DIAGNOSING ENDOMETRIOSIS → DISMISSED & DEHIBITATING PAIN

Hobbling to the other end of the gym, feeling the cramps pounding against my lower stomach, I winced with every step. Even two forms of birth control could not prevent the painful cramps from occurring whenever I exercised for reasons completely unknown to me. The pain was rocking me more than usual, so I knelt down trying to think if I had missed my pill. Nexplanon, the birth control plastic that goes in your arm, had not been successful in controlling my cycle, so a hormone pill had to be included as well. 

An hour later, as I stepped out of the shower, I felt a sinking pit of disappointment in my stomach as I saw blood below me. I was bleeding. For the first time in 6 months, I had actually gotten a period again, even though I had been taking my medication religiously. I  was beyond pissed and frustrated, although I wasn’t really sure who or what to direct it towards at that point. The last place you would want a flare-up to happen is in the middle of winter break while in Thailand. 

When I typed out a message to my OB-GYN that night, I was livid, trying to demand an explanation as politely as I possibly could while gritting my teeth in pain. The next morning, I received a message saying that there was only one possible next step we could take: a laparoscopy for endometriosis. A minimally invasive procedure to both diagnose and cut out scar tissues and cysts, which could potentially identify the cause of my pain. And while no medicine was working on the flare-ups that were increasingly growing worse and worse, which were accompanied by leg numbness, bloating, migraines, and back pain, the earliest time for my surgery to be scheduled was in June.

Feeling a migraine start to form already, I sighed and tried to Tiger Balm the pain out of my head as I wondered how, after so long, such a high-risk and painful condition for girls and women was still so under researched where every step was a maybe.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      

An inordinate number of women are disregarded when they communicate their symptoms and pain levels of their menstrual cycle to people in their lives, including medical personnel. The dismissal of women's concerns leads to a delay in diagnosis of around 7 years on average, with 75% of patients being misdiagnosed countless times. Oftentimes, women are told that they will either “grow out of painful cycles,” or that it is caused by factors such as diet, stress, or completely unrelated gastric conditions, while it is developed by while it is driven by endometrial-like tissue implanting and growing outside the uterus, triggering inflammation and pain.

Endometriosis impacts roughly 10% of women and girls worldwide and is considered to be one of the most painful chronic conditions. Disregarding their symptoms is linked to the normalization of period pain and the mindset to “take an Advil and continue with one’s day.” Endometriosis awareness is little to none, as the condition itself is frequently disregarded. Roughly 67% of women & girls between the ages of 16-25 cannot name any symptoms of endometriosis.

Delayed treatment can result in Stage 5 endometriosis, causing infertility & organ complications, while untreated PCOS can lead to diabetes & high blood pressure and ages as young as 25-30. Severe pain and extremely heavy bleeding should not be normalized, and widespread education on endometriosis and pcos should be the norm 

As I was put on more and more medications, to the point I lost track of their names and recognized them by shape & color, my hope that my flare-ups would get better before surgery dwindled day by day. The pill bottles mounted up in my kitchen cabinets day by day. I started waking up in the night from pain, missing my first & second periods at school, and slapping on at least 5 numbing patches all over my stomach just so I could get through track practice or my classes without keeling over in pain. All this to say, period cramps are not something that women should “just deal with.” The uterus is an intrinsically complex organ, one that is vital to women’s health, and any excessive pain radiating from there should not be treated as normal. 

For too long, women’s symptoms have been ignored and brushed off, even after insistence of abnormal symptoms. Menstrual cramps and blood flow should be carefully monitored as complications can arise in girls as young as 13-16, leading to undiagnosed PCOS and endometriosis, which can progress into later stages if not treated in their earlier stages. 

Women’s pain can no longer be a “wait and see” issue. Periods can be discomforting, but they should never cross the threshold of disabling a woman and her way of life.