Endometriosis

The NOT so silent killer

Endometriosis is that disease that some women have that make them not feel so well during their periods right? Yea I knew a girl who had that her Dr put her on some pills and she got better and it went away and now she's fine and has 5 kids.

I don't know any woman who has had endometriosis who would agree with any of that. The truth is endometriosis is slowly killing womens' chances to conceive, enjoy full relationships, work full time or simply want to continue living at all  that is if the disease itself does not kill her first.

What do we really know about this condition? Well it's a growth of the tissue that lines the uterus the endometrial cells that travel around in the pelvic cavity and fuse to organs, ligaments and structures in this pelvis. Drs don't seem to know what causes it or how to improve it but agree it may be triggered by hormones and seems to be a result of retrograde menstruation.

So what a little bit of growth in the pelvis what's the big deal? Well the big deal is that the disease is much like cancer it grows and grows and grows some more, it develops, cysts, tumors, lesions and infiltrates other organs. The endometriosis tissue irritates the structures of the pelvis and stimulate the growth of scar tissue and adhesions. Adhesions and endometriosis can fuse the pelvic structures together resulting in a condition called frozen pelvis. When you look at the function of the organs in the pelvis mostly it involves digestion and reproduction. The majority of these organs require contraction, spasms and movement for them to be able to function correctly. The bowels contract and move waste along them, guess what happens when they can't PAIN! extreme sharp stabbing pain, cramping, constipation, malnourishment and many other difficult symptoms. Growths in the pelvis cause the organs not to function correctly and like cancer if they interfere with a nerve can generate referred and widespread pain.

Endometriosis is a disease that can effect a womans' body on a daily basis and not only during menstruation however it is often worse when stimulated by cyclical hormones causing the cells to release hormones and chemicals themselves that cause the organs around it to cramp. The endometriosis itself generates more endometriosis so if you have a little it is reasonable to think that over time it may increase greatly, this is also not really understood yet as to why it continues to develop in some women and not in others. Growths located on nerves can stimulate incredible sciatic pain that shoots down the leg and other referred pain in the body.

Endometriosis is not well diagnosed as it takes on average over 5 years of incredible pain and extensive growth and cyclical disruption to be diagnosed. This is because it is often misdiagnosed as depression, anxiety, stress, irritable bowel, vaginismus, food allergies, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue and a long list of other conditions when patients are not thoroughly examined and sent for the appropriate tests. Even though laparoscopy with biopsy is the only way to be certain. Ultra sounds and MRIs are capable of detecting endometriosis.

In the time a woman is not being diagnosed the condition can destroy her ovaries and uterus decreasing her chance of having children or making her completely infertile, cause her tremendous pain with daily activities such as voiding the bladder or stretching. Can you imagine being afraid to pee every day? Or fear not having a bowel movement for extended periods but also fearing the pain of them when they do happen. And what about the pain in losing jobs for missing work, losing friends when they don't understand and criticise for being a wimp. Or having no pain relief because the Drs don't understand that this condition has been described by patients who also had cancer as often being a lot more painful than cancer so they aren't given strong enough pain relief.

There is also limited understanding of how common the disease is and how widespread it can be in a womans' body. There are cases of endometriosis being found in the lungs, brain and eyes, but increasingly common these days is endometriosis of the bowel sometimes resulting in full bowel obstruction.

To add insult to injury to medications to help stop the condition from continuing to develop often cause intolerable side effects of depression, insomnia, sweats, mood swings, anxiety, weight gain, nausea, irregular bleeding and can increase the risk of some cancers. While pelvic surgery to remove the disease can drastically improve quality of life it often results in extensive scarring and adhesions similar to what the disease itself causes which can result in much pain and later cause more bowel obstructions.

More needs to be learnt about this condition and what causes it but some theories suggest it's the bombardment of hormones in our meat and pesticides in our produce as well as other chemical cocktails  added to produce to enable them to grow bigger and stay fresh longer, not to mention our polluted environment, lack of nutrition in western diet, poor over stressed lifestyles, lack of quality sleep and over exposure to toxins in cleaning products and body products over time.

While the disease can be mild and manageable in a lot of cases it isn't and shouldn't be considered an easy thing to live with. To anyone else who has this disease you are brave and you have lived through so much. To anyone who hasn't have you ever been stabbed or had internal bleeding? Because that's what's physically happening when organs are pulled apart and scar tissue, cysts and tumors are ripped and burst.

There is hope for this condition and with lifestyle changes and listening to your body and caring for it properly many have recovered a large quality of life so live well, love and seek a second, third, fourth, fifth and hundredth opinion if you don't feel right. You know your body and your deserve care when something is not right, not to be sent away and told nothing is wrong. There are also many other people who can help who aren't Drs so do some research and try some therapies you may discover something that works well for you that perhaps isn't so conventional.