ENDOMETRIOSIS: THE TRUTH ABOUT MENSTRUAL CRAMPS

Posted on Friday, May 8th, 2009 at 2:46 pm

In most women, uterine contractions simply press the sloughed-off endometrial tissue down its usual path through the mouth of the womb (the cervix) and out of the body via the vagina. The woman prone to endometriosis, however, experiences another phenomenon: because she may have a contracted uterus or a right cervix, all the menstrual blood cannot easily How out through the vagina. Rather, some of the blood-filled endometrium is forced up through the fallopian cubes, pushes backward out of the tubes, and is sprayed into the abdominal cavity, where it may attach itself to pelvic organs, producing the condition of endometriosis. Menstrual cramps and pain—known technically as dysmenorrhea—the first symptoms of endometriosis, are the result of this retrograde menstrual bleeding.

Dr. John A. Sampson, a researcher and practitioner in Albany, New York, is responsible for naming the disease in 1927. Dr. Sampson theorized that this hacking up of endometrial tissue, which he called retrograde menstruation, was the most probable cause of endometriosis. Dr. Sampson proposed an explanation as to how the endometrial tissue is flushed out of the fallopian tubes and into the abdominal cavity; but there is still no explanation for why the endometrial tissue implants itself in these abnormal sites.

It has been proved that nearly all women will experience retrograde menstruation, but that many women will reject the tissue while others become victims of endometriosis. Their implants “suck.” Sampsons theory has yet to be disputed, although a number of other researchers have discovered immunological, hereditary, and structural connections, as well as a link between the amount of menstrual blood pushed through the tubes and the severity of the disease.

The tragedy of tins disease is that it can go undetected until it has done irreversible damage. Equally heartbreaking is a woman’s fatalistic attitude toward menstrual cramps. When endometriosis takes hold, it has a distinct way of invading every aspect of a woman’s life, and this invasion begins early on, with cramps. Most women who try to cope with monthly bouts of mild to severe and debilitating cramps will seek relief from the pain with familiar remedies: heating pads, hot water bottles, or over-the-counter painkillers like aspirin. They do not connect their cramps to any process other than menstruation.

It does not occur to them that they may have endometriosis because they do not know about it. Since they don’t know how endometriosis can incapacitate their reproductive system as well as other organs, they don’t seek medical help. But these women aren’t to blame. More than likely, they have been taught that menstrual discomfort, like contractions during childbirth, is not only natural but part of being a woman. Where seeking medical help for childbirth is understood, consulting a doctor for “just cramps” is often considered frivolous and self-indulgent.

*10\43\4*