在我找到一位倾听者之前，我已经被五位医生宣布无可救药了。
I was written off by five doctors before I found one who listened.
1
-THE FIRST-
从我15岁起，我的经期就像一个破球一样出现了-在我月经周期的第一天，便伴随着腹部疼痛欲绝的干胀，月经变黑以及强烈的炎症，这些都是典型的症状。在我二十几岁的时候，情况变得更糟了。每隔60天左右，我就需要请病假。
My periods came in like a wrecking ball every month from the time I was 15 — painful bouts of dry heaving, blacking out, and intense inflammation were typical on the first day of my cycle. Things got worse in my mid-twenties. Every 60 days or so, I would need to call out sick from work.
最糟糕的经历之一是在我当时男友家睡觉的时候发生的。清晨，我的身体感到极度浮肿-就像最大容量即将爆炸之前的一个水球。痛经是无法忍受的，像铁拳一样重重地把我击垮了。我从侧卧到背对，像胎儿的姿势一样.几个小时的扭曲姿势以寻求缓解症状。但是我知道它是毫无价值的：我曾经经历过。
One of the worst episodes went down while I was sleeping over at my then-boyfriend’s place. Early in the morning, my body felt extremely bloated — like a water balloon right before max capacity. The cramps were unbearable, weighing me down like an iron fist. I shifted from sleeping on my side to my back to the fetal position ... hours of contorting in a search for relief. But it was worthless: I knew I was in for it.
2
-THE SECOND-
我去了洗手间，洗了个热水澡，这在过去是有帮助的。我还没来得及进去，我就开始感受到有潮热的潮水冲击，我的嘴感觉就像刚咕咕地喝了一杯铜奶昔。我的视力开始模糊，我跪在厕所前，开始干胀和呕吐胆汁。最后，我昏倒在浴室的地板上，我的头撞到了冰冷坚硬的瓷砖上，我的身体开始颤抖。当我醒来的时候，我爬回床上，取消了工作，等下一轮打击。
I made my way to the bathroom and ran a hot bath, which had helped in the past. Before I could step in, I started getting waves of hot flashes and my mouth felt like I'd just chugged a copper milkshake. My vision blurry, I knelt down in front of the toilet and started dry heaving and vomiting bile. Eventually, I passed out on the bathroom floor, my head hitting the cold, hard tile, and my body started shaking. When I came to, I crawled back in bed, called off work, and waited for the next round to hit me.
皮样囊肿很常见，但也超级怪异-它们包含有毛发、牙齿、骨骼和脂肪细胞的皮样囊肿 。
A dermoid cyst is common, but super freaky — they can contain hair, teeth, bones, and fat cells.
3
-THE THIRD-
在经历了17年以及5位医生，我最终找到了一位妇科医生，他会听我的描述。梅根·谢尔顿(MeganSheldon)博士是第一位认同这是一种非常极端的疼痛的医生，他建议我做超声波检查。一周后，在开会前，我正和我的经理坐在星巴克消磨时间。这时我接到了一个电话：我的右卵巢住着一个大皮样囊肿。皮样囊肿是非常常见的，但也是超级怪异的-它们是残留的胚胎细胞，也就是出生时就存在的细胞，包含有毛发、牙齿、骨骼和脂肪细胞的皮样囊肿。它们通常在生殖年发育，可以切断卵巢的氧气供应，使其死亡，如果不加以治疗，甚至可能导致癌症。皮肤病是畸胎瘤肿瘤的一种形式，“畸胎瘤”一词来自希腊语中的“怪物”。谢尔顿博士告诉我，我需要在接下来的三到六个月内把我的“小怪物”移除，因为“这可不是你放进去的小可爱”。“这是一个全尺寸的佛罗里达橘子，最好尽快拿出来”。
Seventeen years and five doctors later, I finally found a gynecologist who would listen to me. Dr. Megan Sheldon, D.O., was the first doctor to agree that the pain sounded extreme and referred me for an ultrasound. A week later, sitting with my manager at Starbucks killing time before a meeting, I got the call: My right ovary was housing a large dermoid cyst. A dermoid cyst is common, but super freaky — they're residual embryonic cells, a.k.a. they're present at birth, and can contain hair, teeth, bones, and fat cells. They often develop during the reproductive years and can cut off the ovary's oxygen supply, rendering it dead, and can even lead to cancer if left untreated. A dermoid is a form of the teratoma tumor, and the word "teratoma" comes from the Greek word for "monster." I needed to have my "little monster" removed within the next three to six months because "this is no clementine cutie you got in there," Dr. Sheldon told me. "This is a full-size Florida orange, and it's best to get it out as soon as possible."
