Women need to stop 'white-knuckling' through common inflammatory condition: doctor

Key Points:

• Endometriosis, a chronic inflammatory condition affecting nearly 10% of women who menstruate, is often underdiagnosed and can take 10 to 11 years to properly identify due to normalization of women's pain and lack of definitive diagnostic tools.
• Symptoms of endometriosis vary widely and include pelvic pain, fatigue, joint pain, painful sex, irritable bowels, urinary frequency, and infertility, making diagnosis challenging, especially for those without classic pelvic pain.
• Experts like Dr. Sheeva Talebian emphasize the importance of patients advocating for themselves, encouraging women to seek clinicians who validate their pain and use available diagnostic tools rather than dismiss symptoms as normal.
• While there is no cure or gold-standard diagnostic test, management strategies focus on hormone therapy to suppress ovulation and lifestyle changes such as regular exercise, acupuncture, anti-inflammatory supplements, and a Mediterranean diet to reduce symptoms and potentially slow disease progression.
• A holistic approach involving dietitians and lifestyle modifications, including omega-3 intake and adequate vitamins C, D, and E, is recommended to help manage endometriosis symptoms, especially in early-stage patients, though these changes do not cure the disease.