Symptoms of Endometriosis

The commonest symptom of Endometriosis is menstrual pain and cramping. Many women also experience irregular periods, infertility, stomach pain and upset, and extremely painful sexual intercourse. Endometriosis is also often accompanied by fibroid tumors in the uterus.

Endometrial tissue is often first discovered during a laparoscopy for pelvic pain and infertility. The problem with endometriosis is that it is extremely difficult to diagnose.

Many women in the United States are misdiagnosed with everything from irritable bowel syndrome to stress. Many doctors just chalk up a woman's complaints of pelvic pain to premenstrual syndrome and menstrual cramps. The fact that many women live for years with no symptoms whatsoever of the dysfunction, makes endometriosis even harder to detect. Many doctors have been known to tell women that getting pregnant is a good way to rid herself of the dysfunction, however, there is no medical evidence to back up this theory of different symptoms depending on where the endometrial tissue is growing. Many women experience infertility.

The best method for diagnosis is by an experienced gynecologist who can perform a pelvic examination. Since Endometriosis is often found in the culdesac, the space between the Uterus and the Rectum, performing a combined rectal and vaginal examination is crucial to the diagnosis. Endometriosis symptoms tend to vary depending on where in the body the endometrial tissue is growing. Endometriosis is a condition where the tissue that normally forms the lining of the uterus begins to grow in other areas of the pelvic cavity. Since this tissue cannot be shed during menstruation, it can form lesions and abrasions on various pelvic and reproductive organs. These lesions can rub against surrounding organs causing a variety of problems and complications in the pelvic cavity.

Endometriosis Symptoms often include, abnormally heavy menstrual flow, pelvic pain, back pain, stomach upset and painful ovulation. Endometriosis symptoms often mimic symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome, uterine fibroids and menstrual cramps. Since endometriosis is extremely hard to detect many women with symptoms of the condition are misdiagnosed by doctors.

Other Endometriosis Symptoms

Endometriosis is a significant cause of infertility. This happens when the endometrial tissue grows in or around the ovaries. Often the ovaries can become inflamed and develop cysts, tumors and lesions. Once ovulation ceases, so does regular menstruation. For this reason, irregular periods often is accompanied by endometriosis.
While the cause of endometriosis is not clear, some experts believe that endometriosis is caused by retrograde menstrual blood. This is when the tissue that is shed during menstruation is somehow forced back into the pelvic cavity because of spasm in the lower portions of the uterus.

Endometriosis Treatment

There are various forms of endometriosis treatment available for women. One of the most common forms of treatment for endometriosis is hormone therapy. Physicians prescribe synthetic progestin, birth control pills, and Danazol or GnRH agonists. These hormones will make a woman's body temporarily menopausal. This will cause her uterus to stop producing endometrial tissue, which will also stop the growth of tissue outside the uterus. While hormone therapy helps, it is not one hundred percent effective.

Many women's bodies have a low tolerance for synthetic hormones. Synthetic hormones such as progestin can cause uncomfortable side effects such as mood swings, nausea, swelling and even blood clots have been reported. Women who have experienced complications taking the birth control pill, for example are not urged to try hormone therapy as Endometriosis Treatment. Also, endometriosis is likely to return once a woman stops taking the hormones. Unfortunately birth control pills are not very effective in controlling severe endometriosis, but may help for young women with severe menstrual cramps.

New Surgical Endometriosis Treatment

Hysterectomy is still widely used as a treatment for endometriosis. Many doctors feel that removal of the uterus is the most efficient way of ridding a woman of endometriosis. This does not represent the modern approach to treating endometriosis However there are new surgical procedures that remove endometrial tissue while leaving the uterus in tact. This procedure is called pelvicscopic surgery and when done correctly it has a ninety percent success rate. Many gynecological surgeons are becoming very skilled at pelvicscopic or advanced laparoscopic surgery and can remove endometrial lesions without any damage to the surrounding organs.