Aaron Hartman, MDFunctional Medicine Specialist | Clinical Researcher

In 2020, 75% of Women With Endometriosis Were Told Their Pain Was Normal #shorts

4 Aug 2026 · 2 min

Watch on YouTube

1:32

In this YouTube short, Dr. Aaron Hartman highlights the widespread misdiagnosis of endometriosis, noting that in 2020, 75% of women with the condition were told their pain was normal and half were offered only birth control, NSAIDs, or surgery without proper evaluation. He explains that endometriosis is a common autoimmune‑related disorder affecting about 190 million women worldwide (≈10% of reproductive‑age females), causing pain, heavy periods, painful cycles, and infertility. Hartman frames the condition as a blind spot in healthcare where women’s symptoms are often dismissed as “normal female stuff,” leading to chronic pain, infertility, and broader inflammatory issues. He urges viewers, especially young women who have been gaslit, to educate themselves, self‑advocate, and use the resources (website, reading list, blogs) he provides. He invites personal stories and encourages sharing the video to combat medical gaslighting.

Chapters

In 2020, 75% of women were told, this is normal pain for you. And 50% were offered birth control pills, an anti-inflammatory, or even potential surgery to figure out what was going on. What could I possibly be talking about? Endometriosis. This is a common female autoimmune spectrum disorder that results in abnormality growth of the endometrium in places it's not supposed to be that can result in pain, heavy periods, painful cycles, infertility. How many of you all have friends who deal with any of these? Well, it's actually really quite common. About 190 million women worldwide suffer with this, or about 10% of women of reproductive age. So why am I talking about this? Because this is a blind spot. This is a place in our healthcare world that we overlook people, mainly women. They've been told nothing's wrong with them. It's all in their head. It's just normal, you know, female stuff. Yet it can lead to infertility, chronic pain syndromes, and ultimately, because it is our gut, immune inflammatory condition, it can lead to more serious issues. Why am I talking about that here? Because you need to be educated and learn about these because you need to basically fend for yourself. You need to be your own self-advocate. We put lots of resources together on our website, book reading list, blogs, a whole lot of things for you actually to take charge of your health. So, if you're a young female who's been gaslit and you later found out it was actually endometriosis, I'd love to hear your story below. And please share the story, share these little clips, share our educational resources because that's how we actually will help other people get educated and we can turn the tides on medical gaslighting in our country today, which is pretty common.