It is this Thursday, March 13 that the first world march against theendometriosis (Million Woman March for Endometriosis) in over 40 cities around the world. The aim is to raise public awareness of this invisible and painful disease which affects between 10 and 15% of women of childbearing age. On this occasion, we wanted to know more about the painful periods because, the gynecologists are formal, more and more women consult for this reason. Yet the rules have been around for centuries … so why are we complaining about them today more than before?
The fact that they have become more painful is to be excluded, according to gynecologist Michèle Lachowsky. In her office, which looks like a writer’s apartment, lulled by the sound of classical radio, she has witnessed, in forty-five years of practice, a change in mentalities among her patients and among doctors. This gynecologist who also defines herself as a psychosomatician declares: “I believe that we admit pain less and that we talk about it more often. Before, the only remedy was to stay in bed with a hot water bottle on your stomach and, in extreme cases, to receive a painkiller injection. Today, other solutions exist and young girls do not want to do without. “
Women often endure pain in silence
Difficult periods, also called dysmenorrhea, are caused by an overproduction of prostaglandins, substances secreted by the inner lining of the uterus, the endometrium. These prostaglandins cause contractions of the uterine muscle which can induce pain throughout the lower abdomen area. In some women, these contractions can cause nausea, vomiting, and headaches. In this case, the perception of pain plays an essential role. “Man is an apprentice, pain is his master, and no one knows himself until he has suffered”, wrote Alfred de Musset in 1837.
The situation has since changed, but women with painful periods have undergone years of infantilization and debasement. Sophie (first name has been changed), a 52-year-old school teacher, has long thought she was too sensitive to pain. When her first period came, at the age of 15, she made a habit of hiding behind the high school infirmary to throw up. “At home, we didn’t talk about this kind of thing, it was more ‘walk or die’. I told myself I was cozy when in reality I was very brave. During her first pregnancy, at age 26, doctors diagnosed her with an ectopic kidney, a birth defect. Her left ovary is stuck to the kidney, and during menstruation it swells, causing very severe pain. Sophie’s case is special, but it reveals the way in which previous generations faced pain: like a fatality.
The suffering of women affected by endometriosis is underestimated
Despite the advances made by medicine to help women suffer less during periods, some specialists still find it difficult to take them seriously. Endometriosis, a disease related to the presence of womb lining outside the uterine cavity that causes pain and infertility problems, affects an average of one in ten women. It manifests itself, among other things, by pain during menstruation which can go so far as to prevent people who suffer from it from carrying out their daily activities. Despite the growing interest of the scientific community for this disease, its time to diagnosis is around seven years, according to Dr. Eric Sauvanet, head of the gynecological surgery department at the Paris Saint-Joseph hospital group. In question, an underestimation of the symptoms. According to the doctor, the only reliable way to detect this disease is magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), but too often, gynecologists are satisfied with an ultrasound and prescribing the pill to reduce the symptoms. They miss the disease, leaving the patients to suffer in silence, thinking it’s okay to have pain from menstruation.
How to effectively soothe the pain of menstruation?
But what are the solutions to stop suffering? “It is desirable to answer patients’ questions based on what they perceive both rationally and traditionally, rather than giving the same type of information to all those who consult,” advises Fabienne Jacques, midwife at the CHU d ‘Amiens, teacher at the midwifery school of Amiens and author of the memoir Women talk about their period. Lived and representations of 285 women. On the laboratory side, research is being carried out on endometriosis, but not on painful periods per se, explains Christine Rousset Jablonski, medical gynecologist since 2007 who currently works at the center for the fight against cancer and Lyon-Sud hospital center. Indeed, the Servier and Bayer laboratories indicate that they do not treat these symptoms. The pill and the consumption of painkillers remain the only solutions proposed by the specialists. Other techniques like yoga,acupuncture and thehypnosis can help work on pain. Without forgetting the famous hot water bottle on the stomach, which has not lost its effectiveness.
What if we deleted the rules …
“Until the creation of the first contraceptive pill, menstruation was seen, although negatively, as a condition which had to be endured monthly, explains Fabienne Jacques. However, the representation of menstruation has evolved over the centuries, while retaining certain features of ancient beliefs. It is a cycle, a habit that women talk about more easily but which remains something to hide. The reason for the growing number of complaints on this subject is therefore also linked to this development. “The teenage girls who come to see me today know that it is no longer worth suffering. This is why they complain more than before, adds Michèle Lachowsky. Besides, girls no longer want to have their period, they want to play sports and wear white pants freely. “
A Brazilian gynecologist, Elsimar M. Coutinho, started the debate when he released his book Is Menstruation Obsolete? (Are the rules obsolete?) In 1999. He advocates suppression of menstrual cycles. Based on a study conducted by the American anthropologist Beverly Strassmann since 1984 in Mali, he declares that the rules would be unnecessary, even dangerous because they would increase the risk of cancer. Michèle Lachowsky believes that there is no danger in no longer having rules, as long as this choice does not become an obligation. A deletion would also have no negative effect on fertility or on women’s health. “More and more studies and articles are being published on the issue of menstruation suppression. However, there is no consensus on this idea. Many are convinced of the relevance of suppressing menstruation while others are fiercely opposed to it, ”Fabienne Jacques sums up in her brief.
Moreover, Christine Rousset Jablonski did not notice any particular fed up, on the contrary, she affirms that her patients “do not particularly want to stop their periods, except when they are painful or are accompanied by resounding symptoms. their daily life ”. The same goes for Fabienne Jacques: “The majority of women are menstruated and complain about it, but few say they are ready to part with it. They are currently experienced as a natural, necessary, important and unpleasant phenomenon. Synonyms for good health, femininity and future fertility, they represent both a burden and a blessing.
To learn more about the Women’s Global March Against Endometriosis
