Endo what? . . . Endometriosis

WHEN a girl reaches the right age (most times at puberty) she is given “the talk”. She is told that at a certain age she will have a period and that will mean that she is ready to have children and must stay away from boys. She is now a “woman”. If this talk is done at school it is accompanied with giggles and images of ashamed girls. If it is done at home, the female guardian will pull the girl aside and give her this “talk”. However, sometimes we are not aware of some issues that may accompany this new development in a girl’s life and this element is often missing from the “talk”.

I started my period at the tender age of nine years old. At the time it was very simple. I just put on my pads and got on with it, after all, “it was just a period”. When I was in high school at the age of 17 that all changed.

That period became a nightmare. From bleeding for five days it went to 10 to 14 days. My flow became extremely painful and heavy and I couldn’t attend school during this time. I developed panic attacks, lost friends and ultimately myself. Ultimately, I dreaded menstruating. Initially I thought it was normal as so many of my peers said they also had period pain, but as the months passed I realised this was not normal.

I visited countless doctors and at this point it was not just a period, but a chronic pain issue. Several doctors performed ultrasounds but insisted that they could not see anything wrong with me and that it was all in my head.

This chronic pain greatly affected my last two years in high school because nobody really knew what I was going through. Instead they teased me and called me a “hypochondriac”. This issue left me alone, isolated and hopeless.

After I left high school it became even worse, and I began to bleed for months on end; still with no answers about what was wrong with me. I also had chronic right side pain and was misdiagnosed with kidney stones, bladder infections and even bilharzia.

Fortunately after many years I came across one doctor who uttered the word, “endometriosis”. My reaction to him was, “Endo what?”. “Endometriosis”, he said.

Endometriosis is a painful and chronic condition in which tissue that normally lines the inside of your uterus (the endometrium) grows outside of your uterine cavity (endometrial implant). There are treatments for endometriosis but there is no cure for the condition. The most common symptoms of Endometriosis are: Extremely painful periods Pain in your pelvis, lower back or legs Fatigue Pain after or during sex Pain on or around ovulation Heavy or irregular periods Pain that stops you from doing normal activities during your period or around it Pain with bowel movements Pain with urination Trouble conceiving Now I am not a doctor, but I have been through years of pain. Due to this experience I can confidently tell any woman out there that chronic pain is not normal. Pain that destructs your life is not normal, and if you have any of these symptoms consistently, it is advisable to see a doctor.

One of the major issues I had and that many women have is late diagnosis and I think it is because we do not see specialists that know about deep gynaecological issues. It can take five to 10 years to be accurately diagnosed with endometriosis.

Apart from endo, chronic pelvic pain can be due to diseases like fibroids, polycystic ovarian syndrome or adenomyosis. No matter what the cause is, the important thing is to get help.

Endometriosis affects 176 million women worldwide and is one of the leading causes of infertility. It is truly a human issue as it affects so many facets of a woman’s life and the lives of those around her.

Many times endometriosis is seen as being the same as “period pain” or “jeko” in Shona culture. However, there is a difference. Period pain is something that a woman endures once a month.

Endometriosis symptoms can affect a woman even when she is not on her period. Some women endure endometriosis symptoms only during their period while others deal with these symptoms daily.

It is important to know the difference. The main issue we face as women is that period pain and issues surrounding it, are taboo subjects so it is not very easy to discuss it.

The truth is that there is nothing to be ashamed of, a period is a natural thing and it is the reason why all of us are here today.

I hope you have learnt something today and will enjoy the series of articles I will be writing as we uncover this condition, endometriosis.

In case you have any questions or need advice, you may contact me on +263778026402 or tinemataz@ hotmail.com

Till next time, ta!