Health news blog

Dr Obama had the occasion to treat a woman suffering from abortion-related endometriosis just recently. As much as he thought Mariska’s story vivid and unique, she could be any other woman vulnerable to this disease.

Mariska came to see him soon after discovering a lump in a small abdominal scar above her pubic bone. The lump wasn’t causing bet any pain, she said, although she’d been feeling uncharacteristically tired early in the day, and her menstrual cramps were getting worse. When Dr Obama took her medical history, he was surprised to hear that she had defected from Czechoslovakia with a friend five years before. She had been living in America for most of the time since defecting.

Mariska had been an idealistic nineteen-year-old Olympic ski-team hopeful when she was soundly blamed for “getting herself pregnant,” then telling no one until she was three months along. The facts were a lot kinder than the wrath of her parents, her coach, and the team doctor; for she had no idea that she was going to have a baby.

Mariska, a strong downhill skier, had been training intensively since she was twelve years old. “I was physically at my peak of strength and flexibility,” she said, “and I was told not to worry if my periods came irregularly.” This is a common occurrence among many women in dance and sports. One side effect of the committed athlete is lowered estrogen levels, which can stop menstruation or significantly lighten menstrual flow. For Mariska these hormonal changes were brought on by a low-fat diet, supplemented with a plentiful dosage of what she was told were “muscle-enhancing amino acids,” along with a strenuous daily exercise regime. That she missed four consecutive periods therefore didn’t alarm her even though she had been having a sexual relationship for the first time. What she did find worrisome was the sudden bloating. That prompted her visit to the team doctor, who told her his findings.

Although she was against abortion for herself, Mariska was told to terminate the pregnancy. If she chose to keep the baby, all her training would be in vain—pregnant downhill skiers do not compete—and she’d upset team morale. Believing in the “infallibility of those who cared for me,” Mariska agreed to a hysterotomy, following surgery, she recovered quickly and competed in the Olympic Games.

Dr Obama examined her six years after these events. He strongly suspected endometriosis, and this was doubly confirmed by laparoscope. The disease had sprayed from the point of incision on her uterus to the scar on her abdomen. The endometriosis had also wrapped itself thickly around the fallopian tubes—not a good indicator for any woman who still wants children. He recommended treatment with Danocrine for six months and did exploratory surgery to remove as much endometriosis as was visible. It remains to be seen whether Mariska will be able to conceive.

Abortion by hysterotomy is rare now; doctors prefer other techniques that do not require uterine surgery.

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This is a superficial infection of the skin caused by the fungus Molossezia furfur. The disease is confined to man, is most common in the tropics and sub-tropical areas, and mainly affects fit young people of both sexes. In Australia it appears to be more common among the Aboriginal population and people of Mediterranean origin.

The fungus is probably present on the skin for many months or years, but under appropriate climatic or local skin conditions it begins to multiply. The disease appears to be on the increase, possibly because of the popularity of travel to areas where the fungus is more prevalent. It is easily diagnosed, when suspected, by the sighting of bright yellow fluorescence of the affected

skin under the Wood’s lamp. Direct examination under the microscope will confirm the diagnosis. The response to various applications is good although recurrences are common. Initially, 20 per cent sodium thiosulphate in water, or 2-5 per cent selenium sulphide lotion, should be tried. Alternatively tolnaftate or miconazole creams may be used. Griseofulvin is ineffective in the treatment of this disorder.

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The many processes of hunger and appetite regulation have been brought together in the form of the ’satiety cascade’. The schematic representation of the eating process provides us with a means of linking the above factors to provide more information about how hunger and appetite work together to regulate eating behaviour.

While this cascade emphasises the physical factors, the psychosocial factors also help to determine both the size of the meal (satiation) and the length of time before we next eat (satiety).

The stages involved in satiation and early and late satiety have been described as sensory, cognitive, postingestive and postabsorp-tive. In real life, these stages will overlap and their effects can combine to affect eating behaviour.

