Endometriosis: Causes, Symptoms, and Treatments

Unusual and abnormal growth of tissues similar to the lining of the uterus in other areas of the body where they don’t belong, is called endometriosis. It causes several health conditions, such as heavy periods, fertility issues and severe pelvic pain. Good thing about endometriosis is that it can be treated through surgery or medication. Sometimes both options are used to treat it.

What is Endometriosis?

Growth of tissues in the wrong place leads to certain structural and functional abnormalities in the human body. Endometriosis is the name of an abnormality in your body related to growth of uterus lining tissues at irrelevant places. Abnormal growth of uterus lining like tissues in other places not only impacts your menstrual cycle but also causes severe pain. Having endometriosis also creates troubles in getting pregnant as the growing of relevant tissues in wrong places causes blockage and scarring in the fallopian tube. 

Now the question is to check for the places where the possibility of developing endometriosis increases. Let’s see!

The most common places include:

• The fallopian tubes.
• Ovaries.
• Space behind your uterus.
• Peritoneum.
• Myometerium.

However, there are some more places that are less common:

• Lungs.
• Intestines.
• Rectum.
• Bladder.
• Diaphragm.
• Vagina.

According to studies, 1 out of 10 females experience endometriosis around the world. It is often diagnosed in the 20s and 30s of the age. Healthcare providers can help manage and treat the symptoms of endometriosis. 

Symptoms of Endometriosis

Pelvic pain is the common sign that often becomes severe and after that becomes mild. Common symptoms often become worsened just before and during your menstruation period. This happens due to some hormonal changes that cause inflammation in pelvic and uterus regions. 

Most observed symptoms include:

• Pain when peeing or pooing.
• Severe cramps pain during menstruation period.
• Digestive issues like diarrhea, stomach pain, bloating, and constipation.
• Heavy bleeding during periods. Light bleeding or spotting during periods.
• Abdominal pain or back pain during your periods.
• Pain during sex.

Studies also claim that sometimes endometriosis doesn’t show any symptoms. Therefore, people often have endometriosis but don’t know about it until they become unable to get pregnant. 

Research showed that severity of condition is not associated with your symptoms. Because you may have very few patches of endometriosis but experience severe painful symptoms. On the other hand, it can also happen that someone has many patches of endometriosis yet not experience any pain. 

Is There any Connection between Weight Gain and Endometriosis?

Weight gain doesn’t have any link with endometriosis. However, some studies suggest that it is associated with certain symptoms like fluid retention or bloating that can make you feel that you’re gaining weight.

Causes of Endometriosis

Researchers and healthcare providers are still trying to find out the exact cause of endometriosis but there isn’t any verified proof about it. They are not sure about what causes endometriosis in females. The common sign told by them is the growth of abnormal tissues similar to the lining of the uterus in wrong places. Studies show that endometriosis further ,makes connections with your immune system,, and retrograde menstruation but what type of connection is this, it is not known to us. Some stooges suggested that these connections may be explained through certain hormonal disturbances that are leading to condition.

Is Endometriosis a Genetic Condition?

The exact cause of endometriosis is still unknown. Therefore, researchers don’t have any evidence to support the connection between endometriosis and family history. They have also failed to describe the point or stage of life when the risk of developing the condition increases. However, the best solution is that if you have any close relatives like your mother, aunt, or grandmother who is suffering from endometriosis, talk to your doctor to check what type of risk you have.

Who is Affected By Endometeriosis?

According to stooges, mostly the females of age between 20 to 30 are more affected by the condition. However, it just confirmed that younger people have no risk. Some people younger than 20 have also been reported as affected from endometriosis around the world. But many people get relieved from the condition after menopause. However, it still causes pain and discomfort.

Risk Factors related to Endometriosis

Certain factors make it easily possible to develop endometriosis, including:

• Never giving birth.
• Biological family history of endometriosis.
• Having long and heavy periods like periods or longer than a week.
• Having light and short menstrual cycles is like having less than 28 days between periods.

What Type of Complications are Caused due to Endometriosis?

Many complications are associated with endometriosis. These complications rise when you experience some symptoms of the condition. The common complications are pain and discomfort in the lower abdominal and back part of the body leading to disruption of your well-being and daily life. Fertility issues are also linked with endometriosis. Although pain and infertility are mild complications but there’s a list of complications when endometriosis is severe, including:

• Chest pain or Shortness of Breath:This happens because endometriosis really affects your diaphragm and lungs leading to occurrence of breathing issues.
• Bladder or Bowel Conditions: Growth of uterus lining like tissues in or near your bladder, intestines or rectum can cause bleeding while you’re pooping or peeing. This may also cause intense pain when everyone uses the washroom. 

You can resolve these issues to improve your daily life with the help of a professional healthcare provider.

What is the Connection between Infertility and Endometriosis?

The World Health Organization has published a survey that stated that endometriosis has been a leading cause of infertility worldwide. As the condition causes tissue to grow irrelevant tissues in wring places where they don’t belong, this often interferes with the matting of sperm and egg during the reproduction cycle. 

Diagnosis and Tests

Your symptoms become the initiative to diagnose endometriosis. Thanks to the symptoms. Because many people remain unaware of developing the dangerous condition due to masked symptoms. When you get heavy periods and severe pain, you might like to contact your healthcare professional. Your doctor or gynecologist takes a start by asking questions about your medical history, family history, means if anyone in your relatives has the condition. A level team was also conducted to check the cause. Afterwards, you are asked for an MRI  or Ultrasound for authentic verification and diagnosis of endometriosis. 

