March is Endometriosis Awareness month so I wanted to write a piece on this topic to educate myself while hoping to educate others as well, and to also bring some much needed awareness on this disease.
"1 in 10 women in their child bearing age are affected by endometriosis thus making it a common condition affecting 176 million women across the world"- medtronic.com
I do not have endo but my sister does so I have seen first hand how hard this disease can really be. Before my sister was diagnosed with it 2 years ago I hadn't really heard much about endo or even fully understood what it was and how it effects the body.
"Endometriosis is a common health problem in women. It gets its name from the word endometrium, the tissue that normally lines the uterus or womb. Endometriosis happens when tissue similar to the lining of the uterus grows outside of your uterus and on other areas in your body where it doesn't belong.
Most often, endometriosis is found on the:
Ovaries
Tissues that hold the uterus in place
Outer surface of the uterus
Other sites for growths can include the vagina, cervix, vulva, bowel, bladder, or rectum. Rarely, endometriosis appears in other parts of the body, such as the lungs, brain, and skin."
The diagnosis process for endo is not a quick one and a lot of the time it actually goes misdiagnosed. For my sister it took a year of trying different medications, lots of scans and a laparoscopy before she was diagnosed and put onto a treatment plan. For some women the diagnosis process takes even longer than that.
"On average it takes 7.5 years from onset of symptoms to get a diagnosis."
There is no cure for endo but there are medications and lifestyle changes that can help manage the disease. Unfortunately the process for managing the symptoms is not easy and can still be very painful and difficult. Besides the very painful physical symptoms of endo, there are also a lot of women who suffer from mental health problems due to the stress of the disease, and the affect that endo can have on fertility is also very heart breaking for most women affected.
As with many diseases, early identification is a key factor in the success of the management process and may help your recovery so that's why it is so important for women to be more aware of the possible symptoms and go for their regular check ups at a gynecologist or local gp so that if needed treatment can be started as soon as possible.
I only really became aware of this disease and how common it actually is when I was 19 years old.
How did I not hear more about something that affects so many women sooner?
Why aren't we taught more about it in schools?
Why don't we got told the symptoms to look out for from an yearly age?
The fact that in 2021 we still don't have a better diagnosis process or a more successful treatment plan for this disease is also very concerning. More research should be going into endometriosis and there should be much much more awareness on the topic as well.
I do not have endometriosis so I do not, and cannot, fully understand how difficult it is to live with it. I can only do my best to learn, educate and spread awareness, so that is what I am going to be doing. This week on my instagram page, @ostaraholisticliving ,I will be sharing facts and resources to help bring more awareness to endo and to amplify the voices of the women who struggle with this on a daily basis.
Lets do our best to support the women around us and ourselves. Have conversations about the various health problems us women can have, discuss symptoms, ask for help, go for your check ups and most importantly take care of and love your beautiful and strong bodies.
To the women who live with endometriosis, Endo Warriors, I see you, I hear you and I acknowledge your struggle.
Love and light - always x
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