TILBURG – Painful periods in combination with intestinal and bladder complaints, sexual problems and fatigue, which drastically reduce the quality of life and also reduce the chance of pregnancy. Symptoms associated with the benign condition endometriosis, which has been under the radar for years but is slowly making its way up.
With the information meeting ‘Live EndoLounge Endometriosis & nutrition’, the latter goal is given shape. On Tuesday evening 14 June, in addition to exchanging experiences with fellow sufferers, interested parties can listen to ETZ gynaecologist Petra Janssen and dietician Leonie Rijken, who works at Dietician Group DITO. They examine the relationship between diet and the symptoms of endometriosis in more detail. Practical experience shows that you can reduce certain complaints with food.
Multidisciplinary approach
The important role nutrition plays in endometriosis is a striking example of the multidisciplinary approach to chronic disease, which only occurs in women of reproductive age. “We noticed that, in addition to medical specialists, patients also need paramedics who can help reduce the symptoms,” explains ETZ gynaecologist Femke Wilms. Within the ETZ there is a specialized multidisciplinary endometriosis team, of which the paramedical team – which includes a pelvic physiotherapist, sexologist and a psychologist – is part.
Impact
In view of the many chronic, hindering complaints that endometriosis can entail, the endometriosis expertise center is a welcome addition to the care within the ETZ. “Endometriosis patients are bothered by this every month and have to stay at home because of the pain, for example,” Wilms says. This makes it a serious illness, which can return after treatment and whose complaints only diminish after the transition. “It can feel hopeless, which makes it psychologically difficult for patients to deal with endometriosis,” explains colleague Janssen. The multitude of complaints also causes recognition problems, which can ensure that patients – who may think that the complaints are simply part of menstruation – only report to their GP later.
Sufficient attention
There can also be some delay at the general practitioner and in the hospital, which often leads to a long diagnosis time, which in the past could have been up to seven to eight years. It is therefore important that sufficient attention is paid to endometriosis, so that the condition is definitively removed from the radar of patients and healthcare professionals. Editions of the EndoLounge should in any case contribute to this. “So that there is more awareness for endometriosis and that GPs refer patients to us more quickly, which shortens that long waiting time,” says Janssen.
The information meeting ‘Live EndoLounge Endometriosis & nutrition’ will take place on Tuesday 14 June at the ETZ TweeSteden location (Dr. Deelenlaan 5 in Tilburg). The walk-in is from 19:00, after which the program starts at 19:30 and ends at 21:30. You can register via the website Endometriosis.nl.