Endometriosis · experiences
'That's part of it' is not a diagnosis
Endometriosis teaches many women that they should distrust their own pain, because the environment normalizes it for years. Below are a number of patterns that often recur.
🔒 These are anonymized, composite patterns based on what patient associations, research and healthcare providers broadly report on this subject. They are not quotes from one specific person. As soon as we receive real, consented experiences, we publish them here carefully and with attribution.
Recognisable patterns
What people often experience
At schoolFrom the teenage years
“I was told at the age of 12 that I should not act like that, it was 'just' having my period.”
The GPYears
“I was prescribed the pill for pain, and only years later did I understand that it also suppressed all other signals.”
Desire to have childrenChanging
“When we tried to get pregnant, everything suddenly happened much faster, while I had been living with pain for years.”
After the operationFinally
“The keyhole surgery was the first moment when someone said: here I see it, this is not between your ears.”
🏎 Need immediate help?
In case of immediate danger to yourself or someone else: call 112. Are you in distress or are you thinking about suicide? You can call or chat with 113 Suicide Prevention day and night via 0800-0113. Zorgfuik is not a crisis service and cannot solve acute requests for help, but we think it is important that you know where you can go.