Endometriosis: A Cure Starts With Awareness - WMDT 47 News - Delmarva's Choice

WMDT 47 NEWS - It's a debilitating disease, characterized by excruciating pain. Endometriosis affects millions of women in the U.S., but many of them don't even know they have it. WMDT's Emily Lampa took an in-depth look at this condition, talking to experts, to shed some light on an illness few people feel comfortable talking about.

"I just started being in a lot of pain and I had to leave," explains Emily LaCates, "I was crying and I didn't know what was going on." Like many women, LaCates thought painful menstrual cycles are normal. But experts say they should not be. Now this young mother knows she suffers from a disease with no cure, and she is far from alone.

Endometriosis is a disorder which affects 6 million women in the U.S., 89 million worldwide "The average age they say is 25-35," explains Pamela Fleckenstein, a Certified Registered Nurse Practioner with Womens Wellness at Peninsula Regional Medical Center. "But I see it a lot of times in the teen population."

Even more concerning, this disease can affects girls as young as 9, and the symptoms and pain can carry on past menopause.

Doctors diagnosed LaCates in 2010. Symptoms include severe pain, mostly around the time of menstruation. "I can't get out of bed," the Delmar mother describes her ordeal during each menstrual cycle. "My husband has to literally pick me up and take me to the bathroom and I just can't move out of bed. I'm lucky if the pain meds work."

Fleckenstein says she sees women come into her office with similar symptoms 2-3 times a week. "A lot of them cope with it unnecessarily. A lot of women are missing time from work. Girls are missing time from school. It can be very debilitating," Fleckenstein tells WMDT. "Especially the first couple of days of the cycle." Experts say lower back pain is a huge red flag

"They're not sure what causes endometriosis," Fleckenstein admits, "but something called retrograde menstruation, where instead of the blood coming through the cervix and through the vagina, it backs up into the fallopian tubes, and they think that possibly it might be a reason for endometriosis."

So, how do you diagnose this disease, what are the risk factors, and is it hereditary? WMDT's Emily Lampa answers all this and more in part 2 of this series.

If you have endometriosis and would like to share your story, visit our WMDT 47 News Facebook page and tell us about it.

Also Emily LaCates started an Endometriosis Awareness Facebook page so local women can meet and support other women on the Eastern Shore suffering from Endometriosis.