“Anyway, the first time, it hurts. Rules hurt. Well, anyway, heterosexual sex is still more fun for men. All these clichés, in my opinion, which actually weigh on endometriosis, have no place and weigh on the patients.”
Marie-Rose Galès has endometriosis and blogs Endometriose mon amour. In his book Endo & sexo – Have a fulfilling sexuality with endometriosis (JOSETTE LYON, 2019) she breaks the taboo of pain during sexual intercourse, a disorder that affects more than half of women with endometrial disease.
Suffering during sex: a taboo subject
During intercourse, endometriosis can lead to two types of pain: those that occur during penetration, “often in the lower abdomen“, as if “something was tapping at the bottom” of the vagina. And the pains following an orgasm which reverberate throughout the pelvic region. These pains during intercourse are the third most common symptom of the disease. However, in the collective imagination, it is infertility that comes first, “when infertility is not even included in the five most common symptoms”, laments the young woman. The reason is obvious to Marie-Rose Galès: “We are in a society where the role of mother is valued, while female sexuality is a taboo subjecteven more when it comes to female pleasure.. She reports the speech of some gynecologists who told her that if she could not have sex, they could give her In Vitro Fertilization. Two completely unrelated subjects.
Reinvent your sex life
Marie-Rose regrets that society boils sex down to penetration: “Sex life is something quite rich“. The famous Kamasutra itself devotes many pages to other practices. For Marie-Rose, there is a lot to be done to help the evolution of mentalities. “We have several sexualities during our life.“, she recalls, mentioning episodes such as pregnancy and menopause. Times of life during which “sexuality needs to be reinvented“. She also warns: by cutting themselves off from their body to cut themselves off from pain, women suffering during intercourse can cut themselves off from their desires at the same time.
Solutions to avoid suffering
Marie-Rose offers somewhat technical solutions: stretching, yoga exercises, physio or osteopathy. She advises trying things out to find what works best for you. “Every endometriosis is different, every person is different, every sexuality is different“, she insists. It is possible to reduce or even eliminate some pain. Those that follow orgasm can be alleviated with massages and yoga. Marie-Rose still suffers during penetration in certain positions, but no longer has any pain after orgasm!
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