childless,childlessness,barrenness

Episode 59—Endometriosis

Hello everyone!

WELCOME BACK TO 21ST CENTURY HANNAH, WHERE MY MISSION IS TO RECOGNIZE AND SPEAK TO THE BROKEN HEARTS OF CHILDLESS NOT BY CHOICE WOMEN, AND MEN, AROUND THE WORLD.  I AM SPREADING THE GREAT NEWS THAT WE CAN LIVE A JOYFUL AND RELEVANT LIFE REGARDLESS OF THE FACT THAT WE COULD NOT HAVE CHILDREN.

Well, I appreciate your taking the time to listen in once again. Thank you to my repeat listeners. And if you are listening for the first time, I hope you will come back for another visit!

Remember to tell your friends about the show, and feel free to share with your social media followers! I would appreciate that!

Also, if you find value in the content of these podcast episodes, click on the donate button on the website! Donations go toward podcasting equipment and building out the platform to create online courses for women and men who are childless not by choice. I want to create courses that will take my demographic from hopelessness to healing.

Well, today’s episode is all about Endometriosis.

Endometriosis (en-doe-me-tree-O-sis) is an often painful disorder in which tissue that normally lines the inside of your uterus — the endometrium — grows outside your uterus. Endometriosis most commonly involves your ovaries, fallopian tubes, and the tissue lining your pelvis. Rarely, endometrial tissue may spread beyond pelvic organs.

With endometriosis, displaced endometrial tissue continues to act as it normally would — it thickens, breaks down and bleeds with each menstrual cycle. Because this displaced tissue has no way to exit your body, it becomes trapped. When endometriosis involves the ovaries, cysts called endometriomas may form. Surrounding tissue can become irritated, eventually developing scar tissue and adhesions — abnormal bands of fibrous tissue that can cause pelvic tissues and organs to stick to each other.

Endometriosis can cause pain — sometimes severe — especially during your period. Fertility problems also may develop. Surprise: Fortunately, effective treatments are available.  I did not realize that effective treatments were available. I honestly thought there was no effective treatment for Endometriosis.    

Some things that surprised me:

• The severity of your pain isn’t necessarily a reliable indicator of the extent of the condition. Some women with mild endometriosis have intense pain, while others with advanced endometriosis may have little pain or even no pain at all.
• Endometriosis is sometimes mistaken for other conditions that can cause pelvic pain, such as pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) or ovarian cysts. It may be confused with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), a condition that causes bouts of diarrhea, constipation and abdominal cramping. IBS can accompany endometriosis, which can complicate the diagnosis.

It’s really important to get a second opinion especially if you’re just not feeling that the diagnosis is correct. I truly believe, and I have said it before, no one knows your body better than you do. If you are not convinced about a diagnosis, get a second opinion. 

Causes:

Although the exact cause of endometriosis is not certain, possible explanations include:

Retrograde menstruation. 

Transformation of peritoneal cells. 

Embryonic cell transformation. 

Surgical scar implantation. 

Endometrial cells transport. 

Immune system disorder. 

For additional details on each of these causes, see the Mayo Clinic article link in the show notes below.

As I continued my research, I went next to the Hopkins Medicine site, link in the show notes, and found the following risk factors that could cause an increased possibility for a woman to have endometriosis:

Risk Factors of Endometriosis

They say that…

While any woman may develop endometriosis, the following women seem to be at an increased risk for the disease:

• Women who have a first-degree relative (mother, sister, daughter) with the disease
• Women who are giving birth for the first time after age 30
• White women
• Women with an abnormal uterus

Now the following information was of particular interest to me, and I am sure to those who have been diagnosed with Endometriosis:

Relationship of Endometriosis to Infertility:

Endometriosis is considered one of the three major causes of female infertility. According to the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, endometriosis can be found in 24 to 50 percent of women who experience infertility.

In mild to moderate cases, the infertility may be temporary. In these cases, surgery to remove adhesions, cysts and scar tissue can restore fertility. In other cases — a very small percentage — women may remain infertile.

(Hmmmm, kinda sounds like when they told me after one of my first myomectomies, ‘OK, we removed the fibroids, now go out and get pregnant before they grow back.’ Um, OK.

Anyway…

How endometriosis affects fertility is not clearly understood. It is thought that scar tissue from endometriosis can impair the release of the egg from the ovary and subsequent pickup by the fallopian tube. Other mechanisms thought to affect fertility include changes in the pelvic environment that results in impaired implantation of the fertilized egg.

For additional information and ways to ease the pain, visit the link: Hopkins Medicine link below.

Another site you may find helpful is the ACOG, American Congress of Obstetrics and Gynecologists. It’s a site that seems to be regularly updated with educational material and workshops. Check it out!

So I love statistics because they tell a story in numbers. Yes, numbers can be skewed by human mistakes, i.e. mis-count, etc. But numbers, statistics, are the best we have at coming close to perfection.

So, according to additional research:

• Endometriosis can first occur when girls first get their period.
• Endometriosis affects176 million women worldwide, and 1 in 10 girls and women in the US.
• Endometriosis usually causes symptoms during reproductive years (~12-60 years old), however many women and girls are undiagnosed.

The following additional statistics are from the CDC—centers for disease control website:

Because some women might have endometriosis, but do not have symptoms, it is difficult to know exactly how many women have the condition. Current estimates suggest that 6% to 10% of women of reproductive age have endometriosis,1,2 or approximately 5 million women in the United States.

