By Kiptoo Hildah
Endometriosis is a chronic disease where the lining of the uterus finds itself in other parts of the body.
This causes bleeding and severe pain majorly during menstruation.
“I constantly had painful periods growing up even in my teenage years, especially in high school. I passed out when doing my History KCSE paper 2,” explained Anne Mahero, an endometriosis warrior.
This disease affects women of productive age of about 13 (puberty) to 50 (menopause) depending on one’s body.
“I started presenting symptoms for endometriosis when I was thirteen years old,” stated Elsie Wandera, an endometriosis warrior and the founder of the Endometriosis Foundation of Kenya.
However, ladies living with endometriosis stay up to 10 years before the actual diagnosis.
This chronic disease affects different parts of the body.
“If it’s in the pelvis, it can be around the fallopian tubes, around the bowel, the bladder or the ovary, it can be in the chest or the belly button,” Dr. Muteshi Charles explained.
The signs and symptoms include heavy bleeding during periods or between periods, trouble with infertility, bloating, nausea and fatigue among other symptoms.
Moreover, other patients get different symptoms.
“I noticed that during work I would get breathless, going up a staircase and when working out trying to keep fit,” Anne Mahero noted.
“When I had my first x-ray done, results showed that I had a collapsed lung,” added Anne Mahero.
The severe pain can however be managed in 3 ways depending on the type of endometriosis: hormonal therapy where drugs modify the hormonal environment by suppressing the ovarian activities, surgical treatment where the lesions are eliminated and pain killers.
The treatment is however tailored to each patient’s need.
“Every patient who has endometriosis is evaluated by a doctor who is specialized and their treatment is tailored to their needs,” reiterated Dr. Muteshi Charles.
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The endometriosis patients have now found refuge through different organizations such as the Endometriosis Foundation of Kenya having Elsie Wandera as the founder. The patients on this platform can now share experiences and interact with their doctors and nutritionists.
Unfortunately, ladies living with endometriosis have no access to medical coverage since endometriosis falls under the category of fertility treatment which is not identified as a non-communicable disease.
“Many insurance covers or the health care system in Kenya generally needs to give endometriosis importance because it’s among the chronic diseases that affect the population,” Anne Mahero expressed.