New understandings of how endometriosis can affect your life

Sometimes the tissue that lines the inside of your uterus starts to grow outside of it. This can lead to a painful condition called endometriosis. Women in their mid-40s to early 50s are at risk of this disease which contributes to more sick days and poor workability. 

Pain:

• - Cramps
• - Lower back and pelvis pain
• - pain whilst using the bathroom
• - heavy bleeding during your period
• - irregular menstruation
• - infertility 
• - cramps, constipation, nausea 

Women with endometriosis are more likely to have anxiety and other mental disorders. Chronic pain causes depression and anxiety which again can worsen the pain of endometriosis. The areas of endometriosis break down and bleed each month but because it can’t leave your body, it starts to irritate the tissues around it. They can scar or stick together, which causes pain.

Endometriosis is commonly misdiagnosed and women often report being incorrectly told their symptoms are meaningless or normal. Women suffering from endometriosis see an average of seven physicians before receiving a correct diagnosis, with an average delay of 6 or 7 years after the beginning of symptoms and this average delay places endometriosis at the end of diagnostic inefficiency.

A 20-year study of 12,000 women with endometriosis found that individuals under 40 who are diagnosed with endometriosis are 3 times more likely to have heart problems than their healthy peers.

While complementary therapies like massage, herbal medicine, or acupuncture can’t treat your endometriosis, they can help manage your symptoms.

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