For an excellent guide to becoming a better conversationalist and a more attractive person, order "How to Be Popular." Send a business-size, self-addressed envelope, plus check or money order for $3.95 ($4.50 in Canada) to: Dear Abby Popularity Booklet, P.O. Box 447, Mount Morris, IL 61054-0447. (Postage is included.)
WOMAN'S CRIPPLING PAIN ENDS AFTER YEARS OF MISDIAGNOSIS
DEAR ABBY: I am writing this in hope that other women won't have to experience the years of pain that I did.
As a teen-ager, I began to experience disabling pain when I had my period. It got worse in my 20s. Although I didn't realize it then, I was suffering from endometriosis, and eventually the pain affected my life on a daily basis.
I lost a lot to this disease. I was in graduate school, but couldn't keep up because the pain caused me to miss class, and in the end, I had to drop out. I was fired from a job for taking too many sick days. I lost the love of my life because he couldn't handle my constant pain and the resulting depression, nor the effect on our sex life. For years I couldn't even plan social events, because I never knew when the pain would get too bad. Endometriosis took away my choices.
I consulted doctors and tried many different treatments. Many of the doctors trivialized my symptoms. While there is no cure yet for endometriosis, I have finally been successfully treated, and I'm no longer living with pain.
I now lead the life I always wanted. I'm successful in my job and enjoy my friends and family. I hope any girls or women who read this and identify with my experience will seek help. Their pain is not normal, and they do not have to live with it. -- KAREN IN VIRGINIA
DEAR KAREN: I'm glad you wrote. I have known several women who suffered debilitating pain with their menstrual cycles -- and I'm pleased to reinforce the message that it's NOT "part of being a woman."
Endometriosis is a serious disease that affects more than 5.5 million girls and women in the United States and Canada, yet many are unaware that they have it.
My experts tell me the most common symptom of endometriosis is pelvic pain that may have a monthly pattern and may interfere with the ability to perform daily activities. Other common symptoms are: fatigue or exhaustion; pain during or after sex; lower backache during menstruation; painful bowel movements, diarrhea or other stomach upset during menstruation; stomach bloating and swelling; and heavy or irregular periods.
If women experience symptoms such as the ones I have described, they should seek help. Pain is NOT normal. It is your body's way of telling you that something is wrong.
One of the most distressing things about endometriosis is that it often takes women years to get an accurate diagnosis. Studies show it can take more than 4 1/2 years for girls and women with endometriosis to report their symptoms to a doctor!
The Endometriosis Association has been helping women and girls for more than 20 years. Because March is Endometriosis Awareness Month, the association is sponsoring a nationwide program of free screenings. Their new self-test, which uses five "yes" or "no" questions, can be found on the Internet at www.killercramps.org.
Volunteer doctors are also offering free endometriosis screenings. To locate a physician in your area, call 1-800-992-3636.
Teen With Plenty of Questions Can't Get Any Answers at Home
DEAR ABBY: I am a 14-year-old girl with a big problem. Today, when my father and I went to the supermarket, I saw a book that looked interesting. It was called "How to Win at Love." I picked it up not because I was having a problem with my love life -- I don't even HAVE a love life -- but I am curious about "love," so I read a few pages and decided to buy it. My dad saw the title and got mad at me. Then one of my sisters started treating me like I was a freak. Now, I'm scared my dad and sister will tell my mom, and then Mom will be mad, too.
My mom has told me I shouldn't have a boyfriend until I'm finished with school. How am I supposed to tell her I was only curious? I know they both think I'm too young to have a boyfriend, but that's not it. The book isn't about guys and marriage. It's about changing yourself and being in charge of your own life.
It's not my fault I'm curious about love. It's because my parents won't talk about it with me. Every time I ask something about it, they say, "Why do you want to know? Do you have a boyfriend?" I hate that. What hurts most is knowing if I can't talk to my parents about love, what CAN I talk to them about?
Right now, I don't want to talk to my parents about anything! Lots of things happen in my life that I wish I could talk to my parents about, but I guess I can't. The only people I feel safe talking with are my friends.
Abby, what should I do about my parents? Please help me. -- NO COMMUNICATIONS IN WASHINGTON STATE
DEAR NO COMMUNICATIONS: Of all the problems about which people write, yours may be one of the saddest. Your parents think by not talking about certain subjects, they can "protect" you. They fail to realize that what they are doing is isolating you. If you are afraid to talk to your parents for fear of being criticized or ridiculed, how can you learn their values and share in their knowledge? How unfortunate.
