diaries make the illness easier to research, and you're more likely to get immediate medical help. Best of luck. My heart goes out to you, as well as all the other people who are having problems too embarrassing to discuss in mixed company.
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