 |
| We're women. We can learn to do anything! So slide into homeplate with your endo know-how. |
MY OPTOMETRIST diagnosed
my endometriosis-induced anemia. Which should tell you something about the
state of endo treatment in my country.
At a yearly eye exam, my
optometrist tried to figure out why I was still experiencing headaches and
dizziness despite having astigmatism countering spectacles. Why would I mention
endometriosis? I mean, come on: the eyes, the uterus; what’s the connect?
Until he asked outright
if I had any chronic ailments. Intro endo. He probed even further (no pun
intended): Do I have heavy periods; bleed
in between; get nauseous? Could he see my palms?
He then explained to me
what any number of gynaecologists I had visited thus far should have elaborated on: that some symptoms of endo arise from
the serious ailment anemia; itself an
almost guaranteed symptom of endo.
Arrest distress
It’s wonderful to get
answers. Suddenly, you go from being ignorant and incapable, to having the ability
to deal with what’s afflicting you.
Distress is a key
trigger of endo flare-ups, so copers would do well to limit it. If having
answers can help with your peace of mind, well there’s no real hard sell there.
The more you know about
endo’s symtoms, dangers, triggers, patterns, the better able you are to find
treatments, practices and methods to fight it.
Still daunted? Listen, of
all the ailments that strike females, endometriosis is the one most innate to
our very status as women. It is not any foreign invading entity; but something
produced naturally by our bodies. Just,
our bodies try to protect us from, basically, itself and its own creation.
Period neglect
Of all diseases we may
have to meet head-on in a lifetime, endo is the one easiest to become familiar
with. But not if you wait for doctors to tell you how to help yourself; because
they
might NOT tell you!
Even when you find a
doctor you can put faith in, you must be prepared to act as partner in your
disease diagnosis and treatment. Women today are in perfect position to do so.
We have knowledge at our very fingertips via Internet access.
What’s more, we are
better equipped to ensure that future generations gain greater insight into
endo than we did … than we do.