While it may seem "safe" to talk to your friends, the problem is they usually don't have any more life experience than you.
It is important that you find an adult in whom you can confide and from whom you can get straight answers when you need them. Perhaps a trusted teacher, a school counselor or the mother of one of your friends could fill that role. No child should have to go through his or her teen-age years without an adult to guide the way when the going gets rough.
DEAR ABBY: I appreciated your tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Because of his courage, and that of Mahatma Gandhi before him, we see more clearly how it is possible to elevate the consciousness of humankind by how we choose to live. The principles of nonviolence by which these men lived were based on the teachings of all great religions -- not just Christianity. The message that both Gandhi and King gave their lives for was one of unity, not separation or exclusion.
People like these men never die. Though their bodies were assassinated, their spirits live on in everyone who tries to be nonviolent. May we as humans learn from their fine example. -- JANNA CABLE PIJOAN, FORT COLLINS, COLO.
DEAR JANNA: I agree. It's ironic that men who taught the principles of nonviolence and patterned their lives according to those principles died so violently.
What teens need to know about sex, drugs, AIDS, and getting along with peers and parents is in "What Every Teen Should Know." To order, send a business-size, self-addressed envelope, plus check or money order for $3.95 ($4.50 in Canada) to: Dear Abby, Teen Booklet, P.O. Box 447, Mount Morris, IL 61054-0447. (Postage is included.)
Friendship Is on the Rocks Over Case of Wedding Wine
DEAR ABBY: My new husband and I had a beautiful wedding and reception in our home last September. We left our home with the caterers and their staff to clean up and clear out our guests. Two of the wedding guests took it upon themselves to invite our families and other friends to their home after the reception. We considered it a nice gesture since we were leaving the next day for our honeymoon and had said our goodbyes to everyone.
Upon our return from our honeymoon, we learned that the couple had also taken it upon themselves to remove a case and a half of wine from our home! Several people, including the caterers, saw them take it. This couple also became intoxicated and were quite rude to the family and friends they invited to their home. My husband and I feel violated. They have never mentioned taking the wine.
What is the appropriate thing to do in a situation like this? We're not sure we want to continue a relationship with a couple who stole from our home. Please advise. -- VIOLATED IN SAN DIEGO
DEAR VIOLATED: Your friends appear to have an alcohol problem. They probably felt that since they were entertaining your guests and the wine was left over, you wouldn't mind if they used it. They may not have considered what they did to be stealing. If they have been close friends in the past, give them the benefit of the doubt this time.
DEAR ABBY: I love my boyfriend dearly. He's my soul mate. However, he does something that really bothers me. He goes into my e-mail and other messaging systems. He claims it's to "protect me." (I am 50-plus and can take care of myself!)
If he's looking for signs of cheating, he will never find them. I don't cheat. I have nothing to hide from him. He knows my passwords and can log onto my PC whenever he wants. When he does, he's been known to misconstrue messages and get upset over them. This creates long, tearful discussions about why I didn't tell him this or that.
Abby, this is driving me crazy. Please help. -- CONFUSED VIRGINIAN
DEAR CONFUSED: Your "soul mate" is extremely insecure and controlling. Healthy relationships are based on trust. By invading your privacy and forcing "long, tearful discussions," he is putting you on the defensive. He's not trying to "protect you"; his demands to be told everything are control techniques.
Change your password to "takeahike!" Don't let him intimidate you -- make it clear you deserve your privacy. If he refuses to change, delete him from your life. You'll be doing yourself a big favor.
DEAR ABBY: Some months ago, you printed a letter from a reader who was disturbed that the spark was gone from her marriage. I asked my husband if the spark was gone from our 18-year marriage.
His response: "A spark lasts only a second. It lights a fire. When the flame burns down, we are left with the hottest part of the fire, the embers, which burn the longest and keep the fire alive."
I'm fortunate to have a great guy with a great mind. -- BETTY IN CAPE MAY, N.J.
DEAR BETTY: Your husband is wise indeed. He's right that the embers (mature love that outlasts the spark of infatuation) provide the glow that sustains committed relationships. The spark is only the beginning. Perhaps that wife should bask in the warmth of the embers instead of fretting over the missing "spark."
Good advice for everyone -- teens to seniors -- is in "The Anger in All of Us and How to Deal With It." To order, send a business-size, self-addressed envelope, plus check or money order for $3.95 ($4.50 in Canada) to: Dear Abby, Anger Booklet, P.O. Box 447, Mount Morris, IL 61054-0447. (Postage is included.)