Endometriosis often goes unnoticed by women

Endometriosis: Women's disease is often undetected or misdiagnosed

Endometriosis is a very common chronic disease in women, where the lining of the uterus (endometrium) proliferates abnormally outside the uterine cavity. The painful disease often remains unrecognized for years. According to estimates of the experts, in Germany more than one million women suffer from the growth of the tissue of the abdominal cavity.

Endometriosis: common and difficult to diagnose gynecological disease
Endometriosis is considered by professionals to be one of the most common but also the most difficult to diagnose gynecological disorders. Therefore, endometriosis centers such as the University Hospital Jena (UKJ) are explicitly dedicated to the diagnosis and treatment of endometriosis. Here, the expertise of the experts is bundled. To be able to help the affected women better and above all faster. Because so far usually pass several years until a corresponding diagnosis is present. Thus, the various estimates of professionals aged 3 to 11 years and 6 to 12 years, respectively, fall between the first occurrence of the massive pelvic pain and the first diagnosis. However, endometriosis not only causes massive pain but also leads to unwanted childlessness in many cases.

Endometriosis Center Stage III at the University Hospital Jena
The UKJ was the only such center in Central Germany to be awarded the highest level of European Endometriosis league (EEL) certification as the "Endometriosis Center Tier III". In the accompanying press release, Ingo Runnebaum, director of gynecology at the UKJ, said: "Endometriosis presents us with major challenges." To date, the complaints of affected women are far too often dismissed as regular pain, even by doctors who often know too little about the widespread but unknown clinical picture. "The experts at the Endometriosis Center of the UKJ want to change that. Here the affected women find all contact persons from the surgeon over the endocrinologist to the pain therapist and psychologist under one roof.

Endometriosis causes unwanted childlessness
Prof. Jürgen Weiss, endocrinologist at the endometriosis center, explained that "about 20 to 30 percent of all cases of involuntary childlessness (...) Endometriosis is the cause." With the help of operations, however, the cause can be remedied, the expert continues. In less severe cases, medications can also help relieve the symptoms, the endocrinologist explained the treatment options at the Jena Endometriosis Center. Since the experts assume that "during the menstrual period, tissue cells settle over the fallopian tubes outside the uterus" and thus menstruation itself is the cause of the disease, Prof. Weiss believes that the solution is (...) to regulate the cycle ". Thus, the combination of drug treatments based on hormone preparations (eg contraceptive pill) with minimally invasive surgical therapies can successfully combat the disease. Where, according to the expert, the surgical procedures, thanks to modern surgical procedures, can be performed successfully and with the smallest cuts.

Pain as an essential symptom of endometriosis
Most affected by endometriosis are women around the age of 30 years. According to the European Endometriosis League, in 70-80% of women with chronic pelvic pain endometriosis is diagnosed as the cause of this pain. In addition, about 10% of women of childbearing age are affected by endometriosis, according to EEL. Regarding the possible signs, Prof. Dr. Ludwig Kiesel, Director of the UKM Women's Hospital: "Common symptoms of endometriosis are pain in menstruation, chronic pelvic pain and pain during intercourse."

Early react to the symptoms of the disease
Women who show signs of this should seek medical attention as endometriosis spreads over time. The disease centers react almost as much to the cyclic hormonal changes in the body of women as the normal uterine tissue. They are regularly built up and broken down and bleed cyclically. Since the blood normally can not flow outward, the growths in the body continue to grow. Thus, cysts filled with blood can develop and adhesions develop with the environment, which are often the cause of severe abdominal pain. Despite the treatment options endometriosis is chronic, because the disease can break out again and again after successful therapy. The quality of life of affected women is usually significantly affected by the disease. For example, in a survey, 65 percent of edometriosis patients reported that the disease had a negative impact on their working lives, with 30 percent having to quit their employment due to the disease and 10 percent of women having to work shorter hours. (fp, 16.11.2010)

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