Thursday Thirteen

Today's post is for women and for the men who love them.

If you're not interested in helping a woman deal with a "female issue," then skip this post.

I'm talking about a condition called endometriosis. I have it and it left me infertile and unable to have children.

It's an incredibly painful condition. So here are some facts about it.

1. Endometriosis is caused when tissue similar to the lining inside the uterus (called “the endometrium”), grows outside the uterus.

2. This growth causes chronic inflammatory reactions that "may" (I don't think there is any "may" about it - it certainly scarred me.) result in scar tissue.  The scar tissue is generally left on the pelvic peritoneum, on the ovaries, in the recto-vaginal septum, on the bladder, and bowel.

3. However, the tissue can travel throughout the body and in some cases it has been found on the diaphragm and in the lungs.

4. This condition affects an estimated 1 in 10 women during their reproductive years (ie. usually between the ages of 15 to 49). That's about 176 million women in the world.

5. Endometriosis can start as early as a girl’s first period, and the pain may last a lifetime. Menopause may not resolve the symptoms of endometriosis – especially if the woman has scar tissue or adhesions from the disease and/or surgery.

6. Symptoms of endometriosis include painful periods, painful ovulation, pain during or after sexual intercourse, heavy bleeding, chronic pelvic pain, fatigue, and infertility, and can impact on general physical, mental, and social well being.

7. A general lack of awareness by both women and health care providers, due to a “normalisation” of symptoms, results in a significant delay from when a woman first experiences symptoms until she eventually is diagnosed and treated. (In other words, women are still not believed and considered "hysterical" and not troubled with an actual physical illness when they present with symptoms.)

8. There is no known cure for endometriosis. It sometimes can be treated effectively with drugs, but most treatments are not suitable for long-term use because of side-effects.

9. Surgery to remove endometriosis lesions and scar tissue can help, but success rates are dependent on the extent of disease and the surgeon’s skills.

10. Pregnancy may relieve symptoms but is not a cure for the disease. Hysterectomy, with surgical removal of all the disease at the same time, may relieve symptoms, but may not be a “definitive cure” either. Removal of the ovaries at the same time as a hysterectomy is performed increases the chances of pain relief but also results in an immediate menopause.

11. There is no known cause of endometriosis but it is highly likely that certain genes predispose women to develop the disease. Thus, women have a higher risk of developing endometriosis if their mother and/or sister(s) are also affected.

12. It is possible that age when the menstrual period starts, other gynecologic factors, and environmental exposures influence whether a woman is affected. Whereas evidence has been weak with regards to exposure to dioxin (an environmental pollutant) some evidence now supports exacerbation of its symptoms due to PCBs.

13. Some studies have linked the presence of endometriosis with the development of ovarian cancer; however, the association is not definitive and the absolute risk for a given woman with endometriosis is exceedingly low. Whereas endometriosis cells have been localized adjacent to ovarian cancer cells, the former has not been proven to be a pre-cursor to cancer.

Lastly:

Even though endometriosis is associated with inflammation and immunological dysfunctions, it has not been proven itself to be an autoimmune disease.

My own experience with this disease has been life-altering in many ways. I experienced horrific pain through my teenage years, then began having ovarian cysts when I was 22. These were life-threatening as they became infected, causing me to run a high fever, and if the cysts burst then I would have died (rather like having a burst appendix, and this was 30 years ago). So I underwent 8 surgeries before I finally had a hysterectomy. Things went along fine after that for 20 years, but my gallbladder surgery in 2013 set something off, and now I have chronic abdominal pain that doctors attribute to overgrowth of scar tissue.

Unfortunately, there is nothing to do for that but more surgery, and the results for more surgery for scar tissue means more scar tissue. It is quite painful and it has cost me my job, my health, my mobility, and my peace of mind. I am better than I was thanks to a lot of physical therapy and determination on my part to do what I could for the problem, but this is not something to laugh off.

The medical establishment needs to take a long look at how it treats women and women's issues, and give them the care they deserve. Despite the fact that we can't get an equal rights amendment clause in the US Constitution thanks to a bunch of fat old white men who have their dicks in their brains, we're human beings and people, too, and deserve the same care and treatment as the old white fat men.

If you love someone with this condition, advocate for her. Be there when she is in pain. Believe her when she says she is in pain. Ensure that she gets the care she needs. Tell the old white fat men to make health care a right, and not something only rich people can afford. No one should suffer because of gender bias. Be bigger than that.

For more information, visit http://endometriosis.org/.

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Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here if you want to read other Thursday Thirteens and/or play along. I've been playing for a while and this is my 619th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday. Or so sayth the Blogger counter, anyway.