TRANSCRIPT
Menstruation can be disruptive for many, but for some women it can be crippling.
"I'd get out the door and I would flood to the point where I'd have to come back and change again. And I'd literally just sit down and cry and think, 'I can't do this anymore' Because it was ruining every aspect of my life."
Sixty-year-old Michelle Watts is recounting a ski trip - one of many occasions where she bled through layers of clothing.
Michelle suffered from heavy menstrual bleeding for 18 months from 2021, which the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Healthcare defines as excessive menstrual blood loss that interferes with a woman's quality of life.
"I was about as sad as I could ever be because everything was, everything was impossible to do in my eyes by the end. I couldn't go swimming with my friends anymore, swimming became challenging, going to the gym became challenging. All those things that I loved to do, I just couldn't do."
After many failed treatments, Michelle finally underwent a uterectomy, traditionally known as a hysterectomy.
But the original terminology for this procedure is causing concern among some specialists, due to its links to the Greek word 'hysteria'.
Dr Talat Uppal is a Gynaecologist and Director at Women's Health Road - and is in the process of changing the language.
"It was really thought to explain a lot of the concerns women might have had.... both on the emotional and physical front, which was actually not factual and not found to be correct."
One in four people who menstruate suffer from heavy menstrual bleeding, and two thirds of those experience iron deficiency.
Yet less than half of women suffering from the condition visit a doctor.
"Traditionally or historically women have been left out of research. And sometimes even the animals in the labs were male animals. And so this is a long historical background of disadvantage of not including women. And we really want to change that narrative when it comes to heavy bleeding."
Dr Uppal welcomes a number of measures in the government's multi-million dollar investment in women's health, but would like to see more attention given to this issue.
"I think it's just part of that silence around heavy menstrual bleeding... and I don't think it's deliberate, I feel it's just a culture where it's not front of mind."
Michelle believes a lack of awareness is why she struggled to receive adequate care for months.
"It's just been so normalised....and I don't think it should be, I don't think it's normal. And it's really hard to get any information because it's just taken as 'well you're a woman, this is what happens."
She can't imagine what her life would have looked like without undergoing the procedure, now relishing the active lifestyle she was forced to sacrifice.
"My ability to participate in skiing, running, swimming... all of the things that I wanted to enjoy, that's all possible again, I never have to worry about that ever again, it's like an absolute new lease of life."
It's part of an international effort to make medical language more accurate.
Helping lead the change is the CSIRO, who are responsible for updating global standards for clinical terminology.
Katrina Ebril is the Interoperability Lead with the Australian e-Health research centre at the CSIRO, and says this change is a first when it comes to women's bodies.
"It's definitely time to change... and we do this for other procedures. And it is a uterectomy, let's call it what it is, and start to use that much more positive language and much more language that aligns to what the actual procedure is."
For women like Michelle, removing taboos around menstruation is key to making treatment more accessible, and encouraging others to seek help.
For more stories like this one, follow - an SBS news podcast series exploring medical misogyny and discrimination in our health system.
