Aaron Hartman, MDFunctional Medicine Specialist | Clinical Researcher

Endometriosis Affects 190 Million Women — The Average Diagnosis Takes 7 to 10 Years #shorts

30 Jul 2026 · 2 min

Watch on YouTube

1:39

In this YouTube short, Dr. Aaron Hartman, MD, highlights the massive global burden of endometriosis, affecting roughly 190 million women (about 10 % of reproductive‑age females). He emphasizes that the condition is often missed, with patients waiting 7–10 years—and seeing up to eight different doctors—before receiving a correct diagnosis. The video describes the typical symptoms (pain, hormonal imbalance, infertility, anemia) and explains that endometriosis has an autoimmune component linked to gut inflammation and environmental toxins. Dr. Hartman calls out the systemic “gaslighting” women experience—being dismissed with over‑the‑counter pain relievers—while urging both providers to recognize the disease and patients to share their stories for mutual support.

Chapters

Sometimes it takes a decade to find out. Anywhere from 7 to 10 years. The periods aren't supposed to hurt, but yet they do. Your hormones aren't supposed to feel like they're off, but they are. You've been told to take ibuprofen, Midol, anti-inflammatories, pain relief, because it's just that time of the month. What am I talking about? I'm talking about endometriosis. This is a common condition that lots of young women suffer with. And in middle age, that can result in infertility, anemia, chronic pain. It has an autoimmune component to it. And yet women have been overlooked, gaslit, told it's all in their head. I mean, basically told to take, you know, 2 aspirin, call me in the morning, kind of, sort of. So let's talk about endometriosis briefly. There's about 190 million women worldwide that actually are suffering with this, or about 10% of women in the reproductive age. This is really common. If you're a provider listening to this right now, you're not seeing this on a daily basis, You're not looking hard enough. Yet the average time to diagnosis is anywhere from 7 to 10 years. We see this commonly in the functional medicine world, and people with endometriosis usually have seen 8 different doctors. This is something that's commonly known in the medical world, yet commonly overlooked, and one of the many examples of blind spots from healthcare system. And the result is that patients get gaslit, told there's nothing wrong with them. Take 2 aspirin, come in the morning, or Mondol, or whatever the current anti-inflammatory is. And they're not treated appropriately. And the reality is it can be treated. It's an autoimmune spectrum disorder and a lot of it results with gut inflammation and environmental toxins. If you're a young, a young female who's had hormonal issues, who's had fertility issues, been gaslit and later found out is endometriosis, I'd love to hear your story below. Share and let's help each other together.