In 2011, the NICHD-led Endometriosis: Natural History, Diagnosis, and Outcomes study found that 11% of a group of women with no symptoms of endometriosis actually had the disorder. If this finding applies to all the women in the United States, the number of American women with endometriosis may well exceed previous estimates of 5 million.

Endometriosis is most common in women in their 30s and 40s,3 but it can affect any female who menstruates.

 Information from the following links were used at least in part for my research: 

http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/endometriosis/home/ovc-20236421

http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/healthlibrary/conditions/gynecological_health/endometriosis_85,P00573/

http://www.acog.org/

https://www.cdc.gov/

https://www.cdc.gov/reproductivehealth/womensrh/healthconcerns.html

http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/healthlibrary/conditions/gynecological_health/endometriosis_85,P00573/

Stories of interest from around the world:  

http://www.graphic.com.gh/news/general-news/don-t-ridicule-childless-women.html

http://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/health-family/what-not-to-say-to-couples-who-don-t-have-children-1.3018634

https://www.rte.ie/entertainment/2017/0325/862542-dawn-oporter/

My contact information:

Website: https://childlessnotbychoice.net and http://www.civillamorgan.com

Facebook: booksbycivillamorgan

Twitter: @civilla1

Instagram: @joyandrelevance

Pinterest: Civilla M. Morgan, MSM

LinkedIn: Civilla Morgan, MSM

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I was honored to be one of several female podcasters recognized by Podcast Movement during their Women’s History Month celebration! copy/paste the link below in your browser for details!     

http://podcastmovement.com/pm-celebrates-womens-history-month-she-podcasts/

“When someone tells you to just forget about it, ask them what they have forgotten.”—Civilla Morgan

Thanks for visiting! Until next time, bye! 

PODCAST—FINAL PODCAST OF THE YEAR—SHOUT OUTS TO MY SPONSORS AND SUPPORTERS, AND…CHILDLESS AT CHRISTMAS:

Hello everyone!

Thank you for visiting another episode of 21st Century Hannah! I appreciate your taking the time to listen in once again. Thank you to my repeat listeners. And if you are listening for the first time, I hope you will come back for another visit!

Remember to tell your friends about the show, and feel free to share to your social media followers! I would appreciate that!

CORRECTION:

I don’t know what I was thinking, but in this episode, I said several times that this was my first ever December episode.  But that was and is, incorrect. I had two episodes in December 2015. What was I thinking?

I don’t know, but whatever it was, it sure threw me for a loop. I still maintain however, that there is something different about this December.  Maybe it is as simple as the fact that I am meeting my stride. I feel much more comfortable now than I did a year ago, so please pardon my error! Thank you!   

Shout out to my sponsors and supporters:

• Morgan Air-conditioning is a sponsor of my show and I am so thankful to them for understanding and being a part of the vision. You may wonder what air conditioning and childlessness have to do with each other. Listen in and find out!

• Alba Digital Media produces my podcast and they created and maintain my website. In fact, they maintain the website I had when I met them, as well as the website they created for my platform. If you need a professional to create your website or videos, please contact them. They also offer maintenance contracts. Check them out!

• Edinburgh Dusters is a cleaning company in Edinburgh, Scotland. But the owner also loves graphic design and assisted quite a bit with graphics in the initial creation of my website. I will always be thankful. If you are listening from the Edinburgh area and need assistance with large and small cleaning needs, contact Edinburgh Dusters.

• Devoted created the theme music for my podcast. I had so many songs to choose from, but kept coming back to the song you hear on my podcast. If you have any music needs, please contact Devoted!

Childless at Christmas:

• It’s Christmas and we do not have children of our own. That means if we are buying gifts, we are buying for OPK’s—other people’s kids. Nothing wrong with that of course. I give to local charitable organizations as well as to international organizations on a regular basis.

• I believe we should help when and where we can, while maintaining healthy boundaries. There is nothing wrong with babysitting, giving, helping. But remember, we should never allow our lives and schedules to be dismissed because we are childless. We should have a life of our own, and not live the life of a friend or family member.

• Remember, creating our own life, our own schedule, can be daunting. Some personalities do not want to be lonely. And they think that is what will happen if they set out to create their own life. But just about everything we do in life is at a risk. And life is short. I never want to sit down at 90 and wonder ‘what if?’

• As we end 2016 and head into a new year, remember new years are more than new year’s resolutions. New years are a chance to continue in good habits, and to create new good habits. New spiritually, physically, and emotionally good habits. So, hang in there. Be strong. Seek assistance when you need to, and continue to be your beautiful you!

• By the way, the candy cane wreath I mentioned in the episode, I found on Pinterest. I pinned it onto my ‘Christmas’ page if you want to check it out.

• I also have a page called ‘Childlessness. 21st Century Hannah, my platform, my message’. I’ve pinned a lot of wonderful and encouraging posts on that page. I won’t tell you the number of total pins I have. It’s shameful!  But most of them were pinned while I was on the treadmill. 

Well…

BEST WISHES FOR A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS, HAPPY HOLIDAYS, AND A WONDERFUL 2017!!!      

Don’t forget to look below for my sponsors and supporters contact information, and below that, my contact information! 

Contact information for sponsors and supporters:

https://www.morganair.net/

https://albadigitalmedia.com/fully-responsive-web-design/

http://www.edinburghdusters.co.uk/

devotedministries@gmail.com

My contact information:

Website: https://childlessnotbychoice.net and

http://www.civillamorgan.com

Facebook: booksbycivillamorgan

Twitter: @civilla1

Instagram: @civilla1

Pinterest: Civilla M. Morgan, MSM

LinkedIn: Civilla Morgan, MSM

Until next time! Bye!