4
-THE FOURTH-
在接下来的几个月里，当我寻找一位新医生为我做手术时(谢尔顿博士在这个非常时期从芝加哥搬到丹佛)，我痴迷于医学帖子和YouTube上有关皮肤样手术的视频。我确信我自己有可能会在手术中死去，所以我让我自己和朋友们告别，比如一起去吃晚饭，给他们发短信，告诉他们我有多爱他们。我也说服自己：如果我活下来，没有人会爱我，因为没有卵巢。所以，我和前任重新建立了联系。后来，我后悔重新和前任交往。这只小怪物停留得太久了。
Over the next couple months, while I looked for a new doctor to operate on me (Dr. Sheldon was moving from Chicago to Denver at a very inconvenient time), I obsessed over medical threads and YouTube videos of dermoid surgeries. I convinced myself that I might die during surgery, so I took myself on a goodbye tour of sorts with friends, going to dinner and texting them how much I loved them. I convinced myself that if I survived, no one would love me without ovaries. So, I reconnected with exes. Then, I regretted reconnecting with exes. The little monster was overstaying its welcome.
在我的卵巢手术前。两个镜头左边的白色小球是我健康的卵巢。而左边的图像中，在中间，是我的子宫。而右边的白色大球就是住在卵巢上的皮样囊肿。
My ovaries pre-surgery. The small white ball on the left of both shots is my healthy ovary. On the left-hand image, in the center, is my uterus. The large white ball on the right is the ovary housing the dermoid.
5
-THE FIVE-
我很幸运我找到了一位愿意听我讲的医生。最近，许多妇女说出了她们描述病情的时候不被医生认真对待的事情，以及它产生怎样有害影响的。女性经常直接或间接地被告知，她们并不清楚自己的身体状况，或者她们所经历的痛苦可能更多的是精神上或情感上的，而不是身体上的。因而他们是戏剧性的，且容易出现夸张的现象。
I'm just lucky I found a doctor who listened. Many women have recently come forward with their stories of not being taken seriously by doctors and how that has had detrimental effects. Women are often told directly or indirectly that they don’t know their own bodies, or that the pain they are experiencing is probably more mental or emotional than physically valid. That they are melodramatic and prone to bouts of exaggerations.
但我所认识的女性对她们的身体了解得很好，而且往往不会轻视疼痛，也不会轻视身体上的虚弱。我认为，对于女性来说，找到能倾听她们并相信她们的医生是非常重要的。当涉及到妇女和妇女健康时，医学界需要改变其观点。当我们为自己辩护时，我们需要清晰、一致和坚定的诉说。总是为自己的幸福而奋斗，这是一种尝试、会有疲惫和沮丧的时候，但这很重要的。问问你的选择是什么，否则你体内的就有可能会有小怪物就会不断成长，直到它爆发。
But the women I know understand their bodies quite well and more often than not downplay pain, so as not to seem weak. I think it's so important for women to find doctors that will listen to them and believe them. The medical community needs to shift its perspective when it comes to women and women's health. And we need to be clear, consistent, and strong when advocating for ourselves. It’s trying, exhausting, and frustrating to always have to fight for your well-being, but it’s important. Ask what your options are, otherwise the little monster inside of you is just going to keep growing and growing until it bursts.
- THE END -
文/CALLE HACK
译/思
原文/https://www.womansday.com/health-fitness/womens-health/a20701938/period-pain-dermoid-cyst-surgery/
本文基于创作共同协议（BY-NC），由CALLE HACK在译之网发布
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