What is adenomyosis, the painful gynecological disorder that is "ten times worse than childbirth"

Zélie, Lisa and Jennifer have adenomyosis,
a gynecological disorder that in the worst case causes
strong pelvic pain and heavy bleeding. "I could not wear more than black pants to work," says Jennifer. "And even then, I blew so much that I had to go home to change clothes in broad daylight, I bled several times on friend couches, I suffered of this disease for years. Adenomyosis is a disorder that occurs when the cells lining the uterus (endometrium) are embedded in the muscle fibers of the uterine wall.

There is no explanation as to why this is happening and there is no way to prevent it. According to the World Health Organization, one in ten women could suffer.

A woman of any age who is still menstruating may have adenomyosis. Many women are thought to be suffering from this disease without knowing it, since the symptoms do not always appear. But when they do, they can be incredibly painful.

Serious symptoms

The two most common symptoms of adenomyosis are painful and painful, even untimely, and severe pelvic pain.

"Once I felt such pain that I had to call the ambulance," explains Zélie. "When they saw me, they thought I should have appendicitis, I told them that I had adenomyosis, but they did not know what it was."

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" The pain was so intense that sometimes I had suicidal thoughts, "adds Lisa. "It's impossible to ignore, it affects every facet of your life, I had to plan each exit as if it was a military operation."

"Whenever I went to the hospital, I was asked what was the level of pain I told them the same thing," says Zelie. "It's ten times worse than delivery. "

Treatment

Many women take years to be diagnosed with adenomyosis, since it is often confused with other pelvic diseases. Adenomyosis can be detected by internal transbadl ultrasound or magnetic resonance imaging.

The contraceptive pill or hormonal injections are some of the treatments that can be effective. But for some women, the only solution is hysterectomy, a surgery to remove the uterus totally or partially.

That's what Jennifer did. "I live my life like never before, I can run with my kids in the park, I can do things I could not do before," she says. "I may not have a uterus, but I feel much more feminine than ever."

Zelie, Lisa and Jennifer agree on one thing: the importance to talk to other women who are going through the same thing. "It's a disease that can make you feel completely isolated, that's why it's so important to create support groups on Facebook and talk to other women who are suffering as well," he says. explains Lisa

. I feel lonely. "