Endometriosis, pronounced “en-doe-me-tree-O-sis,” is a condition in which tissue that typically lines the outside of your uterus—the endometrium—grows inside it instead. Your ovaries, fallopian tubes, and the tissue lining your pelvic are where endometriosis most frequently affects women. Rarely, tissue resembling endometrium can be discovered outside of the pelvic region.
Endometriosis
Each menstrual cycle causes the endometrial-like tissue in endometriosis to grow, degrade, and bleed like endometrial tissue would. However, this tissue becomes imprisoned since it cannot leave your body. Cysts known as endometriomas may develop when endometriosis affects the ovaries. Inflamed tissue may eventually produce scar tissue and adhesions, bands of fibrous tissue that may cause the tissues in the pelvis to adhere to one another.
Read More:- https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/endometriosis
Particularly during menstrual cycles, endometriosis can result in discomfort, sometimes very severe pain. Problems with infertility could also arise. Fortunately, there are remedies that work.
Symptoms of Endometriosis
Pelvic pain, which is frequently connected to menstruation, is the main sign of endometriosis. Menstrual cramps are a common occurrence for many women, but those who have endometriosis frequently report menstrual discomfort that is much worse than usual. As time passes, pain may potentially get worse.
Endometriosis commonly manifests as the following symptoms:
- Painful menstruation (dysmenorrhea). Before and for a few days after a period, women may experience pelvic pain and cramps. Back and stomach ache are additional potential symptoms.
- Pain during sexual activity. With endometriosis, pain often occurs during or after sex.
- Discomfort When Urinating or using the restroom. These symptoms are most likely to occur during a menstrual period.
- A lot of blood Periodically, you might have thick periods or bleed between periods (intermenstrual bleeding).
- Infertility. When a person seeks therapy for infertility, endometriosis is occasionally discovered for the first time.
- Additional symptoms and indicators. Especially during menstrual periods, you can have lethargy, diarrhoea, constipation, bloating, or nausea.
The extent of your disease may not always be accurately predicted by the intensity of your discomfort. You can have moderate endometriosis and experience intense pain, or you might have advanced endometriosis and have little to no pain.
Endometriosis can occasionally be confused with other illnesses that can also result in pelvic pain, like pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) or ovarian cysts. Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), a disorder that results in episodes of diarrhoea, constipation, and abdominal cramps, may be mistaken for it. Endometriosis and IBS can coexist, complicating the diagnosis.
Read More:- https://www.womenshealth.gov/a-z-topics/endometriosis
Stages Of Endometriosis
Using the four stages of endometriosis identified by the American Society of Reproductive Medicine:
- Stage One (Minimal). A few tiny lesions are present, but there is no scar tissue.
- Stage Two (Mild). More lesions exist, but there is no scar tissue. Your abdomen is only affected by less than 2 inches.
- Stage Three (Moderate). Deep lesions could exist. Around your ovaries or fallopian tubes, you can have scar tissue and endometriomas.
- Stage Four (Severe). Your ovaries have numerous abnormalities and may even have sizable cysts. There could be scar tissue between your uterus and the lower section of your intestines, surrounding your uterus, and around your ovaries and fallopian tubes.
Pain or symptoms are not considered in the stages.
Endometriosis Causes
Endometriosis may be caused by a variety of factors, while the actual reason is unknown.
- Menstruating backward:- When menstrual blood with endometrial cells travels retrogradely, it does not leave the body and instead returns through the fallopian tubes and into the pelvic cavity. Over the course of each menstrual cycle, these endometrial cells adhere to the surfaces of the pelvic organs and pelvic wall, where they develop, thicken, and bleed.
- Cells in the peritoneum change:- According to the “induction theory,” which has been put out by specialists, hormones or immunological components may encourage the change of peritoneal cells, which line the inside of your abdomen, into endometrial-like cells.
- Transformation of embryonic cells:- Embryonic cells, or cells in the earliest stages of development, may grow into endometrial-like cell implants throughout puberty when certain hormones, such as oestrogen, are present.
- Implanting surgical scars:- Endometrial cells could adhere to a surgical wound following an operation like a hysterectomy or C-section.
- Transport of uterine cells:- Endometrial cells may be transported to various bodily locations by the blood vessels or tissue fluid (lymphatic) system.
- An immune system Condition:- Immune system dysfunction may prevent the body from recognising and eliminating endometrial-like tissue that is developing outside the uterus.