Tests for Diagnosis

Although endometriosis can be treated with medication, studies suggest that laparoscopy is another effective way to diagnose endometriosis. In this procedure, a small camera is inserted into your pelvic region to take clear photos of the area. If these devices find any tissues there, they remove a sample from there known as biopsy and then forward the samples to the laboratory for testing.

In addition, surgery is also an option to relieve the symptoms. In surgery, the surgeons destroy and remove all tissues that can cause endometriosis. This way, laparoscopy helps you treat the condition. However, sometimes the removal of abnormal tissues from wrong space without damaging underlying vertical structures becomes more difficult and lesions more painful. Therefore, a team of surgeons intervene during this operation so that the damage can be minimized. The tea should include urologists, certified gynecologists and colorectal surgeons.

Studies show that people sometimes know about their endometriosis accidentally. This means it is not necessary that all people will experience symptoms of endometriosis. Therefore, a regular checkup is required to check if there is any irregularity or abnormality occurring in  your body structures and functions. Your healthcare provider may help you in this case and may discover the condition through different methods.

Management and Treatment

Certain factors affect the treatment plan of endometriosis. Your healthcare provider helps you understand these fairies, which usually include:

• The severity of pain and other common symptoms.
• The severity of endometriosis.
• Your age.
• Your plans for upcoming pregnancies.

Your doctor initially focuses on managing the symptoms primarily. That’s why they try to make you relieved from pain and improve your fertility issues. The treatment plan also contains use of medications and surgery or both to treat the condition completely. If you have plans for being pregnant in future, talk to your gynecologist. So that they may suggest the best treatment plan for you. 

Medications Effective for Endometriosis

The most commission treatment plan that is considered the best treatment at the initial stage of endometriosis is medication. Medications not only help relieve pain but also remove many symptoms of endometriosis. Common examples of medications used to treat the condition include non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) like ibuprofen which helps relieve pain. Another option is hormonal therapy that helps with your pain by suppressing your menstrual cycle. 

Popular options as hormonal therapy include:

Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone (GnRH) Antagonists: These hormonal medications help stop the certain hormone production that causes your menstrual cycle. This means you can put your reproductive system on hold for sometime to find relief from pain and discomfort. These medications can be taken orally like Orilisa or can be injected into your skin like Lupron.

Danazol: This medication is also a hormonal therapy option that helps stop the production of the hormones that cause you to have periods. Use of these medications can cause irregular periods or complete stoppage of periods. However, it is considered good to treat endometriosis symptoms.

Birth Control: This is also known as combination therapy. Because estrogen and progesterone are two hormones used in this medication to control birth. common medications available:

• Oral birth control pills.
• Birth control shot.
• Implant.
• IUD.
• Vaginal ring.
• Patch.

These medications also help have lighter and less painful periods. But using these medications doesn’t mean that the symptoms go away permanently. They may come back when you stop taking medications. These medications are not considered safe for pregnant people during pregnancy. You are not suggested to tackle these medications if you’re actively planning for getting pregnant. So it is good to talk to your healthcare provider before using any type of medication for managing endometriosis symptoms.

Surgery for Endometriosis

If medications do not help properly to treat the condition, you can go with the surgery option. Your healthcare provider does not suggest the surgery option initially but in some cases they recommend it because the symptoms have got worse. They avoid surgery at the initial stage because this option is associated with many risks. 

However in some cases, surgery can be effective to treat endometriosis. The purpose of surgery is to remove endometrial tissue and improve fertility. 

Common surgical options for endometriosis include:

Laparoscopy Surgery: In these treatment procedures, a thin laparoscope is inserted into your abdomen through a small cut.This can capture the scene of the inside of your body and identify the endometriosis tissues with a high-definition camera. The surgeons remove these abnormal tissues with surgical instruments.

Hysterectomy: This procedure is done to remove your ovaries or uterus completely.

Can Endometriosis Go Away on Its Own?

Yes, in some cases it happens. Especially after menopause, the estrogen level drops and endometriosis goes away on its own. However, many people need continuous treatment to manage the symptoms of the condition. 

What Happens if Endometriosis Left Untreated?

If left untreated, endometriosis causes growth of endometrial-like tissues outside your uterus that can create scars and cysts around your uterus and vagina. This may lead to severe pain especially during your periods. Another complication may occur as difficulty inputting pregnancy in future.

Prevention

Endometriosis cannot be prevented. However, you can reduce some risk factors of developing the condition. Studies show endometriosis less likely to develop in people who:

• Breastfeed.
• Have been given birth more than once.

Conclusion

Endometriosis is a painful condition that also makes you irritated and causes discomfort. The severe symptoms affect your daily life. But after reading the article you may feel relieved as you have found the answers to what has been causing pain during heavy periods. But the reality that your ability to get pregnant is at risk due to endometriosis may make you fearful. These emotional feelings are natural and like with the condition. But remember, you’re not alone. A number of females are experiencing the symptoms of the condition. You have many options to manage and treat the symptoms of the condition. So don’t waste your time worrying about the pain and treatment. Talk to your healthcare provider, they will recommend you the best treatment plan according to your situation. Most common ways to treat the condition are medication and surgery.