Something that has been brewing....

 Well, I need a picture for Facebook so...

 Here's one that has absolutely nothing to do with my topic, just so I don't have some random thing pop up  (Moonrise over the mountain last week)

Making the 'Random' in the title carry its weight today....

Today is International Women's Day....and March happens to be Endometriosis Awareness Month. So I'm departing from my normal sewing update and actually getting a bit bold because I honestly believe that the number one women's reproductive health issue is...endometriosis.

Now, I will say up front that this is not an issue I have experienced first hand, but someone close to me has been dealing with some of the symptoms so, to learn what I could to encourage her,  I joined a Facebook education group, Nancy's Nook,  and have been following the stories and learning a lot.

The information is incredible and the suffering of so many women is heart rending.

I know that over the years I had heard that endometriosis happens when menstrual tissue 'backflows' through the fallopian tubes and becomes trapped in the abdomen.   However, that has been shown to be false...endometrial tissue has been found to be present at birth in some females, lying dormant until puberty, when it begins to cause pain.  And, while this tissue is similar to that found in the uterus, it  has been proven to not be the same. 

“Endometriosis is a systemic, inflammatory disease characterized by the presence of endometrial-like tissue found in extrauterine sites.” (Kennedy S. et al., 2005; Klemm et al., 2018; Saunders et al., 2021)...“Endometriosis is a common, benign, inflammatory, generally gynecologic disease that includes the presence and growth of dysfunctional endometrial-like glands and stroma often with reactive fibrosis and muscular metaplasia outside the uterus." (Lagana et al. 2019) From Endo Girls Blog 

Did you know that it is estimated that approximately 10% of all women of childbearing age suffer from endometriosis?

Did you know that the AVERAGE time from when a woman first seeks medical help for her condition to a confirmed diagnosis is 7 - 10 YEARS??  And even once a diagnosis is confirmed, it can be even longer...as in years longer... before they finally can get treatment?

Did you know that endometriosis is a progressive disease that worsens over time?

Did you know that women are routinely told they are imagining the pain, or are just having bad cramps, or have a low pain tolerance, or have anxiety that is causing their debilitating pain?  I read story after story of women who were dismissed with a prescription for birth control pills, or told they needed an IUD or told to 'get pregnant' to reduce their symptoms (spoiler...birth control or other hormone treatments can suppress the symptoms but  do not stop the progression of the disease).

Did you know that there are three surgical options...ablation, excision, and hysterectomy...that are available (not to all women, I might add.  Many doctors only offer hysterectomy and possibly ablation) BUT only one -- excision -- actually removes the disease?  

Did you know that endometrial excision is a highly specialized skill and there are a very limited number of physicians who are actually competent to perform the surgery?  Often women wait MONTHS for consultations/ appointments/ surgeries, traveling hundreds of miles to the nearest trained physician.  Insurance coverage is a whole 'nuther deal...going outside of the coverage area for treatment often means denial of insurance benefits, putting an enormous financial strain on women and their families to obtain the only truly effective treatment.

Did you know that there is a whole class of drugs that chemically induce menopause that are used as treatment for endometriosis, despite being ineffective against the disease and often causing permanent damage?  I am not typing the names of the drugs here because I don't want to trigger search engines but you can click through to the articles and find them.

Did you know that hysterectomy is often advised for endometriosis, even though the uterus is only involved if there is adenomyosis (endometrial tissue in the muscle tissue of the uterus)?  Removing healthy reproductive organs will not treat endometriosis, which manufactures its own estrogen.

Did you know that endometriosis lesions can literally occur just about anywhere in the body?  It is rare outside the abdominal cavity, but it does happen.

There's more...lots more...information out there, with the result that most of the women who suffer and do the research know more about endo than their gynecologists do, but are marginally treated, offered only ineffective...but costly, both in dollars and physical toll...treatments.  Some are seen as pain-pill seekers and as such are not even given strong pain meds to counter the agony.  It's not uncommon for them to be sent home with the pronouncement 'call me when you're ready to do something' when they refuse the treatment they know to be worthless or even dangerous.

I  am telling you, the stories are heartbreaking.  If you have symptoms of endometriosis, please, please educate yourself on what your options are; don't settle for something that doesn't really help and may actually hurt you. If you love someone who has symptoms of endometriosis, BELIEVE HER.  Nancy's Nook facebook group is a great place to go for information, and they have a list of vetted doctors who specialize in excision.  Not in every state, alas, but at least there is a list.

And all of us need to advocate for research in search of real treatments, honesty from the drug industry, awareness in our physicians, and support from the insurance industry to alleviate the suffering of one in ten women globally.  It is completely unacceptable that here, in the 21st century, women are still being told they are mentally ill  because they try to get help for debilitating pain.