Amy Schumer calls endometriosis a ‘lonely disease’ for women

“I’ve been in a lot ache, , my complete life — not simply the week of my interval,” she mentioned.

“For months, I had been complaining of ache. It was simply this ache you may’t see, and there may be the inclination to all the time suppose a lady is simply being dramatic,” she added.

Endometriosis is a power illness during which tissue just like the liner of the uterus grows outdoors the uterus, akin to on the fallopian tubes, or within the bowels or bladder. It may possibly trigger “extreme, life-impacting ache” and might result in infertility, according to the World Well being Group. It afflicts about 10 p.c of reproductive-age ladies and women globally.

In the US, greater than 6.5 million ladies have endometriosis, according to the Workplace on Ladies’s Well being, a authorities well being company. It’s most typical in ladies of their 30s and 40s. Signs embody bleeding, power pelvic ache, nausea and fatigue, and ache in periods, sexual activity, bowel actions and urination.

The illness is usually misdiagnosed due to its variable signs and since in lots of nations “healthcare suppliers should not conscious that distressing and life-altering pelvic ache is just not regular,” the World Well being Group mentioned.

Ladies have beforehand told The Washington Submit they struggled to make medical doctors take their ache severely or get an accurate diagnosis, whereas the Endometriosis Basis of America says extra must be finished to extend recognition of the illness.

“It simply hurts, and it’s actually only a lonely, lonely illness,” mentioned Schumer.

She added that she experiences only one “good week a month” when she is just not in “fairly important ache.” Regardless of this, the award-winning actress and comic mentioned she nonetheless tries to “obtain” and “undergo life.”

Endometriosis has no treatment, and remedy is often based mostly on assuaging its signs.

Final 12 months, Schumer told her followers in a video posted on Instagram that she had her appendix and uterus eliminated because of the situation. Society can usually be dismissive or “paint ladies as weak” in the event that they complain about ache, she added.

More women than men suffer strokes, but many don’t realize the risk

“We’ve been advised for therefore lengthy that we’re annoying and dramatic and all these items, and we’re not,” she mentioned. “My ache is actual, your ache is actual — we now have to advocate for ourselves.” She has additionally lamented that there was no more funding or analysis going into discovering a treatment for the power illness.

Schumer, who is expounded to Senate Majority Chief Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.), mentioned within the newest clip that she felt like a “new particular person” after having surgical procedure and was feeling higher “straight away.”

“Many ladies with endometriosis get pregnant. However, chances are you’ll discover it tougher to get pregnant,” advises the Workplace on Ladies’s Well being. Schumer gave delivery to a son in 2019 and documented her experiences in a present referred to as “Expecting Amy.”