ALGOPHOBIA: Fear Of Pain. Fear is something that I've touched on in other blog entries but have never fully-fleshed out in terms of my meaning. With endometriosis (or, I would assume, with most chronic illnesses), fear is a very real thing.
I have dealt with a lot of different fears since even before learning I had endometriosis. I had the fear of pain from the beginning. Not paper cut pain but pain that was so pervasive, it makes it so you can't even think right. Pain that consumes and haunts your entire life. I had PAIN at the very beginning, before getting proper medications and before having surgery. The memory of that type of pain is scary. I do not want to go back there. I know I have had very few days of pain like that since I have had proper medications, a knowledgeable doctor, and surgery, but I now notice every twinge and in the back of my mind I am hoping that twinge is not signaling the start of pain.