Endometriosis - Causes, Symptoms, Risks, and treatment

Females are blessed with a beautiful reproductive system. It helps the female to give birth to a new life in this world. It is true that the female’s reproductive system is beautiful but also along with it, sometimes it brings complications in women's quality of life.

With the changes in the body of the women during their reproductive years, there are also changes in their health issues related to their reproductive system. Their journey of the reproductive system at every stage comes with some complications.

One of them is endometriosis. It is the most common complication faced by females during their reproductive years. It can be seen in every phase of their life. Dr. S N Mohanty, one of the best gynecologists in Bhubaneswar, has expertise in solving the issues related to severe endometriosis cases.
 
What is Endometriosis?

Endometriosis is a disorder seen in women when a similar tissue forms a lining along with the endometrium outside the uterine cavity. The endometrium is the lining of the uterus. 
A woman faces various hormonal changes during her menstrual cycle. It affects the misplaced tissues resulting in irritation and pain. It leads the tissue to grow and thicken. Sometimes the tissue breakdown is also seen.

This broken tissue has no-where to go and hence results in getting trapped in the pelvic region. It causes problems such as:
•    Irritation 
•    Scar
•    Severe pain during periods 
•    Infertility issues
It is seen that this type of gynecological condition is faced by 10 percent of the women population. 

Symptoms of Endometriosis

The symptoms of endometriosis may vary from person to person based on stages. The stages of endometriosis vary from mild, medium, moderate to severe. Some of the women find themselves with mild symptoms, whereas in some cases, they come across severe symptoms. The most common symptom related to endometriosis disorder is pelvic pain.

Other symptoms you may find are:
•    Painful periods
•    Pain in the lower abdomen before and after periods
•    Infertility
•    Discomfort with bowel movements
•    Heavy menstrual bleeding or bleeding in between periods

Sometimes, you may not come across any of the symptoms. So, gynecologist suggests every woman have a regular gynecological checkup before the symptoms become serious.

Diagnosis of endometriosis

There are various types of diagnoses that need to be followed by every woman in the case of endometriosis. Generally, doctors recommend the health assessment that includes the following examinations:

 

  • Pelvic examination: It is one of the physical examinations where a doctor will manually assess your abdomen to find the presence of cysts or scars behind the uterus.
  • Ultrasound assessment: The doctor may consider having a transvaginal ultrasound or abdominal ultrasound to have a complete image of your reproductive organs. 
  • Laparoscopy: Laparoscopy is a small and easy surgical procedure. It allows the doctor to have a detailed and direct view of the area which needs to be checked. 

Complications and risks with endometriosis

Women who are diagnosed with endometriosis are seen to have a problem in conceiving as it leads to infertility issues. Even if they conceive by chance, then they have a problem with carrying the baby till the end of their term.  

Sometimes, medications do not help in improving infertility issues. Women need to surgically repair or remove the additional layer of the issue. 

In some cases of endometriosis, women do not have issues related to infertility, but they have problems regarding chronic pain. Also, you can face difficulty related to depression, anxiety, and other related mental issues.  

Risk factors related to endometriosis in women starts right from the time when they get their menstrual cycle. Women need to be alert in their child-bearing years. Hence, any symptoms related to endometriosis are seen, women are expected to see their doctors - says Dr. S N Mohanty. You should start seeing a doctor and discuss with aligning to the following points:
•    Age
•    Family history
•    Pregnancy history
•    Menstrual history

What is the treatment for endometriosis?

Depending on the type of symptoms and severity of the pain in endometriosis, doctors recommend the following treatments. The severity of the disease can result in a high-risk case resulting in multiple problems. 
•    Pain medications:
In most of the cases, when doctors want to have a wait and see approach, they recommend the medication option that relieves your pain.  

•    Hormone therapy:
It is natural that endometrioses are caused because of changes in hormones, so doctors prescribe you the hormonal therapy. They prescribe you with the supplementary hormones to relieve you from pain and prevent the growth of endometrial tissues. 

•    Hormonal contraceptives:
Hormonal contraceptives prevent the growth of tissues by stopping menstruation. It relieves you from pain, but it also results in infertility in some cases. 

•    Conservative surgery:
It is the surgery recommended to a woman who wants to conserve their uterus and fertility to get pregnant in the future. It is recommended when the medications are not helping the woman. The main goal of conservative surgery is to destroy the endometriosis without damaging the reproductive organs of the woman. 
Laparoscopy is a minimally invasive and conservative surgery that helps the doctor to have a detailed view of your reproductive organs with minor incisions in your lower abdomen or pelvic area. 

•    Hysterectomy:
It is the last resort surgery to get relieved from the pain of endometriosis. During a total hysterectomy, doctors remove your uterus, ovaries, and cervix as they are responsible for producing estrogen hormones. It is recommended to you if you are not willing to get pregnant in your life.
 
There are many theories introduced related to the cause of endometriosis. Hence, there is no one-stop cause yet introduced. Hence, a woman is expected to be alert with her changes in reproductive phases, especially in her child-bearing years.

If you are diagnosed with endometriosis and want an honest opinion and advice regarding it, then Dr. S N Mohanty is the best choice as a gynecologist. He not only understands your issue related to endometriosis but also suggests you the best way to handle your gynecological issues to live a healthy and quality life.