Women’s health
Women's health has made tremendous strides over the last two decades, but it is still shocking to learn how poorly understood some of the most common conditions are.
I was diagnosed with uterine fibroids and endometriosis this past year. This was after years of debilitating cramps and pelvic pain, chronic yeast infections, pain during sex, fertility issues, bloating, weight gain and heavy menstrual bleeding. The pain was during my period, during ovulation and also at unexplained times during my cycle. This last year it got to the point that I was in pain more days out of the month than not. I was made to believe that this was normal by every doctor I had seen (which was many). For the record, this is not normal! My incredible naturopathic doctor was the first one to finally validate my symptoms and order an ultrasound and MRI which led to my diagnosis.
Endometriosis is when the lining in our uterus (that we are supposed to shed with our monthly period), doesn't fully shed and instead implants outside of the uterus. This lining still bleeds monthly but the blood from the displaced tissue has nowhere to go. Instead, it pools near the affected organs and tissues, causing inflammation and most often chronic pain.
I have since learned that it takes women on average 7 1/2 years or more to get an endometriosis diagnosis. That is insane. This condition affects 1 in 10 women of child bearing age, and 60% remain undiagnosed. 58% go to doctors more than 10 times before a diagnosis. 43% have gone to the hospital over 5 times and 53% have gone to the ER. I went to the doctor (multiple doctors) easily more than 10 times before a diagnosis and ended up in the hospital once and ER once with a ruptured ovarian cyst. (By the way, both those visits were with male doctors who acted like it was no big deal and again, totally normal). This condition is poorly understood and there is a severe lack of research on one of the most common gynecological symptoms that affect women today. There are a number of reasons for this. In the US, the National Institute of Health didn't require medical research to include women until 1993. Whhhhaaaaat?!?!
This has created a huge gender disparity in the medical world. Women's bodies are very different from men and should be treated differently. We have also normalized pain around menstruation and women with chronic pain have been labeled sensitive or weak and not taken seriously.
The cause of endometriosis is unknown and there is no cure. However, high estrogen is typically an underlying issue, and can lead to both fibroids and endometriosis and even cancer. I am a big advocate for holistic health and this has been a big part of my own healing, but unfortunately these conditions went undiagnosed for so long that a more aggressive approach made most sense when I was finally diagnosed. I had a uterine fibroid embolization in September to shrink my fibroids. They were larger and there were more (7 total) than imaging originally showed. About two weeks ago I had a laparoscopic surgery. This was both to confirm an endometriosis diagnosis as well as remove it. They also removed an ovarian cyst and did a hysteroscopic myomectomy to remove a fibroid that was blocking most of the entrance of my uterus. The changes are already noticeable and I am very optimistic about the future. While I opted for this approach given the circumstances, everything I've learned from a holistic perspective will play a huge role in managing this moving forward. Surgery helped give me a healthier starting point in my particular case, but the right way of eating, detox support, exercise and lifestyle practices will be essential in managing these chronic conditions moving forward so that they don't come right back. Getting to the root of the issue is key.
There is a stigma around discussing certain women's issues, especially anything related to periods. These conditions are so common and I'm sure others can relate, but we don't ever talk about it and so many of us have been led to believe that certain symptoms are just normal. I hope this encourages others to share their own stories here or in their own communities. Having a community that understands what you're going through is such a big part of the healing, so please reach out if I can support you in any way on your own journey.
