Endometriosis

Hello
This week I've been recovering from my little summer holiday up North at Hahei Beach. This was amazing and a lot of fun, but drained quite a bit of my energy, but we as a group did manage to get our assignment in on time. This is the reason that I have been a little slack with my blogs, and I apologise for that.
This week I thought I'd carry on with my theme of women's anatomy, and talk about Endometriosis.

"Endometriosis occurs when tissue similar to the lining of the uterus (the endometrium) is found outside the uterus where it shouldn't be. The endometriosis tissue can appear to be red and inflamed but can also form nodules and cysts. It is mostly found within the pelvic region on structures such as the pelvic lining (peritoneum), ovaries, bowel, Pouch of Douglas as well as the bladder and uterine ligaments."
(See end of blog for site of reference)

There are 5 stages to this disease, and what sucks is that even mild cases can be as painful as the more serious cases. It can also affect your fertility and make conception difficult if you're planning on starting a family. Not much is known about what causes Endometriosis, but usually it runs in families. It is very hard to diagnose as it can be mistaken for other things such as irritable bowel syndrome or just as an abnormally heavy period. What's sad is that not all women with the symptoms will seek help as they are either too embarrassed or have a barrier blocking them to the health care they need.

Endometriosis is a common disease as it affects one in ten girls, but it is possible that the ratio is smaller due to misdiagnosis from women's doctors.

I would recommend the use of a specialist in these cases (i.e. a gynecologist) as often local GP's can get overwhelmed by their workload and people can so easily fall through the cracks.
I used the site below to get some more information about Endometriosis after my doctor suggested the possibility that I might have it.


Reference:

http://www.nzendo.org.nz/about-endometriosis