SEPTEMBER 2010

Ilda Jacobsen – In aid of ( www.endometriosisfoundation.org)

Agonizing cramps, acute pain, raging nausea, hours spent crumpled in a heap, desperate doses of pointless painkillers – many women can relate to my woes of menstruation. And many, too, can probably attest to cavalier counsel from their doctors whose lame advice for dealing with the misery may include inanities such as, “take an Advil, use a heating pad, go on the pill, it’s perfectly normal to experience cramping and pain during your period.” No, it isn’t.

For over 9 years, I have suffered through such debilitating pains during my periods that they twice sent me to the emergency room. I visited 7 different doctors in search of answers but received little more than the paltry recommendations mentioned above. Doctors’ feedback ranged from “the pain is to be expected” to “the pain isn’t related to your period. Go see a specialist.”  While I shared with each doctor my suspicions that my pain stemmed from Endometriosis, every one of them promptly dismissed the notion. Then as “fortune” would have it, I developed a cyst that had to be removed through laparoscopic surgery. The cyst wasn’t a problem, but something else was. Begrudgingly, my doctor finally admitted that during the surgery he did, indeed, find endometriosis; a lot of it. In fact, after years of unabated growth, I was so riddled that my chance of getting pregnant was in peril.

Endometriosis occurs when cells that normally develop inside the uterus grow outside of it, leading to chronic pain and infertility. Endometriosis affects an estimated 70 million women across the globe, yet there is no cure, its cause is unknown, there is no non-surgical way to diagnose it, and it is not uncommon for 7 years to pass before a woman can accurately confirm she has it. 9 out of 10 times, when I tell a person that I have it, they ask, “What is endometriosis?” With the disease touching more women than breast cancer, this lack of attention is troubling. Women should not be expected to suffer through pain quietly, nor is it acceptable for doctors to waffle so long on a proper diagnosis that it staunches fertility.  World Endometriosis Research Foundation is working to make endometriosis more widely known around the world and to help better inform women who live with the condition. My aim is to help raise Endometriosis awareness, and my organization is World Endometriosis Research Foundation.