Tine Mataz
AS we celebrate the Women’s Month, Sunday News focuses on one of the less known health conditions that affect women, endometriosis.
I AM back! I am so thrilled to be able to educate you again. You know what we talk about here; endometriosis. March is endometriosis month and every year I spend a little time educating the nation about this disease that affects 1 in 10 women; women who you know, women who you love.
So, what is endometriosis?
It is menstrual/ gynaecological condition that affects one in 10 women, almost 200 million women worldwide. This topic is really important to me because I have endometriosis and adenomyosis. Endometriosis is a condition where tissue similar to the lining of the uterus grows outside of the uterus like the ovaries, bladder, appendix and more. Adenomyosis is endometriosis of the womb. It happens when the endometrial tissues encroach into the uterus muscle.
Going on my period turned into something I really dreaded because of how sick I would be. After the period I would still feel pain. Years later I found out I had endometriosis. I even had to travel to another country for that diagnosis. It was the reason for everything I had been through. It can take an average of seven to 10 years to get diagnosed. So many women have pain for years and suffer in silence because doctors simply don’t look further into their issues and because the people around them don’t believe that the pain they are in is that bad. Pain is not normal. Pain that stops your normal activity like going to school or work, or pain that is crippling, is not normal. It can be the result of something more than just period pain, it could be endometriosis.
Period or pelvic pain that disrupts your normal activity is not normal. Below is a list of signs and symptoms of endometriosis:
Pain
Painful periods, pain during ovulation, pain during internal examination, painful sex, pelvic pain, chest pain, back pain, shoulder pain and joint pain.
Pain in uterus and vagina
Irregular periods, prolonged bleeding, heavy periods, spotting, infertility issues, odd brown blood/ clots, brown blood before period, frequent yeast infections and extreme bloating and inflammation of the abdomen.
Pain in bowel and bladder
Painful bowel movement, bleeding from bowel, pain with urination, pain after bowel movement, frequent Urinary Tract Infections (Utis) and food sensitivity.
Others
Chronic fatigue, insomnia, loss of weight/ weight gain, nausea, dizzy spells, depression, tingling in hands of feet, hot flushes, allergies, autoimmune diseases.
Our next article will be on the treatments available for endometriosis. To get more information you can look for my organisation on facebook @ Zimbabwe Endometriosis Support Network. Remember, pain is not normal, until next time!