Why the diagnosis of endometriosis, Anitta’s disease, takes years

Endometriosis is a relatively common disease and well known to gynecologists – it is estimated that 1 in 10 women of childbearing age suffer from the problem.

Still, studies show that the diagnosis takes between 7 and 9 years, just like the singer Anitta, who recently told on her social media that she discovered she had endometriosis after spending nine years suffering from pain. After all, if it is a common disease, why is the diagnosis so time consuming?

“The disease manifests itself in different ways among women, some spend years with the problem without having any symptoms. Others have a lot of pain, but they tend to confuse it with menstrual cramps and think that this pain is normal. discover that you have endometriosis because of the difficulty of getting pregnant”, says gynecologist Sérgio Podgaec, from Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein, noting that about a third of women with endometriosis have problems getting pregnant.

Endometriosis is characterized by the growth of the endometrium (tissue that lines the uterus and is shed during menstruation) outside the uterine cavity. The endometrium grows in the ovaries, fallopian tubes, abdomen, around the bladder and even in the intestines, causing inflammation as it adheres to these other organs.

The most common symptoms are pain during or outside the menstrual cycle (like cramping), pain during intercourse, pain when urinating (similar to a urinary tract infection) and pain when having a bowel movement – ​​but they can vary greatly from woman to woman. .

Having pain is not normal

According to Podgaec, the delay in diagnosis may be due to three main factors: first, because in many cases the patient herself considers it “normal” to have pain during her menstrual period or during sexual intercourse, and therefore does not usually report this problem during the consultation of routine to the gynecologist. Second, when the woman reports the pain to the doctor, it may happen that the doctor does not delve into the complaint and does not ask for the necessary tests.

Finally, the third factor that impacts the diagnosis is that imaging tests (ultrasound or magnetic resonance imaging) need to be performed by a trained radiologist who is used to identifying the disease, otherwise the problem may go unnoticed, especially in the early stages.

“There is no way to prevent the disease from happening. That’s why it’s so important to reduce this delay in diagnosis. The sooner a woman knows she has the problem and starts treatment, the less risk of the disease increasing and becoming more serious,” said Podgaec.

After diagnosis, treatment to reduce symptoms is usually done using hormones (IUD, pill or injection) and, depending on the extent of the lesions, surgery is necessary to remove this tissue that has grown outside the uterus.

“There is no better or worse treatment. All are very effective and the control is excellent, greatly improving the quality of life of these women. About two-thirds of patients who undergo hormone treatment are fine and 90% of those who undergo surgery are fine as well” , said Podgaec.