Still little known, endometriosis affects around 1.5 to 2.5 million women in France, according to the Ministry of Health and Prevention. Little by little, the word is freed around this evil, from which the singer Imany suffers.
Endometriosis is a chronic gynecological disease resulting in the development of a uterine lining called the endometrium, outside the uterus, even going so far as to develop in other neighboring organs. Women with endometriosis are familiar with the pain that the disease causes. Endometriosis causes paralyzing pain during menstruation, during intercourse, pelvic pain, and can be the source of infertility.
Having pain during your period is not the norm
It is common to hear that getting your period is synonym of pain, although this is not necessarily the case. “You have your period, you have pain, it’s normal everyone is in painit’s a sentence that we have to stop saying” denounces Imany, herself suffering from the disease before adding “it’s a bit like release with the back of the hand the pain of the other”. Indeed, the collective opinion normalizes period pain like a rite of passage, almost a test where we will determine the courage of the woman, faced with this pain that can be unbearable for people with endometriosis. In addition, the birth control pill is often associated with the miracle solution, as if the menstrual cycle, regular or not, was responsible for the pain. “Indeed the pill is a way to stop the symptoms, but it does not heal and above all it has nothing to do with your cycle or your youth but it has more to do with your doctor’s ignorance of the disease”explains the interpreter of “don’t be so shy”.
How is the pain of endometriosis perceived?
This disease is still relatively unknown, even by the medical professionit can be difficult to understand the pain these women are going through, as the singer points out: what you have, you are told that it must be psychological”. People with endometriosis and who are therefore not screened then feel rejected and misunderstood when the diagnosis fallsthis is what Imany explains, “It’s horrible because it comes down to saying that the girl is lying, that we don’t consider her, it comes down to saying that because we can’t detect the problem, it must come from her”.
Endometriosis and sexuality: a complicated agreement
Another symptom that can cause the disease, pain during sex. This disease is already trying, the psychological impact is also to be taken into account. Some women may seem reluctant to have a relationship. It’s not a question of desire, but rather of pain: “Most women who have endometriosis also suffer a lot during intercourse. Women are tired of hearing that they are frigidthat they don’t like sex. They just hurt !” denounces the artist before adding “In general, we must stop thinking about the place of women. First you have to believe them and then when they are in pain, you have to ask yourself why and make it stop”.
Although saliva tests have been made available to the general public, there is no real screening technique for endometriosis. Patients with symptoms can be referred to a gynecological examination which will allow them to be guided towards the practice of a MRI or ultrasound. A dedicated center has opened its doors at the Tenon hospital in Paris, in order to quickly diagnose the disease. For the time being, the government of Jean Castex, former Prime Minister, has set up the launch of a national endometriosis strategy. The objective is to raise awareness, diagnose and treat this disease which affects one in ten women. The national steering committee will notably bring together doctors, researchers, associations and expert patientsactors of this strategy.