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roseandisabella's review against another edition
5.0
-"Because endometriosis is not a household name like cancer or diabetes, and because doctors /i/ still /i/ aren't required to learn about it in medical school, it takes an average of twelve years to diagnosis.
-1 in 10 people with a uterus have it
-Endometriosis is when tissue grows outside of the uterus
-combine that with normal menstrual blood and you get inflammation and pain
-the endometrial tissue grows from the fluctuations of estrogen and progesterone that you experience throughout the month, so it continues to spread out. Can spread and cling to the "appendix, rectum, ovaries, leg nerves, outside of the uterus, and in some rare cases the diaphragm, lungs, kidneys, or brain." All of this extra tissue can lead to "adhesions, scarring, internal bleeding, bowel or urinary dysfunction, constipation, painful intercourse, and infertility." Not to mention the mental strain of having a chronic health condition.
-Great accounts from people with endo
-As your uterus contracts to expel that tissue, it causes cramps, a normal symptom of having your period. (paragraph break) But there is a /i/ huge /i/ difference between cramps and abnormal, crippling pain." (paragraph break) It's normal for most girls having their periods to feel cramps and some discomfort. It's not normal when that pain has you doubled over to the point that you can't get out of bed or walk. It's not normal when the pain is so intense that you are vomiting or it hurts to have a bowel movement. It's not normal when you can't go to school or work because you can physically cannot get there and function. This is when adults need to listen to you and believe you. Telling you to "suck it up" or that "it's part of womanhood" is insulting and scientifically incorrect. It's why many girls with this disease seek isolation and try to suppress their pain. If you have endo, an extended delay in addressing your pain could allow the disease to grow and spread throughout your body. That could lead to more complications as you get older, including infertility."
-"/i/ Maybe I'm as weak as they say I am, /i/ I wondered. /i/ Maybe I'm exaggerating. /i/ What happens to so many girls with this disease was happening to me: I was beginning to believe others and doubt my reality."
-quote from one of the accounts
-"Aside from painful periods, symptoms of endo that you may experience may include abdominal queasiness, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, heavy bleeding, killer cramps, painful sex, painful bowel movements, neuropathy, miscarriages, infertility, and fatigue."
-IBS is a common misdiagnosis
-Canker sores - symptom?
-www.endofound.org - "Personal Pain Profile: Daily Symptom Tracker"
-the importance of knowing your family history
-laproscopic deep-excision surgery is the gold standard of treatment
-LASER SURGERY NOT RECOMMENDED
-Cautery and ablation
-Tip of the iceberg problem solving, can cause painful scar tissue
-health education is ESSENTIAL for early diagnosis and treatment
-"And when they tell a fifth-grade girl that cramping during her period is a normal part of her period, that's fine, but they also need to explain that there is a threshold; too much pain is not normal. Though they probably don't know to tell her that because they have no idea what endo is or what it can do to a girl. And they don't know that because nobody will talk about a girl's period like they should. It's a vicious cycle that has to stop."
-patient account
-"The pill will not make your endo disappear or stop it from spreading. What it can do is shrink an ovarian cyst or slow down the endo's growth process (because the pill would reduce the amount of estrogen produced in your body.)"
-Doesn't really address the root problem
-Helps w pain though
-Steps for determining if you have endo: clinical exam, sonogram or MRI, inspect tissue under microscope
-Opioid addiction and doctor's role in it in regards to endo treatment
-overprescribing to cover up pain
-Avoid Lupron which is a drug to put you into early menopause (and stop your period)
-1 in 10 people with a uterus have it
-Endometriosis is when tissue grows outside of the uterus
-combine that with normal menstrual blood and you get inflammation and pain
-the endometrial tissue grows from the fluctuations of estrogen and progesterone that you experience throughout the month, so it continues to spread out. Can spread and cling to the "appendix, rectum, ovaries, leg nerves, outside of the uterus, and in some rare cases the diaphragm, lungs, kidneys, or brain." All of this extra tissue can lead to "adhesions, scarring, internal bleeding, bowel or urinary dysfunction, constipation, painful intercourse, and infertility." Not to mention the mental strain of having a chronic health condition.
-Great accounts from people with endo
-As your uterus contracts to expel that tissue, it causes cramps, a normal symptom of having your period. (paragraph break) But there is a /i/ huge /i/ difference between cramps and abnormal, crippling pain." (paragraph break) It's normal for most girls having their periods to feel cramps and some discomfort. It's not normal when that pain has you doubled over to the point that you can't get out of bed or walk. It's not normal when the pain is so intense that you are vomiting or it hurts to have a bowel movement. It's not normal when you can't go to school or work because you can physically cannot get there and function. This is when adults need to listen to you and believe you. Telling you to "suck it up" or that "it's part of womanhood" is insulting and scientifically incorrect. It's why many girls with this disease seek isolation and try to suppress their pain. If you have endo, an extended delay in addressing your pain could allow the disease to grow and spread throughout your body. That could lead to more complications as you get older, including infertility."
