Endometriosis is a disease of menstruation. It occurs when tissue similar to the lining of the uterus, or endometrium, migrates outside of the womb, where the tissue should not be. The result is inflammation, as the tissue responds to the monthly fluctuations of a woman’s menstrual cycle.
Endometriosis affects more than 11% of American women between 15 and 44. It is especially common among women in their 30s and 40s and may make it harder to get pregnant. Several different treatment options can help manage the symptoms and improve your chances of getting pregnant.
What to look for:
- Intense, unusually-painful cramps
- Long periods
- Heavy menstrual flow
- Bowel and urinary disorders
- Nausea and/or vomiting
- Pain during sexual activities
- Infertility
- Chronic fatigue
Endometriosis Treatment
Pain medications may work well if your pain or other symptoms are mild. These medications range from over-the-counter pain relievers to strong prescription pain relievers.
Because hormones cause endometriosis patches to go through a cycle similar to the menstrual cycle, hormones also can be effective in treating the symptoms of endometriosis. Hormone therapy is used to treat endometriosis-associated pain. Hormone treatments stop the ovaries from producing hormones, including estrogen, and usually prevent ovulation. This may help slow the growth and local activity of both the endometrium and the endometrial lesions. Treatment also prevents the growth of new areas and scars (adhesions), but it will not make existing adhesions go away.
Surgery can be used to remove the endometriosis or to burn the endometriosis lesions outside of the uterus to make them go away. It is also used to get rid of scar tissue so that the ovaries and tubes can go back to their normal location in the pelvis. Surgery has been shown to improve pain symptoms associated with endometriosis and may also help women become pregnant. If a woman with endometriosis is not interested in becoming pregnant, I may decide to remove the ovaries and possibly the uterus.