Endometriosis - When will medicine and society take the disease seriously? | DW Documentary

190 million women around the world suffer from endometriosis, a chronic disease of the abdomen. For a long time, medicine didn’t take these women’s complaints seriously. But now, the taboo issue is finding a wider audience. Women are breaking their silence.

At the age of 14, Theresia Crone had to go to hospital for the first time with extreme abdominal pain. The pain kept on coming back, because she has endometriosis. Now, she’s battling for greater awareness and recognition of the disease. Priscilla Herbil also didn’t feel listened to. For 20 years, she took medication to endure menstruation.

It takes an average of seven years to get a diagnosis - a long time for women to be left suffering. Their periods are extremely painful, but the pain can also come at any time during the menstrual cycle, sometimes affecting the entire body. This is often accompanied by heavy menstrual bleeding, bowel problems, exhaustion, pain during sex and sometimes problems conceiving. The pain is caused by uterus-like cells that colonize areas outside the uterus, for example the ovaries, intestine or peritoneum.
Priscilla is keen to live a full life despite her endometriosis. This reportage accompanies her as she tackles her symptoms, using nutrition, physiotherapy and massage. She wants to avoid an operation at all costs. Theresia is bringing the subject to the political arena with her initiative "EndEndoSilence”. Following the example set by France, she is demanding a national endometriosis strategy for Germany - and more research funding. After all, it’s still not known what causes the disease.

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