If your menstrual cramps are severe or are accompanied by nausea, excessive bleeding, or other symptoms, you might be among the 11% of women in the United States with endometriosis. At Comprehensive Women’s OB/GYN, the team diagnoses endometriosis with or without symptoms and considers future pregnancies while planning your treatment. Call the office or use the online booking tool today to find relief from your endometriosis pain.
Endometriosis is an uncomfortable condition that appears in women from puberty onward. While it’s most common in women ages 15-44, you can develop it at any age. Unfortunately, it can make getting pregnant much more difficult and can affect your ability to have sex comfortably.
To understand what endometriosis is and how it works, you must have an understanding of the inner structures of your reproductive system. Your uterus, which turns into the womb when you’re pregnant, has a cushioned lining of tissue called the endometrium.
Endometriosis happens when the endometrium escapes the confines of your uterus, often reaching the ovaries and fallopian tubes. In severe cases, it reaches beyond your reproductive organs entirely.
Endometriosis comes with numerous signs and symptoms. For some women, it causes excruciating pain. Other women feel little or no discomfort at all. Pain and other symptoms associated with endometriosis include:
In some cases, symptoms get worse while you’re on your period. While it’s normal to get menstrual cramps or feel bloated during your period, endometriosis often makes these symptoms worse. If you’re uncertain about the cause of your symptoms, visit Comprehensive Women’s OB/GYN for a diagnosis.
Experts aren’t certain why some women get endometriosis, but there are a few possible risk factors that increase your likelihood of getting it. They include:
Being underweight
Never birthing a baby
Heavy periods
An early start to your period
Having family members with endometriosis
Abnormalities along your reproductive tract
Pregnancy and menopause tend to relieve your endometriosis symptoms.
Your endometriosis treatment partially depends on whether you plan to get pregnant. If pregnancy isn’t a goal for you, your physician at Comprehensive Women’s OB/GYN may prescribe birth control in the form of the pill or an intrauterine device (IUD).
If you’d like to get pregnant soon, the team may prescribe gonadotropin-releasing hormone for you. It stops your ovulation for a short time and stops endometriosis progression simultaneously. When you stop taking it, your chances of getting pregnant are higher.
For severe cases only, the Comprehensive Women’s OB/GYN team may suggest surgery to remove endometriosis tissue.
Call Comprehensive Women’s OB/GYN or book your endometriosis evaluation online today.
