Endometriosis: Risks And Symptoms

One in ten women suffer from endometriosis. According to the Spanish Endometriosis Association, for many of the women who suffer from it, this is a silent and debilitating condition.

Endometriosis is a condition in which there is benign growth of endometrial tissue outside the uterus. Often this growth also reaches the:

• ovaries
• beaks
• oviducts
• organs in the abdomen, such as the intestines

It is a clinical problem for which there is as yet no cure. The condition is usually hereditary and may be the cause of many heart attacks in women under 40, according to a study published by Brigham Women’s Hospital.

In this article we therefore give you all the information you need about this condition.

Endometriosis, a silent condition that affects many women

This may surprise you, but there are even girls who were only twelve or thirteen years old when they had surgery for endometriosis. With this knowledge it becomes clear what serious road this disease can cause. It actually deserves much more medical attention for a long time now.

It was not until 2013 that a booklet was put together for the first time to provide the public with information and knowledge about endometriosis.

It is important to understand that endometriosis is a very ‘peculiar’ condition. While some women may experience an immense amount of pain, in other women the condition may cause no symptoms at all.

Perhaps this is why associations worldwide are demanding that a permanent institution with multidisciplinary teams (with urologists, digestive experts and psychologists) be set up to better detect this condition within their fields of work.

Now let’s see what the most common symptoms are.

Symptoms of Endometriosis

• Very painful menstruation.
• Severe back pain radiating to the lower abdomen. This pain may get worse during or before menstruation.

• Pain after intercourse.
• Difficulty or pain during defecation or even urination.
• It is common for between thirty and forty percent of patients to be infertile.

It is important to reiterate that not all women experience the same symptoms. Some women have almost nothing to worry about.

The condition is usually diagnosed during a routine gynecological exam or during abdominal surgery, such as a cesarean section or appendectomy.

Living with endometriosis

We are dealing here with a condition for which there is no cure. For all women who have had to learn to live with this condition, it is undoubtedly especially important that they have access to a treatment that can improve their quality of life.

In some cases, the pain can be so severe that even walking is difficult. Women who suffer from this are also confronted with a lot of misunderstanding of:

• The society
•  colleagues at work
• sometimes even their partners, who may not understand why intercourse hurts so much

Hormonal treatment for endometriosis is one of the options, but these treatments do usually cause side effects. Many women suffer from depression and the like.

• Some painful symptoms can be treated with medication. In some cases, a treatment similar to the treatment for prostate cancer is also used.

• Another commonly used solution is surgery to remove the damaged tissue. In most cases, however, this tissue just grows back and the pain returns.

Endometriosis increases the risk of a heart attack

We already mentioned this at the beginning of this article. According to a study conducted at a hospital in Boston, USA, women who suffer from endometriosis and who have had their uterus or ovaries surgically removed have an increased risk of heart attacks.

The researchers who took part in this study analyzed the medical records of 116430 women up to twenty years ago. Of these 116430 women, 11903 had endometriosis.

This analysis found that women who went into menopause early because of surgery were more likely to develop:

• clogged veins
• heart attacks
• angina

Remember that endometriosis can occur in women much younger than 40.

The importance of a healthy lifestyle

Doctors advise all women who suffer from endometriosis to take good care of their physical and emotional health to avoid cardiovascular problems.

• Remember that the pain and lack of general knowledge among the population can lead to feelings of loneliness and frustration that can eventually turn into depression. Allowing your immune system to weaken in this way increases your risk of heart disease.

• Going into menopause early puts you at the same risk of heart disease as women who go through menopause naturally.

Whether you’re 30 or 55, it’s important that you watch your diet and have an active lifestyle to prevent health problems from happening.

Regular checkups, support from your doctor, and associations for women who suffer from endometriosis can be immensely helpful when faced with this complicated disease.