Endometriosis
Disclaimer: This is NOT a professional, medical page. This is simply my observations based on my own personal experience.
Topics:
Why I wrote this page
What Endometriosis is and what might cause it
What Endometriosis feels like (at least for me)
How Endometriois can be treated
Why I wrote this page
This page is a result of my own experiences with endometriosis. Endometriosis effects millions of women and can be devistatingly painful and intrusive on a woman's life. I've personally been through a long, uphill battle with symptoms and treatment (which still isn't over) and thought that I might be able to provide some insight for others on diagnosis and self-treatment.
What endometriosis is and what might cause it
Most simply put, endometriosis is "reproductive cells being in the wrong place". Somehow, cells like those that usually occur on the inside of the uteris end up in other places in the body, most often starting in the pelvis, but with the ability to spread. These cells multiply (as reproductive cells tend to do) and can cause a great deal of pain in other organs and body parts, depending on where they have attached. This pain can be chronic (due to the endometriosis "attacking" a nerve, cutting off blood supply to a part of the body, etc.), or cyclic (since the errant cells react to the normal hormone cycle the way the reproductive organs do -- by cramping and bleeding).
The cause of endometriosis is unknown, although there are at least a half dozen popular theories including everything from genetics to back-flow during menstruation to toxic chemicals in the environment. Personally, I think that genetics is a culprit, as my mother, aunt and sister have all had problems with it.
What Endometriosis feels like (at least for me)
As I mentioned above, symptoms can be cyclic or chronic, depending on the location of the endometrial cells. Personally, my problems have been cyclic, consisting of excessively painful cramps, lower back pain, and excessive bleeding and clotting during menstruation. I'm sure my family, friends and co-workers would also tell you that my mood swings and temper both flair excessively during PMS and my period.
Many sources also explain that endometriosis can cause gastrointestinal pain and problems, pain during sexual intercourse, infertility, and fatigue. I either have other chronic diseases that also cause these symptoms, or I have not had experience with these additional symptoms, so I can't offer much help on those topics.
How Endometriois can be treated
There are two popular methods for treating endometriosis: medication and minor surgery.
Medication can be used in two ways: to fight endometriosis, or to fight the symptoms of endometriosis.
To fight endometriosis itself, hormonal medications are used. These medications may either regulate hormones to bring the body to normal levels and a normal cycle, or may completely stop the production of certain hormones. Regulatory medications are most often birth control pills (or shots or patches). These are either estrogen or progesteron suppliments that are taken in measured amounts to cause the body to have a normal menstration cycle. They also tend to reduce the symptoms of menstruation (and, therefore, enodmetriosis) by causing the body to not produce as much of the hormones. The second hormonal alternative is to completely stop the production of estrogen in the body. This "starves" the endometrial cells and causes the growths to atrophy (die and fall apart). So, the first method controls the symptoms and may reduce the actual amount of endometriosis, while the second method is more aimed at removing the endometriosis.
Obviously, the hormonal methods have a great number of side-effects. For me, the side-effects are too great for this method to be feasible -- birth control pills make me suicidal. So, I have to rely on the other method of symptom control: pain relief.
Any normal, over-the-counter pain-killer can be used to reduce symptoms. Pain killers targeted at reducing menstral pain will help more, and blood thinning medications also seem to help quite a bit. In some cases (including my own), over-the-counter medications simply aren't strong enough. Stronger, prescription medicines (such as Anaprox or Celebrex, in my case) may be needed.
Surgery is helpful if the endometriosis has grown enough to be visible (via typical surgical microscopes) and is localized instead of being scattered across large portions of tissue. Often, this surgery can be performed as a "laproscopy", where a tiny incision is made in the belly button. More intrusive surgery may be required if the endometriosis has spread to non-pelvic regions of the body. During the surgery, the doctor uses a microscope to search for spots of endometriosis and cauterizes them (burns them off). Depending on the size and location of the endometriosis, this surgery usually has a quick and relatively painless recovery period, the worst pain coming from left-over air bubbles that were introduces to allow the doctor a clearer view of the pelvis.
More intrusive surgeries (such as hysterectomies) are usually avoided if at all possible. Endometriosis usually does not cause medical problems other than pain, so the least intrusive treatment is preferred.
Medical Index
Reality Index
Main Index
