Medical School with Chronic Illness

[ineedauniqueusername]

Hi all,

I recently got diagnosed with endometriosis. Living in chronic debilitating pain during periods and some days without periods. I was recently accepted to med school and everything was working out for me when i got the news. I know, typical 2020. I just feel so defeated. Does anyone share the same experience and/or is in med school with chronic illness. I would love to hear some advice as to what i should do. I know 100% without this illness i would be extremely succesful. But now I dont really know how to feel. This is the only thing i want to do in life, and i dont know how i will manage through rotations and so forth. Again, i'd love to hear some advice.

EDIT: currently started birth control, waiting see an excision specialist in March and hoping to get surgery in the summer of 2022.

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[Goro]

Talk to your Ob/Gyn about med school and your condition, which is treatable. But we're not allowed to give medical advice.

 

[deleted1079620]

I second the advice to see your ob/gyn for treatment options, but I also wanted to come here and encourage you. I know plenty of medical students with chronic illness who do just fine managing in medical school, so don't give up hope!

 

[Fidelio17]

Hi! I don't have endo, but I do have a different chronic illness. It's definitely possible to go to med school & become a doctor with chronic illness. It doesn't have to stop you. To be honest, it will likely make your journey different/harder than it would have been otherwise. That sucks & isn't fair, & you're allowed to take time to be angry/upset/whatever you feel about your recent diagnosis.

As others have mentioned, there are treatment options for endo. Exploring those may help you feel better about what your symptoms may be like going forward - finding a gyno you can trust may help too.

I know it may not seem like it now, but the only thing different about you post vs pre-diagnosis is that now your pain has an identified cause. It doesn't hurt any less, but now it has a name. It's still an adjustment - it likely means different management. It means accepting that it won't resolve on its own. & I understand questioning your capabilities given the circumstances - I know I did when I was first diagnosed. But medicine has a lot of different fields & practice models in it - you will be able to shape your career. Medical training will also give you the language and background knowledge to access better care for yourself. I can't tell you what to do (or even what's best for you), but please know that not knowing how to feel or what to do right now is normal. You'll figure it out. Just be patient with yourself.

Congrats on the acceptance, btw! If you can manage that with undiagnosed/untreated endo, I think you might be surprised at what you can accomplish with the support of proper treatment. You got this!

 

[LunaOri]

There are effective treatments. See a specialist (or 2, or more) until your medical problem is under control. Don’t suffer needlessly! If you can’t afford treatment now, you will certainly have access to medical specialists when you start school.

 

[Tenk]

Lots of successful women have endometriosis. Listen to Goro’s 100% non-medical advice.

 

[sabertoothkitten]

Hi all,

I recently got diagnosed with endometriosis. Living in chronic debilitating pain during periods and some days without periods. I was recently accepted to med school and everything was working out for me when i got the news. I know, typical 2020. I just feel so defeated. Does anyone share the same experience and/or is in med school with chronic illness. I would love to hear some advice as to what i should do. I know 100% without this illness i would be extremely succesful. But now I dont really know how to feel. This is the only thing i want to do in life, and i dont know how i will manage through rotations and so forth. Again, i'd love to hear some advice.

I just had a hysterectomy and endo excision at the end of my second year because of endo and adenomyosis. It completely depends on how severe you are. in My experience Med school has been super inflexible and not accommodating. As a result 100% of my time and energy went into medical school. Especially this past year as I bled and cramped nonstop. None of the treatments would work or they had side effects too scary to consider. It got worse so rapidly that it took me from functionally chronically ill to stuck in bed. I was always in pain and always stuck to a heating pad. I knew I’d never be able to do rotations so I had my uterus taken out. But I have friends with endo in Med school who can manage only having cyclical symptoms. If you can get excision with a specialist I would do not now rather than wait until it gets bad. Figure out now how to manage symptoms. I know other people who for various reasons dropped out after two years and now they find themselves with crushing debt and no degree and I wouldn’t want anyone to end up in that situation.

 

[ineedauniqueusername]

I just had a hysterectomy and endo excision at the end of my second year because of endo and adenomyosis. It completely depends on how severe you are. in My experience Med school has been super inflexible and not accommodating. As a result 100% of my time and energy went into medical school. Especially this past year as I bled and cramped nonstop. None of the treatments would work or they had side effects too scary to consider. It got worse so rapidly that it took me from functionally chronically ill to stuck in bed. I was always in pain and always stuck to a heating pad. I knew I’d never be able to do rotations so I had my uterus taken out. But I have friends with endo in Med school who can manage only having cyclical symptoms. If you can get excision with a specialist I would do not now rather than wait until it gets bad. Figure out now how to manage symptoms. I know other people who for various reasons dropped out after two years and now they find themselves with crushing debt and no degree and I wouldn’t want anyone to end up in that situation.

Wow, you are so strong! It is encouraging to hear that others are going through similar experiences as myself especially being med students. I hope it gets easier for you! Just wondering what year you are in and your age? In terms of my symptoms i just started BC, its going well in terms of pain, but idk about the depression just gotta wait and see. I am seeing a specialist soon in March, these wait times are the worst sadly, but thats medicine i guess. So surgery i am hoping will be after first year during the break, so summer of 2022 (p.s. he is an excision specialist so i am very hopeful). Thank you so much for replying and wish you the bet of luck.

 

[ineedauniqueusername]

Hi! I don't have endo, but I do have a different chronic illness. It's definitely possible to go to med school & become a doctor with chronic illness. It doesn't have to stop you. To be honest, it will likely make your journey different/harder than it would have been otherwise. That sucks & isn't fair, & you're allowed to take time to be angry/upset/whatever you feel about your recent diagnosis.

As others have mentioned, there are treatment options for endo. Exploring those may help you feel better about what your symptoms may be like going forward - finding a gyno you can trust may help too.

I know it may not seem like it now, but the only thing different about you post vs pre-diagnosis is that now your pain has an identified cause. It doesn't hurt any less, but now it has a name. It's still an adjustment - it likely means different management. It means accepting that it won't resolve on its own. & I understand questioning your capabilities given the circumstances - I know I did when I was first diagnosed. But medicine has a lot of different fields & practice models in it - you will be able to shape your career. Medical training will also give you the language and background knowledge to access better care for yourself. I can't tell you what to do (or even what's best for you), but please know that not knowing how to feel or what to do right now is normal. You'll figure it out. Just be patient with yourself.

Congrats on the acceptance, btw! If you can manage that with undiagnosed/untreated endo, I think you might be surprised at what you can accomplish with the support of proper treatment. You got this!

Thank you, I really needed that <3 sending lots of love