By Grace Anita Kaerasora
Have you ever been told something like, “period pain is part of being a woman?” It is easy for women to assume that pelvic pain is normal because they may have been conditioned to do so. At what point does your pain become something beyond normal?
The term is Endometriosis, a condition most often than not, is brushed off as normal cramping but ignorance isn’t bliss when it comes to dealing with Endometriosis. This condition not only causes and explains infertility in some women but also causes painful sex and painful bowel movements.
So, what is Endometriosis?
It is a menstrual condition where cells similar to those that line the womb-grow and embed outside the womb causing pain, inflammation and a difficulty in falling pregnant. In simpler terms, women affected by it, bleed from both inside and outside the uterus. Now, because it is abnormal to bleed out of anywhere other than through the vaginal canal, the blood that collects outside the uterus creates cysts all over the other organs causing excruciating pain and discomfort during ovulation. Unsurprisingly, endometriosis affects 1 in 10 women.
Sometimes you’d think being a woman comes with nothing but issues. Well, endometriosis is no different. Unfortunately, most live with this condition but aren’t even aware or sadly, wonder why they’re failing to conceive.
Describing her endo-experience, in her book “Wandering Womb: a real story of endometriosis, Megan Marie Griffiths says, “It hurts. It begins as a tightness, a feeling of pulling in my abdomen, and then rapidly becomes more intense, sharp pulses of painful cramps. I grit my teeth, shift my position and try to breathe deeply. At the moment, there’s nothing else I can do. I’ve already taken my twice-daily dose of anti-inflammatory drugs, and I sip hot coffee, feeling its warmth travel into my gut while swathed in two layers of heat wraps-one for my back and one for my front.”
The wretched truth in our society, culturally enforced and medically indoctrinated, has been that this monthly pain, for women, is normal. When a girl first begins her period, she is told that she is now a woman, and that with this comes pain and discomfort. Her mother, perhaps, teaches her about hot water bottles and heating pads and ibuprofen. This girl-young and terrified by an event over which she has no control-resigns herself to this fate. Perhaps she has pain. Curled up in bed, muscles clenched in tension, her breath hitching with each cramp. She cries. Quite possibly, she will tell her mother, who will reassure her that this pain is normal. Or perhaps her mother, concerned for her daughter, will accompany her to the doctor, who will smile at them both, prattle about the normalcy of it all and do nothing but recommend birth control pills.
Surgery, hormone and pain management are the types of treatment available for endometriosis. I am not a medical professional and each case is different so it is essential that you consult your Physician. Try to eat a lot of vegetables, fruits and whole grains, cut down on red meat and processed foods. If you a fan of coffee, I’m sorry to say that you might have to limit on caffeine and alcohol. Remember, the couch is not your friend, endometriosis gets worse when you don’t move, try as much as you can to move around.
