Health
1News

Endometriosis sufferer hopes new guidelines will spare other women agonising pain

The often over-looked gynaecological disease is one of the most common female health conditions.

An endometriosis sufferer is hoping a set of best practice guidelines, which after decades of lobbying are finally being launched in New Zealand, will improve how the deabilitating disease is diagnosed and managed.

The often-over-looked gynaecological disease, which can cause debilitating pain, is one of the most common female health conditions, affecting one in 10 women in New Zealand.

Azaria Howell was 12 years old when her first period marked the start of monthly agonising pains.

“My pain was incredibly severe; it was to the point where it hurt to walk, It hurt to move, I didn't want to move, I had to stay in bed all day,” says Ms Howell.

She says having to deal with the pain cost her large chunks of her youth.

“The pain would last for around a week each month and a lot of that time I had to miss out on school and activities that I enjoy. It became quite a burden on my life.”

When she went in for private surgery last year, she was told she had endometriosis.

It’s a condition which can cause severe pelvic pain for one in 10 Kiwi women during their reproductive years.

“Eleven working hours per woman, per week this disease costs in absenteeism and lost productivity,” says Ms Howell.

Despite this, the condition is often not fully understood and dismissed as merely period pain and that’s exactly what happened for Azaria Howell.

“I was told it was just normal and it was just something we had to deal with and was just a part of everyday life and might go away, might not. It wasn't serious.”

Julie Anne Genter, Minister for Women, says it’s a condition that has been dismissed by people for years.

“For decades this issue has been overlooked by the medical establishment. It can take years, on average eight years, for women to get a diagnosis and the treatment they need.”

To combat that, a group of world-leading "best practice" guidelines have been released, a document which has been four years in the making.  

For the first time in New Zealand, these guidelines give doctors and other health professionals a set of best practice procedures.

The guidelines have been designed to speed up diagnosing women and to standardise care for endometriosis sufferers.

According to Deborah Bush from Endometriosis New Zealand, it will make a significant difference for those with the condition.

“This will make a huge difference to more than 130,000 women with the disease in this country. It will make a difference to doctors when these young people and women are presenting with symptoms. They'll be able to recognise the symptoms and intervene early.”

Azaria Howell says she is full of praise for the first step. 

"Thank you so much for fighting for me." 

Now she hopes others will be spared the suffering she went through.

SHARE ME

More Stories