Endometriosis is a condition that affects many women around the world. It's characterized by the presence of endometrial tissue - the tissue that lines the uterus - outside of the uterus, in places where it's not supposed to be, such as the ovaries and the fallopian tubes.
This can lead to intense pain and scarring, which may cause fertility problems or interfere with normal functioning of reproductive organs.
In this guide, we will take an in-depth look at what causes endometriosis, how it affects women and what treatment options exist to help patients find relief from their symptoms.
Introduction:
Endometriosis is a condition that affects some women's reproductive organs. Endometrial tissue (the lining of the uterus) grows outside of the uterus in other areas of the body. The most common place it can grow outside of the uterus is on the ovaries or pelvic lining.
When this tissue thickens and breaks down like it would during a woman's menstrual cycle, scar tissue may form which can cause pain.
Symptoms for this condition vary from person to person and range from minor discomfort to severe pain.
One way to diagnose endometriosis is with an ultrasound test which allows the doctor to see if there are any growths of tissue in the pelvis.
There are many treatment options available for someone with this painful condition including medication, surgery, heat therapy, acupuncture, yoga and deep breathing exercises.
Causes of Endometriosis:
Endometriosis is a chronic condition in which tissue that lines the uterus grows outside of the uterus. The most common places where these growths appear are on the ovaries, bowel, or bladder.
This can lead to scarring and adhesions that may cause pain. Pain from this disease varies by person. Symptoms range from mild to severe and some women experience no pain at all.
Women with severe symptoms often have difficulty walking, sitting down or climbing stairs because their abdomen becomes very tender with pressure.
Treatment for this type of pain includes medication (either oral contraceptives or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) as well as surgery such as an excision procedure to remove lesions from the pelvic organs and/or laparoscopic surgery to cut out lesions without opening up the abdomen.
Other options include hysterectomy (removal of the uterus) or hormone therapy. It's important to find treatment options that work best for you, so talk to your doctor about what's available and what will work best.
Symptoms of Endometriosis:
Endometriosis can affect women of any age, even those who have never had a baby. The most common symptom for women with endometriosis is pain.
Women with the condition may experience pain before or during their period, in the middle of the menstrual cycle (between periods), or at other times.
They may also have bowel problems like constipation or diarrhea and painful sex. Doctors can't tell if someone has this condition by looking at them; instead, they need to do tests to find out if there are signs of it in the body.
The only way to know for sure whether you have it is to go through surgery so doctors can see what's going on inside your abdomen.
Diagnosing Endometriosis:
There are two ways to diagnose this painful condition. The first is by imaging the pelvic area with an ultrasound or MRI. A laparoscopy may also be necessary to examine the pelvic cavity for signs of disease.
If a woman has a laparoscopy and there is any visible evidence of endometrial tissue in the pelvic cavity, she would most likely be diagnosed with it.
Other tests might include checking levels of estrogen and progesterone, which could indicate hormone imbalance.
A non-invasive diagnostic test for endometriosis is the echographic transvaginal exam. It takes about 10 minutes to perform and can help detect scarring from surgery, cysts or nodules as well as thickening or inflammation of uterine walls due to endometrial tissue that was previously undetected because it was on another part of the body such as the rectum or ovaries.
Prevention of Endometriosis:
It is an inflammatory condition where tissue that behaves like the lining of the uterus (endometrium) grows outside the uterus.
Common locations for this are on the ovaries, in the fallopian tubes and near other organs such as in the bladder or pelvic cavity. There is a strong genetic association with it so if you have a family history of it you are more likely to develop it yourself.
Symptoms range from mild pain to extreme pain that can result in reduced mobility. Painful periods during your cycle may be one sign. Painful intercourse and painful bowel movements may also be a sign.
Mild cases may not need treatment but severe cases usually require some form of treatment such as hormonal medications, surgery or both. Treatment options depend on severity of disease and whether there are any complications present.
Treatments for Endometriosis:
Endometriosis can be treated with drugs, hormone therapy or surgery. The decision for which treatment to go with usually depends on the severity of the disease and how much it affects your lifestyle.
Doctors will try all three before deciding what would work best for you. The most common treatment method is hormonal therapy because it stops periods from happening while also reducing any pain that may occur.
Surgery is another way to treat the condition, but only in severe cases where other methods have not worked. Doctors will remove any excess endometriosis tissue that might be left over from surgeries done in previous years.
Drugs are also a good option if you're looking for a more natural approach.
Risk Factors for Endometriosis:
Endometriosis is a condition that occurs when the tissue that lines the uterus (known as the endometrium) grows outside of the uterus. The growth of this tissue can be on any part of the body, including ovaries, fallopian tubes, intestines or bladder.
When it grows outside of the uterus it can cause pain and other health problems such as infertility.
There are no known specific risk factors for developing this cindition, but certain lifestyle habits have been shown to contribute to an increased risk. These include:
- smoking cigarettes;
- being overweight;
- having low levels of physical activity; and
- having your first period before age 11.
Smoking has also been found to increase the risk for developing chronic pelvic inflammatory disease, which may lead to endometriosis.
While there are not many ways to prevent endometriosis from occurring, you can help lower your risk by maintaining a healthy weight and staying physically active.
Furthermore, if you're at high-risk for developing the disease because of these behaviors then consider talking with your doctor about undergoing fertility treatment before becoming pregnant.
Summary
Endometriosis is a chronic, long-term disease that typically affects women of reproductive age. It occurs when cells from the lining of the uterus (the endometrium) grow outside of the uterus. This most commonly happens in the ovaries and on the pelvic organs such as bowel or bladder. Endometrial implants can also form in other areas like skin or joints. These can cause scar tissue to build up over time which may lead to pain and inflammation. Some people have no symptoms at all but are still diagnosed with this condition because their doctor found abnormal cells during a routine checkup or during surgery for something else.
The only way to know if someone has endometriosis is by doing exploratory surgery where a doctor examines where the uterus attaches to the ovaries and pelvis. However, even though many doctors think it's an accurate test, it doesn't always catch endometriosis early enough so some people could be living with it for years without knowing they had it.
References:
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- Pain symptoms associated with endometriosis; Author: Fedele L, Bianchi S and Parazzini F; Obstetrics and Gynecology, 01 May 1992, 79(5 ( Pt 1)):767-769, PMID: 1565363.
- Treatment of Endometriosis; David L. Olive and Elizabeth A. Pritts; July 26, 2001, N Engl J Med 2001; 345:266-275; DOI: 10.1056/NEJM200107263450407.
- Evaluation of risk factors associated with endometriosis; Robert Hemmings and Michèle Rivard; Volume 81, Issue 6, June 2004, Pages 1513-1521.
- Endometriosis: Treatment Strategies; RAFAEL F. VALLE and JOHN J. SCIARRA; First published: 07 July 2009; Citations: 104.
- Endometriosis and infertility; Carlo Bulletti and Maria Elisabetta Coccia; Journal of Assisted Reproduction and Genetics volume 27, pages441-447 (2010).
