Endometriosis - a life sentence 'no man' would tolerate

It's not just a period and the pain isn't normal - endometriosis leaves one in seven women in often excruciating pain and threatens their work, their health and their fertility. or signup to continue reading But all too often it is overlooked, misdiagnosed or not taken seriously by medical practitioners, campaigners say, thanks to, at best, unconscious bias and, at worst, medical misogyny. "No man would put up with this.

We'd have a cure by now," former Liberal politician turned endometriosis activist Maree Davenport tells AAP. "If you had a man with ..



. pain, periods and bleeding from their body and problems having a poo and pee, and problems with intimacy - not just libido, but painful sex - imagine if a bloke was putting up with that? "We would have had a cure through massive research maybe a decade ago. It has been dismissed and there is stigma.

" One-in-seven, or one million, women suffer from endometriosis in Australia, a disease where tissue similar to the lining of the uterus grows outside the uterus, causing often severe pain and possible fertility issues. But thanks to misinformation, lack of education, lack of basic medical care in some rural areas and a general attitude that women just have to put up with a certain level of pain as part of being a woman, the condition is often overlooked. On average, it takes a woman six-and-a-half years to be diagnosed in Australia.

"As a teenager, for years, I had experienced ...

migraines, severe back and body pain, collapsing at school...

I was just a kid," says television presenter Julie Snook. "I remember going back to the same GP at least three times pleading my case. Eventually, I asked for a referral to a gynaecologist.

The doctor was almost defensive when I did so - deep down, I don't think she believed me." Ms Snook has endured 13 endometriosis operations since the age of 19. A hysterectomy is next on the agenda.

Eventually, she was forced to step away from her high profile media job to focus on her "health and happiness". "I don't want to make this political, but what I do want is for all those suffering..

. to have access to appropriate and affordable healthcare services. It shouldn't be a choice," she says.

Ms Davenport was driven to the cause of endometriosis sufferers when her daughter presented symptoms at the age of eight. She says the issue is a lack of education across the medical profession, which is what drove her to author The Australian Guide to Living Well with Endometriosis. "I really do feel that women are expecting and have been almost raised to put up with pain relating to their periods, relating to childbirth, relating to their emotional health as well," she says, adding two in three women experience discrimination in health care settings, having their pain dismissed or being labeled as "hysterical".

"It comes down to ignorance. We need to educate the GPs, the school nurses, the teachers, as well as the gynaecologists and everyone in the health system about women's pain being real." Ms Davenport's Australia-first guide compiles stories from women living with endometriosis, researchers and healthcare professionals in a bid to better educate people suffering with or treating the disease.

"It brings together a great network of people to talk about their lived experience, their research experience, and their experience treating the disease and diagnosing it," says Ms Davenport. "Endo places women at a disadvantage as a result of their medical condition which is life defining, incurable and lifelong," she says. School-age women often have to miss school, later it is work - especially if they have surgery, which requires six weeks recovery.

The surgery only works for about five years, so a woman might need that six weeks of sick leave several times throughout her career, she adds. On top of the pre-existing gender pay gap, this chronic condition can impact earnings, superannuation, sick leave and benefits, and that loss of earnings can mean they might not be able to afford private health insurance. "I call it the gender-endo pay gap," Ms Davenport says.

"It's estimated that a woman will spend $30,000 a year just to manage the condition." Kayla Itsines, co-founder of Sweat, has made it her life's mission to epitomise health and wellness, which is why she "hates" her endometriosis for limiting her during its regular flare-ups. Ms Itsines was advised to avoid any high-intensity exercise, which made her feel defeated by her own body and concerned about managing her professional commitments.

'I love to work out, and training people is my job, but I just need to accept stepping back is crucial for my body to heal," she says. DAILY Today's top stories curated by our news team. WEEKDAYS Grab a quick bite of today's latest news from around the region and the nation.

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