Myths/Misconceptions
Speak to your gynecologist
The actual prevalence of endometriosis in the general population is still unknown due in part to the societal normalization of pain and stigma around menstrual issues, and due to lack of information on what may cause it. Also, overlap in symptomatology with other diseases means that endometriosis cannot be diagnosed on symptoms alone. Therefore, one of the most important reasons for raising awareness of endometriosis is to encourage patients to speak of it and gynecologist and other health providers to take patient complaints of related symptoms more seriously.
Symptoms overview
Most common symptom/problem with endometriosis is chronic pain, which is subjective thing and everyone experiences it in a different way. People with endometriosis often assume that their symptoms are a normal part of menstruation, and when they seek help they are usually dismissed as overreacting to normal menstrual symptoms. This whole situation leads to further complications and prolongation of painful agony. However, it is not uncommon for some patients not to have such symptoms and to be diagnosed with endometriosis during the infertility treatment process, which can affect their mental health in general.
Endometriosis affects people during the prime years of their lives, a time when they should be finishing education, starting and maintaining a career, building relationships and perhaps have a family. For these people to have their productivity affected, their health-related quality of life compromised and their chances for starting a family reduced, is something society can no longer afford to ignore.
Endometriosis is one of the biggest causes of infertility, but that doesn’t mean that everyone with endometriosis is unable to get pregnant. Some are able to conceive, while others may be able to get pregnant with medical intervention.
It is time we see serious investment in preventing this debilitating condition in the next generation, even though we do not know the risk of developing endometriosis in the general population, nor the prognosis of disease aggression.