For many years, it was universally accepted that periods could be very painful, particularly as they were often not openly spoken about. In Medieval times, it was believed that period cramps were a divine punishment for Eve’s original sin so the herbal medicine available at the time wasn’t allowed to be administered for pain relief. However, some attempts were made to ease the pain by burning a toad and wearing the ashes in a pouch around your waist. Whilst this approach didn’t catch on and we can now buy heating pads from the pharmacy (causing a lot of relief in the toad community) some discomfort might happen for people going through a period. That being said, consistent, severe pain that isn’t improved by over the counter painkillers that affects a person’s ability to carry out usual day-to-day activities may require further investigation and can sometimes be attributed to a condition called endometriosis.

Endometriosis is an illness where cells similar to those found in the uterus grow elsewhere in the body, usually in other areas of the abdomen, around the reproductive organs. While the cells in the uterus build up and break down causing period bleeding, the cells that have grown elsewhere react in the same way but the blood has nowhere to escape when they break down. This causes severe pain and can have a number of significant effects on someone’s life, including:

  • Fatigue and low energy
  • Depression
  • Sex and relationship issues
  • Issues with conceiving
  • Bowel problems

According to World Health Organisation statistics from 2021, endometriosis affects roughly 10% of reproductive age females globally. The broad range of symptoms mean that healthcare providers don’t always recognise or easily diagnose endometriosis, which can cause significant delays to patients receiving the care that they need. Across multiple global studies, the average time for diagnosis is eight years from first reporting symptoms, being slightly shorter if it’s raised as part of experiencing fertility issues. Added to this, the condition can often be hereditary, so endometriosis may go undiagnosed because the experience of pain and symptoms would have been similar between family members, and therefore normalised. This reinforces the importance of discussing periods and symptoms more openly to help people who experience endometriosis to feel comfortable recognising that they may need medical care to diagnose and treat the condition.

Positively, there is much more awareness about endometriosis now and period issues are talked about more openly. Although there is currently no cure, there are many ways the condition can be managed to help reduce the severity of symptoms. It’s important to discuss the symptoms with a medical professional because people can have very different experiences and not all approaches will work for everyone. Some of the treatments include hormones via birth control medication to block or reduce the production of oestrogen, pain relief that could be medicinal or physical, such as heat therapy, Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulator (TENS) machines or physiotherapy, or in more complex cases, surgery to remove the cells in other parts of the body.

In order to get a diagnosis, it’s important to be detailed with your healthcare professional about the symptoms you’re experiencing, and also to be persistent in getting the help you need, as misdiagnosis is common. If you don’t feel like you’re getting access to care that is improving your symptoms, there are many charities around the world that can offer support and you can find one local to you here: https://endometriosis.org/support/support-groups/