No, having pain during your period is not necessarily normal. Endometriosis affects one in ten women of childbearing age. This is a gynecological disease in which the lining in the uterus, called the endometrium, does not drain completely through the vagina during menstruation but rises and develops in the fallopian tubes.
It can even reach other organs, causing severe pain in each cycle at the time of menstruation. This causes, where the tissue is, lesions, nodules or cysts. This disease can also be the cause of infertility.
In addition to being painful, endometriosis is misdiagnosed. Several months or even years can pass between the first symptoms and the confirmation of the diagnosis.
If we talk more and more about this disease, it is because the government unveiled a national strategy to fight endometriosis at the beginning of the year.
A plan which sees the allocation of an allocation of 20 million euros for research on the disease (it does not yet have a cure), aid of 4.5 million euros per year to improve care pathways and the implementation of awareness-raising actions.
The importance of early diagnosis
The Clinique du Palais in Grasse has aligned itself with the national strategy by reserving a section dedicated to women within the establishment. Inside the walls, the caregivers explain that it is the patient’s first pains and questions that trigger the visit.
“The main clinical sign is painful periods, but not only. With fertility, these are the two reasons for concern. Pain is subjective. You can have endometriosis without having pain”, explains Dr. Thomas Popowski, obstetrician-gynecologist.
“The important thing is early diagnosis, adds Dr. Charlotte Vermersch, gynecological surgeon and senologist. There is a big delay on this subject, but it is changing. Patients are now very well informed, particularly through associations.”
Once the diagnosis has been established, the first idea is to stabilize the evolution of the lesions. For this, the therapeutic arsenal is quite wide. Pills exist to create endometrial atrophy.
More swelling, more periods and therefore more pain. The best option, because it is currently not possible to cure it.
“This disease is more and more present. We need to become specialists in endometriosis. If it is taken care of early, the simple fact of prescribing a pill will stop the progression of the disease and potentially prevent surgery” , continues Dr. Charlotte Vermersch. A whole network of doctors specializing in endometriosis has been formed over time.
The latter sometimes invites patients to make use of alternative medicine. Nutritionists, physiotherapists, but also yoga and hypnosis can be considered to relieve pain.
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Clinique du Palais, 25 avenue Chiris, in Grasse. Info: 04.97.01.15.40.
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