<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?> <docID>341390</docID> <postdate>2025-03-29 11:45:15</postdate> <headline>‘Life-changing’ treatment for condition plaguing women</headline> <body><p><img class="size-full wp-image-341391" src="https://citynews.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/20250328131737909822-original-resized.jpg" alt="" width="900" height="600" /></p> <caption>Gynaecologist Albert Jung treats women with injections to alleviate endometriosis-related pain. (Jono Searle/AAP PHOTOS)</caption> <p><span class="kicker-line">By <strong>Maeve Bannister</strong></span></p> <p><strong>For 15 years, Katrina Moore experienced debilitating pain that at times left her unable to walk but was dismissed by doctors as being a symptom of stress.</strong></p> <p>The actual cause was endometriosis, a condition that affects more than one million Australian women and girls.</p> <p>Endometriosis is a disease where tissue similar to the lining of the uterus grows outside it, causing severe pain in the pelvis, bowel and bladder. It can also cause infertility.</p> <p>Ms Moore, 47, was not medically diagnosed with endometriosis until she turned 40, despite years of seeking help for pain, fatigue and infertility.</p> <p>"In many ways I feel I was medically gaslit and learned how you really need to advocate for yourself," she told AAP.</p> <p>"Women's pain historically just hasn't been taken seriously."</p> <p>Ms Moore underwent a laparoscopy in 2021, followed by a hysterectomy a year later.</p> <p>But at the beginning of 2025 she tried a new treatment, usually associated with banishing wrinkles: botox.</p> <p>Having used botox to treat a temporomandibular disorder - which causes pain and compromised movement of the jaw - Ms Moore wondered if injections to her pelvic floor would have a similar effect.</p> <p>"I did some research and realised my gynaecologist actually offered these injections, but at first my pelvic floor physio wasn't sure about it because it's quite a new treatment," she said.</p> <p>Deciding to bite the bullet and try the injections, Ms Moore said the difference had been life-changing.</p> <p>"I've gone from having 24/7 pain to just a couple of days a month which is far more tolerable, plus I'm not taking anywhere near as much pain medication and can do far more pelvic physio," she said.</p> <p>"This isn't a magic bullet and it's not that I don't have symptoms anymore, but I can go to bed at night now and actually sleep whereas before I needed a stack of painkillers and a hot water bottle."</p> <p>Albert Jung is a leading gynaecologist at Brisbane's Mater Private Hospital who treated Ms Moore.</p> <p>He has treated 40 women with the injections to alleviate endometriosis-related pain.</p> <p>Mater patients are injected with Dysport, a brand similar to but cheaper than Botox.</p> <p>Both contain botulinum toxin, a neurotoxin that temporarily paralyses muscles and helps ease pain.</p> <p>"This is a fairly new technique, first prescribed about 10 years ago but there is data that goes back about 20 years," Dr Jung said.</p> <p>"The evidence is there to suggest that this does help women with persistent pelvic pain and the treatment can last about six months."</p> <p>The injection is placed into the groin to help mechanically relax and temporarily paralyse the muscles which have contracted due to the pain.</p> <p>"Patients with persistent pelvic pain, which can be secondary to endometriosis, will often have overactive pelvic floor muscles," Dr Jung said.</p> <p>"It is a relatively low-risk procedure and has a much better outcome than repeat laparoscopies. The treatment can be very effective in some patients."</p> <p>Injections needed to work hand-in-hand with ongoing pelvic physio for maximum effectiveness, Dr Jung added.</p> <p>In December the Albanese government announced a plan to subsidise a treatment for the disease which had previously left patients roughly $750 out of pocket every year.</p> <p>The announcement was part of a more than $107 million investment to support Australians with endometriosis, covering research, intervention and treatment.</p> <p>The fact that governments were finally acknowledging the huge costs of the disease to individuals was significant, Ms Moore said.</p> <p>"I've spent six figures in the last seven years for medical treatment, ongoing physio and operations," she said.</p> <p>"I was $500 out of pocket for the botox which is relatively affordable compared to other treatments and also far less invasive."</p> </body>