-"/i/ Maybe I'm as weak as they say I am, /i/ I wondered. /i/ Maybe I'm exaggerating. /i/ What happens to so many girls with this disease was happening to me: I was beginning to believe others and doubt my reality."
-quote from one of the accounts
-"Aside from painful periods, symptoms of endo that you may experience may include abdominal queasiness, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, heavy bleeding, killer cramps, painful sex, painful bowel movements, neuropathy, miscarriages, infertility, and fatigue."
-IBS is a common misdiagnosis
-Canker sores - symptom?
-www.endofound.org - "Personal Pain Profile: Daily Symptom Tracker"
-the importance of knowing your family history
-laproscopic deep-excision surgery is the gold standard of treatment
-LASER SURGERY NOT RECOMMENDED
-Cautery and ablation
-Tip of the iceberg problem solving, can cause painful scar tissue
-health education is ESSENTIAL for early diagnosis and treatment
-"And when they tell a fifth-grade girl that cramping during her period is a normal part of her period, that's fine, but they also need to explain that there is a threshold; too much pain is not normal. Though they probably don't know to tell her that because they have no idea what endo is or what it can do to a girl. And they don't know that because nobody will talk about a girl's period like they should. It's a vicious cycle that has to stop."
-patient account
-"The pill will not make your endo disappear or stop it from spreading. What it can do is shrink an ovarian cyst or slow down the endo's growth process (because the pill would reduce the amount of estrogen produced in your body.)"
-Doesn't really address the root problem
-Helps w pain though
-Steps for determining if you have endo: clinical exam, sonogram or MRI, inspect tissue under microscope
-Opioid addiction and doctor's role in it in regards to endo treatment
-overprescribing to cover up pain
-Avoid Lupron which is a drug to put you into early menopause (and stop your period)
kmburba's review against another edition
2.0
Cons- contains misinformation about what the disease is and how it is caused. The author (a doctor) include too much of her own opinion in the book rather than peer reviewed information. No evidence exists that doctors can agree on about the cause of endometriosis. While she states it is her opinion that retrograde menstruation causes endo, that is not a fact. However, readers may think it is. This book will be in the hands of folks who are just learning about the disease and they deserve an honest preview of all the possible causes of endo that exist, not one doctors belief (without any sources to back her up listed in the book). This book also states endometriosis is only found in women/girls, which is false and excludes a large population of people with endo who are not women.
Pros- only reason this book gets two stars is because the honest stories of folks who have had endo. I wish I had these stories when I was young, maybe I wouldn’t not have felt so alone. I resonated with so many of their stories. I also appreciate the author highlighting that excision laparoscopy surgery is the gold standard. The section at the end about how different people in a persons life can support people with endometriosis is touching and important.
Pros- only reason this book gets two stars is because the honest stories of folks who have had endo. I wish I had these stories when I was young, maybe I wouldn’t not have felt so alone. I resonated with so many of their stories. I also appreciate the author highlighting that excision laparoscopy surgery is the gold standard. The section at the end about how different people in a persons life can support people with endometriosis is touching and important.
katstacksbooks's review against another edition
4.0
Very informative - geared toward a younger demographic but still helpful information to all.
mancolepig's review against another edition
4.0
Endometriosis: A Guide for Girls is a slim volume packed with information and first-hand accounts about endometriosis (or endo for short), all geared towards a teen audience. I picked it up because my partner is 99% certain she has the disease, and when I saw it on the shelf I figured it might be helpful for her. Turns out, it was much more helpful for me. Beyond learning about the disease, its symptoms and treatments, I learned so much more about women’s health and our culture towards it than maybe any other book I have ever read. Let me try to explain why.
I said my partner is “99% certain” she has endo because she has never been officially diagnosed. This is for two reasons. First, endo is a disease characterized by endometrium-like tissue that is present outside of a person’s uterine cavity (Normally this tissue only lines the interior the uterine cavity). This tissue initiates an inflammatory process within the body where the body’s immune system will try to fight this tissue that isn’t where it is supposed to be. The result of the battle between the immune system and the endometrium-like tissue results in inflammation, scar tissue, and excruciating pain for the person infected (4-6). I explain all this because that resulting scar tissue is the only evidence that someone might have endometriosis. And that scar tissue can only be confirmed as endo tissue if it is removed via surgery and sent to a lab for analysis. Endo cannot be diagnosed through cat scans, x-rays, or a simple explanation of symptoms.