Read More:- https://www.jeanhailes.org.au/health-a-z/endometriosis/symptoms-causes
Risk Factors Associated with Endometriosis
You are more likely to get endometriosis if you have certain conditions, like:
- never having children
- having your first menstruation at a young age
- having a later onset of menopause
- shorter than 27 day menstrual periods, for example
- heavy, longer-than-seven-day menstrual cycles
- more lifetime exposure to the oestrogen your body produces or higher body oestrogen levels
- a low body mass index
- Endometriosis in one or more family members (mother, aunt, or sister) Any illness that stops blood from leaving the body during periods
- issues with the reproductive system
Typically, endometriosis appears several years after the start of menstruation (menarche). With pregnancy, endometriosis signs and symptoms may momentarily get better.
Complications of Endometriosis
A significant side effect of endometriosis is having fertility problems. People with milder types might be able to get pregnant and carry a child to term.
Despite the fact that there are drugs for endometriosis, they do not increase fertility.
Following surgical removal of tissue that resembles endometrium, some women have been successful in getting pregnant. If this does not assist your situation, you might want to think about in vitro fertilisation or fertility treatments to increase your chances of becoming pregnant.
If you have been diagnosed with endometriosis, discuss your choices with your doctor to learn more about whether you should consider starting a family sooner rather than later.
Endometriosis Diagnosis
A diagnosis of endometriosis frequently begins with your symptoms. You might contact your doctor if you have painful or heavy periods. When you first arrive for your consultation, your doctor (usually an OB-Gyn) may ask you about your personal medical history, any prior pregnancies, and whether anybody else in your family has endometriosis. Your doctor might perform a pelvic exam. If your healthcare professional wants further details, they’ll probably start with an ultrasound before moving on to pelvic imaging. An MRI may also be prescribed for additional endometriosis mapping, depending on your symptoms, the results of the physical examination, and the ultrasound results.
Both a laparoscopy for a conclusive diagnosis and therapeutic options are possible. Because your surgeon doing the surgery can use a small camera (laparoscope) to examine within your body, it can be a great technique to confirm endometriosis. During this technique, a biopsy (a tiny tissue sample) may be collected. A lab will receive the biopsy to verify the diagnosis.
Endometriosis can occasionally be discovered by chance. Not every endometriosis patient will suffer symptoms. In these situations, your doctor might find the issue while doing a separate procedure.
Endometriosis Treatment
You understandably desire an immediate cure for the pain and other endometriosis symptoms. If this illness is not treated, it may make it difficult for you to go about your daily activities. Although endometriosis has no known treatment, its symptoms can be controlled.
To assist you manage any potential consequences and lessen your symptoms, there are both medical and surgical alternatives available. Your doctor might start by using conservative measures. If your problem doesn’t get better, they might then suggest surgery.
Different people respond differently to various therapeutic alternatives. You can find the one that works best for you with the advice of your doctor.
Options for treatment include:
- Taking Painkillers
Although you can attempt over-the-counter pain relievers like ibuprofen, you should be aware that they don’t always work.
- Hormone Treatment
In certain cases, taking more hormones might reduce discomfort and halt the spread of endometriosis. Hormone therapy aids in your body’s regulation of the monthly hormonal shifts that encourage the endometriosis-related tissue growth.
- Hormonal Birth Control
Hormonal contraceptives reduce fertility by halting the development of endometrial-like tissue on a monthly basis. In less severe cases of endometriosis, birth control pills, patches, and vaginal rings can lessen or even completely eliminate the pain.
- Danazol
Another drug used to treat endometriosis symptoms and halt menstruation is called danazol. Danazol may not stop the progression of the illness. Danazol’s negative effects include hirsutism and acne. Hirsutism is an excessive amount of body and facial hair development.
- Conventional Surgery
People who desire to become pregnant or who feel significant discomfort and for whom hormonal therapies are ineffective often undergo conservative surgery. In order to remove or eliminate endometrial growths without harming the reproductive organs, conservative surgery is used.
The minimally invasive procedure laparoscopy is used to both see and diagnose endometriosis. Small abdominal incisions are made by the surgeon to perform surgical removal of the growths or to burn or evaporate them.
- Last Resort Surgery (Hysterectomy)
If your problem does not get better with alternative therapies, your doctor can as a final option suggest a total hysterectomy.
A surgeon removes the uterus and cervix during a total hysterectomy. They also remove the ovaries because they produce oestrogen, and oestrogen can promote the development of tissue that resembles endometrium. The surgeon also takes out any apparent implant lesions.
Depending on the illness being treated, a patient may need one of two further hysterectomies.
The upper portion of the uterus is removed during a subtotal hysterectomy, also known as a partial or supracervical procedure, but the cervix is left in situ.
Usually, when malignancy is present, a radical hysterectomy is performed. The entire uterus, the cervix, and the upper vagina are removed.
Read More:- https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/endometriosis/treatment/
Hysterectomy is a treatment option for endometriosis however it does not cure it. After a hysterectomy, you won’t be able to become pregnant. Before consenting to surgery, seek a second medical opinion if you’re considering starting a family.
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