Wendy Bingham, DPT, United States
Long, heavy painful periods were not common for me (mainly in my 5th decade). My Gyn's didn't consider my concerns reproductive. I was referred to GI/Renal. Not one Gyn validated my pain with pap smears and intimacy; cyclical bowel/bladder changes with groin/back pain at menses; groin-to-knee, R. lower quadrant and lowback/sacroiliac joint pain. My complaints were dismissed as IBS, hyperactive bladder and musculoskeletal. The R. chest/upper abdomen and nerve pain in the cardiac distribution (at 17 yrs), eventually on both sides, was dismissed as asthma and side stitches. Office visits and ER trips yielded no answers and frequent gas lighting by providers. My first spontaneous pneumothorax at 30 yrs, and another 3 mths post-partum, etc. etc. Not one provider recognized the 'catamenial' characteristics of my concerns. I stopped searching for answers. Nearly bedbound, exhausted and fear it really was 'in my head', a D.O. came to my rescue. Not much of a mom, spouse, homemaker or Physical Therapist, the next two yrs finally led to dx. (~30 yrs). A multidisciplinary Endometriosis center cared for me using surgical excision. Fragmented healthcare, and lack of education about Endometriosis limited providers from identifying the single pathological process affecting many parts of my 'whole' body. It is a multi system, multi organ disease. Endometriosis as a differential diagnosis should be considered by all practitioners of adolescent-to-elderly female gendered persons.