And those symptoms are brutal. Debilitating pain, digestive and bowel issues, painful and nausea-inducing periods are just a few of the personal hells people with endo often go through, yet these symptoms are not usually enough to convince a doctor. The second reason my partner has not been diagnosed, and the reason many people have not been diagnosed, is because when they tell professionals that they think they have endo, they simply aren’t believed.
Endo is a disease that affects 10% of women in the United States (36). If my math is correct that’s over 16 million people, and yet it is probably one of the most misdiagnosed diseases in the country, if not the world. “Because endometriosis is not a household name like cancer or diabetes, and because doctors still aren’t required to learn about it in medical school, it takes an average of twelve years to diagnose” (xv). A debilitating disease that affects 10% of women is not a medical school requirement, not even for gynecologists! (31) So when people discuss these horrible symptoms with their doctors, those doctors will diagnose just about every condition other than endo, give them treatment for every condition other than endo, and as a result the pain continues. But it goes beyond that.
The book has first-hand accounts from women and teens talking about how their teachers and parents and even their friends didn’t believe them when they said they were in pain. They were told to toughen up, told that painful periods were just part of being a woman, or told to just shut up about such a taboo subject. It boggles my mind that in 2020 (the book was published just last year) women’s health issues are so unfitting to discuss that doctors aren’t even required to learn about them. I’m sure for any woman reading this it isn’t mind-boggling at all. This is just one example of how America is still mentally stuck in the 50s.
If you know anyone who has endo, I highly recommend this book. Beyond information about endo itself, it addresses parents, teachers, partners, and friends of people with endo. It talks about what you should know and how you can help. Even if you don’t know someone with this awful disease I still recommend it (especially if you’re a doctor). Awareness of endo is the first step towards helping the people most affected by it.
I said my partner is “99% certain” she has endo because she has never been officially diagnosed. This is for two reasons. First, endo is a disease characterized by endometrium-like tissue that is present outside of a person’s uterine cavity (Normally this tissue only lines the interior the uterine cavity). This tissue initiates an inflammatory process within the body where the body’s immune system will try to fight this tissue that isn’t where it is supposed to be. The result of the battle between the immune system and the endometrium-like tissue results in inflammation, scar tissue, and excruciating pain for the person infected (4-6). I explain all this because that resulting scar tissue is the only evidence that someone might have endometriosis. And that scar tissue can only be confirmed as endo tissue if it is removed via surgery and sent to a lab for analysis. Endo cannot be diagnosed through cat scans, x-rays, or a simple explanation of symptoms.
And those symptoms are brutal. Debilitating pain, digestive and bowel issues, painful and nausea-inducing periods are just a few of the personal hells people with endo often go through, yet these symptoms are not usually enough to convince a doctor. The second reason my partner has not been diagnosed, and the reason many people have not been diagnosed, is because when they tell professionals that they think they have endo, they simply aren’t believed.
Endo is a disease that affects 10% of women in the United States (36). If my math is correct that’s over 16 million people, and yet it is probably one of the most misdiagnosed diseases in the country, if not the world. “Because endometriosis is not a household name like cancer or diabetes, and because doctors still aren’t required to learn about it in medical school, it takes an average of twelve years to diagnose” (xv). A debilitating disease that affects 10% of women is not a medical school requirement, not even for gynecologists! (31) So when people discuss these horrible symptoms with their doctors, those doctors will diagnose just about every condition other than endo, give them treatment for every condition other than endo, and as a result the pain continues. But it goes beyond that.
The book has first-hand accounts from women and teens talking about how their teachers and parents and even their friends didn’t believe them when they said they were in pain. They were told to toughen up, told that painful periods were just part of being a woman, or told to just shut up about such a taboo subject. It boggles my mind that in 2020 (the book was published just last year) women’s health issues are so unfitting to discuss that doctors aren’t even required to learn about them. I’m sure for any woman reading this it isn’t mind-boggling at all. This is just one example of how America is still mentally stuck in the 50s.
If you know anyone who has endo, I highly recommend this book. Beyond information about endo itself, it addresses parents, teachers, partners, and friends of people with endo. It talks about what you should know and how you can help. Even if you don’t know someone with this awful disease I still recommend it (especially if you’re a doctor). Awareness of endo is the first step towards helping the people most affected by it.
lenabrary's review
challenging
informative
medium-paced
3.0
Fairly good book - gives information on endometriosis in a very easy to understand way, backed up by personal stories from people who have been diagnosed with endo. One thing that bothered me throughout it is how cis it is - no mention by the author about trans men or non-binary people also suffering from endo. As an information giving book, it is good; not sure if I would recommend to all teens, seeing as this book is very cis-sexist.
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