Navigating Pharmaceutical Effects

Experiences of Hormonal Medications in Endometriosis

Abstract

Endometriosis is a chronic illness often treated with hormonal products, such as oral contraceptives or hormonal IUDs. As many hormonal products have side effects, and both side effects and effectiveness can be unpredictable, people with endometriosis try to find, often through trial and error, a medication that is tolerable yet effective. Drawing on interview and story data collected in Finland, the article explores how people with endometriosis perceive the multiple effects of hormonal pharmaceuticals and how they make decisions about what medications to try or continue. The article identifies three issues that characterize experiences of living with and managing endometriosis: 1) establishing hormonal contraceptives as key medications while also critiquing the lack of attention paid to side effects; 2) approaching side effects and effectiveness as relational through comparison of treatments; and 3) negotiating the limitations on choice that arise from age, other diagnoses and availability of pharmaceuticals.