I HAVE ENDOMETRIOSIS: What is Endometriosis?

After I was hospitalized last October 2019, some of my grad school classmates asked me why.  And I told them that I had an infection due to my endometriosis.  One of my male classmates retorted that he could not even pronounce my condition, much less understand it.

I observed that in Filipino societies, we seldom talk about our health conditions, and we are, at times, dismissive about the sufferings of other people.  We say things like "Your depression is just a phase", and "Anxiety is not a real health problem". We even have this local Hiligaynon expression "Layo sa atay"- which can be roughly translated as "It's far from your liver".    What we actually mean when we say this is that a person's health condition is not serious, and he/she will not die from it.

In fact, when I went to the PWD office two years ago to get a PWD ID for my endometriosis, the person who entertained me said, "Those are just cysts and mayomas.  They can be removed through surgery.  Your condition is nothing serious."  Nothing serious.

Endometriosis is a serious condition. Some women who suffer from endometriosis can not function well because of the pain they are experiencing.  Some can't even have regular jobs because when the pain occurs, they can't get out of bed and at times, need to be hospitalized.

I am not a doctor but I know and I understand my condition.  Here is the description of endometriosis from Live Science:

"Endometriosis is a medical condition that occurs when the lining of the uterus, called the endometrium, grows in other places, such as the fallopian tubes, ovaries or along the pelvis. When that lining breaks down, like the regular lining in the uterus that produces the menstruation, it has nowhere to go. This causes cysts, heavy periods, severe cramps and even infertility." [Chan, Amanda. (2015. March 5). Endometriosis: Causes, Symptoms, and Treatments. Live Science. Retrieved from https://www.livescience.com/34722-endometriosis-causes-symptoms-treatments.html]

In other words, endometriosis is when a woman's endometrium or endometrial cells grow in places where they are not supposed to grow.  Symptoms and complications vary for each woman.  Here is a short list of the symptoms and complications I have had due to my endo:

• Pelvic pain during menstruation and ovulation
• Difficulty and pain during bowel movement
• Heavy menstrual bleeding or bleeding between periods
• Fertility problem
• Hematosalpinx (bleeding in the fallopian tubes)
• Intestinal adhesions
• Indigestion

If you are an endo warrior like me, what symptoms or complications have you experienced?  Comment below.