Sensory effects—are stimulated by the flavour of food. We are not sure how different people react to different sensory factors, but we do know that taste is a stronger predictor of energy consumed from foods than their perceived ‘fillingness’. Fast food manufacturers seek to create a ‘bliss point’ where their foods have maximum sensory desirability.

Emotional and cognitive effects—are the eater’s feelings and knowledge about the properties and effects of food Men and women may react differently, for example, in reaction to stress.

Women are perhaps more likely to react with increased appetite, whereas men may decrease their food intake.

Postingestive effects—reflect gastrointestinal signals, i.e. how full the stomach gets, how quickly it empties, the release of hormones to signal ‘fullness’ and the stimulation of physiochemically specific receptors along the gastrointestinal tract.

Postabsorptive effects—include nutrient, hormonal and metabolic signals, plus the possible effects of these on neurotransmitter function. This feedback mechanism probably gives the brain information on the body’s energy stores.

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Ask your doctor for information — if she or he has not got any ask her or him to get some for you.

Look for relevant books in the library.

Go to a good bookshop that specialises in health topics.

Contact your nearest Endometriosis Association. They will have heaps of pamphlets you can read and will give you advice if required.

Avoid feeling isolated

Talk to your doctor about any concerns that you have.

Don’t push your parents away — give them the information to read and tell them how you feel.

Explain your disease to your friends.

You may even want your teachers to know about endometriosis.

Talk to other young people who have endometriosis so you can gain mutual support by contacting your nearest Endometriosis Association.

Don’t bottle up your feelings

If you are angry get it out of your system — it’s OK to shut yourself in a room and yell or hit a punching bag. Try not to let the pain overpower you

Don’t take too many painkillers.

Try blotting out the pain by imagining yourself enjoying life without pain.

Resist making endometriosis an excuse for something you do not want to do. But if you are genuinely not well, don’t hesitate to explain why you cannot do it.

When you are feeling well — go for it — enjoy life!

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A repeat laparoscopy, also sometimes known as a second-look laparoscopy, is performed some time after a diagnostic laparoscopy in order to monitor the progression of your endometriosis. It is most commonly performed for one of the following reasons:

Following a course of hormonal treatment

Continued infertility following surgery

Recurrence of symptoms

Persistence of symptoms following an apparently normal laparoscopy.

Following hormonal treatment

A repeat laparoscopy at the end of a course of hormonal treatment enables your gynaecologist to see exactly how effectively the treatment has eradicated your endometriosis. The location and size of your implants and cysts can be charted and compared to the chart that was made during the laparoscopy performed before your hormonal treatment began.

If the repeat laparoscopy showed that the treatment had eradicated your endometriosis then nothing further needs to be done for the time being. If it showed that the treatment had only been partially effective then it might be worthwhile considering a continuation of the same treatment. If it showed that the treatment had been ineffective you will need to consider some other form of treatment.

Infertility

If you have had surgery in order to improve your chances of conceiving, a repeat laparoscopy may be recommended if you have not conceived within six to twelve months of the surgery. In thus situation the laparoscopy will be performed to determine whether or not any adhesions have developed that may be reducing your chances of pregnancy.

Recurrence

A repeat laparoscopy is advisable if you have a recurrence of your symptoms following a period of remission, particularly if you are contemplating any treatment. You really need to know that the symptoms are due to endometriosis and not some other condition. In addition, it is advisable not to undertake any hormonal treatment unless you know that you definitely have endometriosis.

Normal laparoscopy

A repeat laparoscopy may be advisable if you have had a persistence or worsening of symptoms that may be due to endometriosis, despite the fact that you have previously had an apparently normal diagnostic laparoscopy. It is now recognised that, in the past, a proportion of women with endometriosis were incorrectly diagnosed as not having endometriosis because their gynaecologists did not recognise their atypical implants or because they had microscopic endometriosis.

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