With posts on her social networks, the 24-year-old Australian girl gave details of her condition and the surgery she underwent. What is the message for women who are in your same situation?
The young Australian and conservationist, Bindi Irwin, took advantage of the Twitter exposure to talk about the endometriosis that has accompanied her for a decade. At 24 years old, The singer and dancer gave details of her suffering and the symptoms that alter her quality of life.
Extreme fatigue, unexplained tiredness, and cyclical pain are signs that translate into irritability, low productivity, and work absenteeism due to the disorder. Women with this disease have to deal with a situation that hinders their projects.
Besides, endometriosis can be underdiagnosed. Many patients visit doctors and clinics without finding an accurate diagnosis, which is why the appropriate approach is delayed. In fact, Irwin’s path was not exempt from these vicissitudes:
For 10 years I have struggled with insurmountable fatigue, pain and nausea. A doctor told me it was just something you deal with as a woman and I completely gave up trying to survive the pain.
These experiences add trauma to the physical fact. There is suffering that is not recognized and confused sensations appear, to the point of thinking that there is no solution or that the condition is a “natural consequence” of being a woman.
What is endometriosis?
This condition consists of the growth of endometrial tissue outside the uterus. The endometrium is the innermost layer of the womb, being the part that is shed during menstruation and the one that will receive the fertilized egg when a pregnancy begins.
Growing out of its natural place, their bleeding cycle occurs at abnormal sites for human anatomy. Therefore, there is pain in the regions where this misplaced (ectopic) tissue sits.
It usually settles in the fallopian tubes and ovaries.
This location in the pelvis, outside the uterus, is the cause of the intense discomfort that appears almost once a month in patients. ectopic endometrium it becomes inflamed by hormonal action and even bleedsas if it were really inside the matrix.
The problem is that in the medium term, the inflammation also affects the surrounding tissues. That is, the fallopian tubes and ovaries accumulate fluid, swell, try to heal after each menstrual cycle, and make excess fibrous tissue. This tissue causes adhesions within the pelvis and leads to infertility for the woman.
What are the symptoms of endometriosis suffered by Bindi Irwin?
Irwin said that fatigue, pain and nausea have been the most disabling symptoms for her. In general, these manifestations are repeated every month, in accordance with the menstrual cycle and the stimulation of female hormones.
The most frequent symptoms of endometriosis are the following:
- Dysmenorrhea: It is the pain that appears with menstruation, but excessively. To the point of taking the woman to rest.
- Dyspareunia: this is the pain that makes its appearance when having sexual intercourse.
- Dysuria: some women report discomfort when urinating. Especially those who have developed fibrous adhesions around the bladder.
- Fatigue: During menstruation, women with endometriosis may feel extreme fatigue that forces them to rest. But it can also happen that there is imperceptible bleeding due to poorly located endometrial tissue. This would lead to anemia and, with it, fatigue.
- Changes in bowel movement: the inflammation characteristic of the disorder and the proximity of the ectopic tissue to the digestive system favor the alteration of evacuatory rhythms. There are patients with diarrhea and others with chronic constipation. In turn, nausea and vomiting are not uncommon.
Bindi Irwin and her surgery to treat endometriosis
In an Instagram post, Bindi Irwin was recently operated on for her endometriosis, in a hospital bed. This complemented her appearance on her Twitter to Time.news her misadventures with her disorder of 10 years.
In her story, the young Australian says that the doctors removed many pockets of ectopic endometrial tissue. And they were even surprised by asking him how he had managed to live all this time with such a dispersion of lesions inside his body.
Surgery for endometriosis is an option that should be discussed with the treating physician and based on the age and fertility prospects of the patient. When there is no desire to conceive in the future and the symptoms are very intense, it is possible to remove much of the contents of the pelvis, including the affected ovaries.
However, in young patients who want to become pregnant, a more conservative and punctual surgery is practiced. Foci of ectopic tissue are searched for and removed, one by one. Thus, the uterus and ovaries are preserved so that there is a possibility of fertilization and pregnancy.
Bindi Irwin received this surgery to treat her endometriosis. In her account of the events, she mentions the removal of 37 lesions. One of them was a “chocolate cyst” (endometrioma), which is a larger formation, filled with dark brown fluid.
After the intervention, the treatment is usually not finished. Doctors usually indicate the continuation of the approach with medication, almost always based on hormonal therapies. Classic contraceptives are prescribed, as well as gonadotropin-releasing hormone and progestin agonists and antagonists.
A young woman’s message of hope
Many young women are living with endometriosis, just like Bindi Irwin, unknowingly or waiting for an accurate diagnosis. The Australian activist’s message is one of hope for those who suffer.
There are ways to access new and effective treatments. But for that, it is necessary to have more information about the condition and to reach health professionals interested in providing a solution to their patients.
We know more and more about endometriosis. However, there is still a long way to go to achieve equal opportunities for the patients.
You might be interested…