Endometriosis typically occurs on the surfaces of organs in the pelvic and abdominal areas. Health care providers may call areas of endometriosis by different names, such as implants, lesions, or nodules.
The word endometriosis comes from the word "endometrium" - "endo" means "inside" and "metrium" means "mother".
Most endometriosis is found in the pelvic cavity :
✈ On or under the ovaries
✈ On the fallopian tubes
✈ Behind the uterus
✈ On the tissues that hold the uterus in place, such as ligaments
✈ On the bowels or bladder
Sign & Symptoms
One of the most common symptoms of endometriosis is pain, mostly in the abdomen, lower back, and pelvic areas. The amount of pain a woman feels is not linked to how much endometriosis she has. Some women have no pain even though their endometriosis is extensive, meaning that the affected areas are large, or that there is scarring. Some women, on the other hand, have severe pain even though they have only a few small areas of endometriosis.
☞ Extremely painful (or disabling) menstrual cramps; pain may get worse over time
☞ Chronic pelvic pain (includes lower back pain and pelvic pain)
☞ Pain during or after sex
☞ Intestinal pain
☞ Painful bowel movements or painful urination during menstrual periods
☞ Heavy menstrual periods
☞ Premenstrual spotting or bleeding between periods
☞ Infertility
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Diagnosis
Currently, health care providers use a number of tests for endometriosis. Sometimes, they will use imaging tests to produce a "picture" of the inside of the body, which allows them to locate larger endometriosis areas, such as nodules or cysts. The two most common imaging tests are ultrasound, a machine that uses sound waves to make the picture, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), a machine that uses magnets and radio waves to make the picture.
The only way to know for sure that you have the condition is by having surgery. The most common type of surgery is called laparoscopy. In this procedure, the surgeon inflates the abdomen slightly with a harmless gas. After making a small cut in the abdomen, the surgeon uses a small viewing instrument with a light, called a laparoscope, to look at the reproductive organs, intestines, and other surfaces to see if there is any endometriosis. He or she can make a diagnosis based on the characteristic appearance of endometriosis. This diagnosis can then be confirmed by doing a biopsy, which involves taking a small tissue sample and studying it under a microscope.
Your health care provider will only do a laparoscopy after learning your full medical history and giving you a complete physical and pelvic exam. This information, in addition to the results of an ultrasound or MRI, will help you and your health care provider make more informed decisions about treatment.
Treatment
Currently, there is no cure for endometriosis. Even having a hysterectomy or removing the ovaries does not guarantee that the endometriosis areas and/or the symptoms of endometriosis will not come back.
1. Pain medication: Works well if your pain or other symptoms are mild. These medications range from over-the-counter remedies to strong prescription drugs.
2. Hormone therapy: Is effective if your areas are small and/or you have minimal pain. Hormones can come in pill form, by shot or injection, or in a nasal spray. Common hormones used to treat endometriosis pain are progesterone, birth control pills, danocrine, and gonadatropin-releasing hormone (GnRH). But in some women this type of treatment causes severe side effects and worsening of symptoms. Go to the next section, What are the hormone treatments for endometriosis pain? for more information.
3. Surgical treatment: Is usually the best choice if your endometriosis is extensive, or if you have more severe pain. Surgical treatments range from minor to major surgical procedures.
Allergy treatment has recently shown great promise. Unfortunately this area is not yet widely recognized as a viable treatment option. Though at this point endometriosis is also not widely recognized by many doctors either.
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