Below is a thought provoking article by my friend Henry Okelue. It's his first time being featured as a guest writer on my blog and I hope it won't be the last especially on the issue he's bringing to light today. Read, be enlightened and please do share with every one you know. You never know just who might be needing this.
Thanks.
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Did you know that painful period or painful sexual intercourse
might actually be something else? It might be something medically referred to
as Endometriosis.
What is Endometriosis?
Certain tissues, called the endometrium, grow inside the uterus,
normally. That is part of what gets shed when a female sees her period. But
this situation could happen differently, abnormally. The endometrium could also
grow on and in other parts of the internal organs, outside the uterus.
So when a woman’s period is on and the linings of her uterus get
shed, the endometrium growing outside the uterus also become active and begin
to bleed too. This bleeding makes the internal tissues and organs they have
bled over to adhere together. The situation causes a chronic, very debilitating, very intense
pain in the pelvic region and other internal organs. This condition is what is
referred to as Endometriosis. It is one of the biggest causes of infertility.
As a start, visit your gynecologist and have the cause of the
pains you feel during sex or period checked out. Due to the fact that
Endometriosis cannot be disgnosed via scan or X-ray, the most accurate way to
diagnose Endometriosis is via a laparoscopy. Fret not, for it's a small procedure
and not as scary as the name sounds. Laparoscopy is just a keyhole surgery
whereby a small camera is inserted into the stomach to see if Endometriosis
exists within and how far spread it is. You can have a laparoscopy and be
discharged the same day, it also leaves very little scarring.
No cure for this disease exists yet, and science does not seem any
closer to getting a cure now than they were 10 years ago. One thing is
key, Endometriosis, on its own, does not kill. Please take some time to read up
on it.
Women with Endometriosis suffer on various levels – the actual
physical pain, and then the emotional pain.
Many people misunderstand women in general and women with Endometriosis in particular. Every day we hear people mock women who exhibit
certain irritable behaviors. They laugh at them saying “she is PMSing” or
“maybe she is on her period”. These irritable behaviors could be as a
consequence of the mind numbing pains they are enduring. Someone once told me
the pains from Endometriosis are more intense than that from child birth.
Women, by their nature, require more understanding from us. Women suffering
from Endometriosis require even higher levels of understanding.
The mere fact that someone who has been diagnosed with “Endo”
feels pain that nobody seems to understand could lead to depression.
Then, there is the case of infertility. Nothing kills a woman
psychologically more than the fact that she might not be able to have kids.
Every time she sees kids, or she sees her friends pregnant, she might get
gloomy. Endometriosis can sometimes block the fallopian tubes. This means an
ovary cannot travel down to meet a sperm cell and get fertilized. This, beyond
the pains, is one of the major damages that this diseases causes.
But all hope is not lost. A woman with Endometriosis could
actually still get pregnant. I recently spoke to a woman who was diagnosed with
the disease when she was in her mid-twenties. She has kids now and she conceived
naturally after intense treatments and a strong determination to beat the illness. Even for those who can’t conceive naturally, science has invented
IVF to sort this. So please, smile dear warriors.
This disease can affect anyone of any colour, of any race, of any
age. I recently saw a Caucasian girl on Instagram. She was recently diagnosed
of Endo. She is just 14 years old. It is neither a curse from someone, nor a generational curse. It
is not something you brought upon yourself. No one knows why one female
gets Endometriosis and the other doesn't. No one knows a proper and accurate
cure for it. It is a disease caused by various
factors, all of which a woman has no control over.
As a partner, you need to show a lot of compassion for your
spouse. She needs all the support and understanding that you can muster, and
more. There will be those nights you will wake up and realize the whole bed is
soaked in blood. There will be those times she will wake you up in the middle
of the night crying and writhing in pain. You should help her through this by
knowing what to do to sooth her pains. It could be as simple as filling her hot
water bottle, or massaging the area close to her pelvic. All of this could ease
the pain. She might become turned off sex, simply because of the amount of pain
she has to deal with whenever you guys make love. Please, do show
understanding.
She could get ill many times over, in very bad cases, she might be
ill every time. Very likely she is in and out of hospital most of the time. You
just need to know you both are in it together and have to defeat the condition
together.
Endometriosis does not last forever. At some point in a patient’s
life, her period will cease to be active, so also the endometriums – endo
leaves forever at the onset of menopause.
The statistics available say 1 out of 7 women suffer from the
disease, about 170 million worldwide. But it just dawned on me that those
numbers could be higher, especially in Nigeria where society, culture, and our
attitudes never allow us follow through on these things. People do not want to
go have medical checkups because of the fear of what they might find. They
don’t want to seek help because of the fear of stigma, they don’t get adequate
treatment because they believe they believe they can pray their way through it.
Don’t get me wrong, prayer works, but medicine is there just to assist prayer
in working.
I hope this article, not in any way an authoritative piece, will
bring more attention to Endometriosis, make more people talk about it and make
people seek for more knowledge about it. This could build a more formidable
coalition that will join in putting pressure on science to find a cure.
To every woman on every corner of the earth silently and doggedly
fighting the pain and trauma of Endometriosis, you are a true warrior, remain
defiant, remain #Endostrong.
We love you so much.
Article Written By: +Henry Okelue
Twitter: @4eyedmonk
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