US Life Post

INTRODUCTION: Endometriosis is when the kind of tissue that normally lines the uterus grows some other place and is more usual in infertile compared to fertile women, but the condition normally does not fully prevent conception.

The condition is estimated to affect over 1 million females (estimates range from 3 percent to 18 percent of women) in the USA. Endometriosis has a prevalence rate of 20-50 percent in infertile women (Rawson, 1991; Strathy, 1982; Verkauf, 1987) and as high as 80 percent in females with chronic pelvic pain (Carter, 1994).

It can affect any female, from premenarche to postmenopause, regardless of her race, ethnicity or whether or not she has had children. In postmenopausal females it is an extremely aggressive form of the disease characterized by total progesterone resistance and extraordinarily high levels of aromatase expression.

Endometriosis may trigger inflammatory responses leading to scar formation and adhesions and may migrate to the cervix and vagina or to regions of a previous surgical abdominal incision.

SYMPTOMS: Symptoms of endometriosis can include (but are not limited to):Painful, sometimes disabling menstrual cramps (dysmenorrhea); pain may get worse over time (progressive pain), Chronic pain (typically lower back pain and pelvic pain, also abdominal), Painful sex (dyspareunia), Painful bowel movements (dyschezia) or painful urination (dysuria), Heavy menstrual periods (menorrhagia), Nausea and vomiting, Premenstrual or intermenstrual spotting (bleeding between periods), Infertility and subfertility.

Symptoms seem to worsen with time, though cycles of remission and reoccurrence are the pattern in some cases. Some women have no symptoms at all while others with mild disease and symptoms may simply be monitored.

TREATMENTS: Treatments depends on how bad the signs are, the severity of the disease, the woman’s desire to produce children in the future, her age, and can be extended up to one year if small doses of estrogen and progresterone are slowly administered to reduce bone weakening and side effects. Treatment with hormones aims to stop ovulation for as long as possible and may sometimes force endometriosis into remission during the time of treatment and occasionly for months or years afterwards.

Because of the effects on bone density, treatment with anti-gonadotropin drugs is normally limited to 6 months. Women with a strong family history of endometriosis may consider taking oral contraceptive pills, since this may help to prevent or slow down the development of the condition. Make an appointment with your MD if signs occur, or if back pain or other symptoms return after treatment.

SURGERY: Surgery is normally the best option for women with endometriosis who have a severe amount of growths, a great deal of pain, or fertility problems. Surgery (either laparoscopy or laparotomy) is normally only performed on women with severe endometriosis, including those with adhesions and infertility problems.

Surgery through the laparoscope (called operative laparoscopy) is rapidly replacing major abdominal surgery in the USA. The aim of surgery is to remove or destroy all of endometriosis-related tissue and adhesions, and restore the pelvic area to as near to normal as possible. In rare cases, nerve removal (neurectomy) may be carried out during surgery to further relieve the pain associated with the condition.

CONCLUSION: Endometriosis is a condition produced by excessive estrogen created each month in the female body, and is seen mostly during the reproductive years and is thought to be an auto-immune condition. If the immune system is compromised with a food alergy, then removing that food from the diet can, in some women, have an effect. Endometriosis may cause pain and bleeding, particularly prior to and during menstrual periods, but may cause no symptoms at all.

It is said to affect about 10 to 15 percent of menstruating women ages 25 to 44 and seems to occur less often in females who have had several pregnancies, who use low-dose oral contraceptives, or who exercise routinely (especially if they started before age 15, exercise more than seven hours a week, or both). The right diet can provide the key to good health in overcoming the condition.

If you or someone you care about has endometriosis, it is important to research the disease as much as possible. Screening for the disease should be considered if your mother or sister has been diagnosed with it or if you are unable to become pregnant after trying for 1 year. The only sure way to confirm an endometriosis diagnosis is by laparoscopy.