2023-04-19 19:18:13
“I have already left my workstation in the middle of the day because I could no longer bear the pain. » While still working in the restaurant industry, Raphaëlle, 28, learned that she suffered from endometriosis two years ago. If she had always had slight pain when she was younger, the first crises appeared violently. “Spikes of fever exhausted me, to the point that I no longer had enough strength to get up and drink water”, reports the one who is now a modeling agent.
In a press release published on Wednesday April 19, the retail giant Carrefour announced that it would grant twelve days off per year to women with endometriosis. “These days of absence, which until now required sick leave and could induce up to several days of waiting, will now be supported and financed by Carrefour France”indicates the sign. “A great initiative” according to Raphaëlle, who only very recently dared to speak about her pathology to her employer.
“You lose credibility when you leave work when you are a woman”
Often confused with simple painful periods, endometriosis results in an affection of the endometrium, or the wall of the uterus. For example, it can cause fever, fainting, exhaustion and lead to heavy periods. The symptoms of the chronic disease that affects one in ten women are numerous, yet it remains little known to the general public, and the path to a diagnosis is often long. For the time being, it is impossible to cure it, and only hormonal or surgical treatments can relieve the symptoms.
But then how to deal with this pathology when crises occur at work? In catering, Raphaëlle had to remain smiling in front of the clientele and demonstrate unfailing dynamism. Most of the time, what she describes as a “mind of steel” allowed her to last the day, but once she got home “The pain was unbearable”. “You lose credibility when you leave work when you are a woman who manages men. We give the impression that we leave just “because we have our period” so I was trying to hold on”, she explains.
“Crises could potentially lead to absences”
Originally, Raphaëlle was against hormonal treatments, but she was forced to turn to the Sawis pill, indicated in the treatment of endometriosis, to support her pain in the event of an attack. The pill now prevents her from having her period and, since she takes it daily, the pain has become bearable.
But at 28, she thinks of having children and fears stopping the pill. “Already it’s not easy to tell your employer that you’re going to have a child, I know that, in the months preceding the possible pregnancy, crises that will occur during my working hours could lead to absences”, she explains. Equipped with a “great professionalism” when the pain occurred at work, the fact of not being 100% often made him feel guilty. “Fortunately, I spoke to my superior about it, and she is very understanding,” she adds.
“I found myself stained several times”
At 22, Louna also felt in difficulty at work because of her pathology. Like Raphaëlle, her seizures have already been strong enough to cause fainting. During her studies, she worked for more than a year for a famous brand of energy drinks. His job: distribute cans to promote the brand. “We worked ten-hour days when there was not always access to toilets. My periods were so heavy that I found myself stained several times, without being able to change. You feel really bad in those moments.” she confides. More recently, while serving as a waitress during the summer season, Louna remembers stopping her service after nearly fainting.
After years of pain, she had finally found a pill capable of alleviating her symptoms, but they reappeared a few months ago. Louna then preferred to stop her pill, and since her periods are almost absent. “My last MRI showed that my endometriosis had stabilized, but I dread the moment when my cycle will return to normal”, explains this Toulouse woman who recently opened her restaurant. “It’s a taboo subject so we don’t dare report that we suffer from endometriosis in the context of work, so I find Carrefour’s initiative brilliant”, she concludes.
#invisible #disabling #work