It is estimated that 1 in 10 women have endometriosis, whether they realize it or not. However, it can affect anyone with a uterus who has reached reproductive maturity, with girls as young as 8 years old having been diagnosed. The cause of endometriosis has yet to be confirmed. But it does seem that it might run in the family.
Those with a close family member affected by endometriosis are much more likely to be found to have it as well. The most common symptom associated with endometriosis is pain, particularly in the abdominal and pelvic regions. But fear not — even though it might feel like you are, in fact, dying sometimes — it is extremely unlikely that endometriosis will kill you. Endometriosis symptoms manifest differently from person to person, but the most common include:.
What will really give endometriosis away though is that these symptoms will show up or significantly worsen during your period.
The only way to know for sure is with help of your trusted medical professional. When your doctor performs a regular pelvic exam, they check by hand for larger cysts or scar tissue that may be hiding around your uterus and ovaries. However, tissue growth typical of endometriosis can be difficult to detect through this technique alone. Ultrasounds and MRIs are non-invasive procedures they may perform to take to take fancy pictures of your insides so they can get the inside scoop on what your reproductive organs are up to.
If those images do come back with something suspicious, your doctor will likely perform a biopsy on the questionable tissue to confirm your situation. The chronic and extreme pain can affect your daily life in your the ability to work. The financial burden of medical care and treatment can add up. Patients suffering from endometriosis that elect to have a total hysterectomy are not having issues with reimbursement. Heather C.
Guidone, surgical program director at the Center for Endometriosis Care, along with others who treat the disorder, lament that the reimbursement for treatment and surgery is a broken system. Aetna spokesman Matthew Clyburn told CNBC that Aetna benefit plans include the evaluation and standard treatment of endometriosis, including the laparoscopic procedures commonly used to diagnose and treat the condition. We reimburse them at negotiated rates to ensure they are paid appropriately for taking care of our members with endometriosis," he said.
In some cases the charges are much higher than we believe to be reasonable, and do not have any relationship with the quality of the procedure," he added. Spokespeople for Humana , Cigna and Aetna would not quantify reimbursement amounts for the surgery. UnitedHealth Group did not respond to multiple requests for comment. Guidone said understanding the precise nature of the surgery helps to understand higher costs.
Unfortunately, this leaves a physician who does four hours of resection with the same codes as a physician that does 30 minutes of ablation.
Both get paid the same, though the work is completely different and the education and experience required to do the complex surgery is completely different. Insurance companies in the past did not reimburse for IVF procedures until lobbyists took the fight to Capitol Hill. IVF is directly related to endometriosis because it can cause infertility. It is pointless to spend money on IVF unless you know you have been treated for endometriosis, one of the main diagnoses for female infertility," Anthony said.
She has also written that she is lucky to have both good insurance and enough money to go out of pocket if necessary. Skip Navigation. VIDEO Personalized Medicine. A medical test that aims to wean America off painkillers. While endometriosis affects 1 out of every 10 women, only a fraction of those cases will ever be diagnosed. This article on Healthline goes onto talk about how endometriosis can cause small bowel obstruction and ectopic pregnancies. What we must also remember that endometriosis lesions can be found in the diaphragm region and in very rare cases the brain too.
Endometriotic lesions can also develop their own nerve supply, thereby creating a direct and two-way interaction between lesions. In , a survey revealed that:. Referring to endometriosis patients who did commit suicide, an endometriosis activist, Jaimee Rae McCormack said…. If we look at chronic conditions as a whole, a study done by the University of Waterloo says :. Now imagine a girl getting her periods at age 12, she is in pain for the average of seven years before she is taken seriously or even diagnosed — what will her state of mind be?
If patients are made aware of how they could feel then this information can be explained and shared to those close to the patient like immediate family, friends, school teachers, close co-workers, their boss — they become an essential to help form a strong and understanding support system. It also gives space for an endo warrior to get counselling and be taken through better coping mechanisms. The most important thing for any chronic illness warrior and more specifically, an endometriosis warrior is to first incorporate certain essentials in their life.
Pls note: these changes in diet were in consultation with a dietician who understood all my medical conditions. Endometriosis is connected with multiple other medical conditions so you will need to work with a physiotherapist to understand which forms of exercise work best for you. As for me, I do a mix of yoga, stretching, walking, resistance training with bands and aqua therapy on some rare occasions. You could be working from home which could mean that you can try and set your own productive schedule to guide you, to help you maintain a routine that makes you happy.
You could enjoy playing an instrument, singing, reading, writing, painting, cooking, crafts, stitching, playing darts, gardening, knitting — so do it. The point is to connect with yourself through this process — or even get lost and go into this zone of relaxation and just drift away into your own world. These are people who care, look to understand and support you.
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