If you have a tissue specific to a part of your body, you expect to find the tissue there and nowhere else. With endometriosis, though, uterine tissue grows on other parts of your body, most often on other pelvic organs. But it can also appear in your abdomen and even your chest. Because it’s growing in the wrong place, it can produce uncomfortable symptoms that affect your daily life, and it may also cause difficulty getting pregnant.
Endometriosis is a common condition, affecting some 5%-10% of women and adolescents of reproductive age (15-49 years) and up to 50% of women who are infertile. From 50% to 80% of women living with chronic pelvic pain have endometriosis.
Our team of experienced physicians at Women's Health Specialists PLLC specializes in diagnosing and treating endometriosis in our patients who live in and around Murfreesboro, Tennessee. As many women don’t know how to recognize the symptoms of endometriosis, we’re writing this blog to help you know if it’s time to seek medical help.
The endometrium is the tissue that forms the inner lining of your uterus. If you get pregnant, the endometrium supports the fetus’ early development. If you don’t get pregnant, the tissue falls away from the walls of your uterus and leaves your body during menstruation.
When you have endometriosis, though, endometrium-like tissue grows elsewhere in your body, in places where it shouldn’t be. Like the endometrium, this tissue is hormonally sensitive and can experience inflammatory flares during your menstrual cycle, but it has no way to leave the body. Instead, the presence of the tissue may lead to ovarian cysts, superficial lesions, deeper nodules, scar tissue, and adhesions (tissue that connects and binds your organs together).
The primary symptom of endometriosis is pain. It may be intense or mild, and you can generally feel it in your abdomen, pelvic region, and lower back. It’s a common condition, but not all women experience symptoms, or, if they do, not the same symptoms.
Symptoms for women who do experience them include:
The abnormal growths and the inflammation they cause can lead to pain and heavy periods. The inflammation can also damage eggs and sperm, and the growths may block the egg from moving easily through the fallopian tube and uterus, leading to infertility — another symptom.
There appears to be no connection between endometriosis symptoms and the severity of the condition. Some women have very few patches of errant growth and still experience severe pain. Others have severe endometriosis, but don’t experience much pain at all.
Endometriosis is now recognized as a systemic disorder, meaning its effects are felt throughout the body. In addition to pelvic symptoms, research shows that women with endometriosis have higher rates of both depression and anxiety than those who don’t have it, they often experience fatigue, and they’re at increased risk for developing cardiovascular disease.
In many cases, a diagnosis starts with your symptoms, as pelvic pain and heavy periods might prompt you to reach out to one of our physicians.
We start by taking your personal medical history, including information about any previous pregnancies and if any other family members have endometriosis. We may also do a pelvic exam. If we need more information, we’ll do imaging studies, beginning with an ultrasound.
Depending on the severity of your symptoms and your medical results, we may want to get an MRI scan for further endometriosis mapping.
We might also recommend a laparoscopic surgical procedure, for both definitive diagnosis and for treatment. It can confirm or deny an endometriosis diagnosis because your surgeon uses a small camera (laparoscope) to look inside your body and can see the extra tissue, if it’s there.
The doctor can also remove growths or take a biopsy during the procedure for laboratory examination, which can determine if you have endometriosis.
Since not everyone with endometriosis displays symptoms, sometimes the doctor will discover the problem while checking for something else. If you’re asymptomatic, there may be no need to remove the growths.
Endometriosis is considered a chronic disease, but its symptoms can be managed. As we’ve seen, surgery can serve as a way to confirm and treat it. Despite surgical risks, this can be an effective way to relieve pain and, in some cases, improve fertility.
However, symptoms may come back within a few years, and the severity of your endometriosis might be an indicator (as yet unproven) of how quickly that could be. Your doctor may suggest combining surgery with medication, specifically hormone treatments that desensitize the tissue to estrogen, which may prove to be longer lasting.
Pelvic floor physical therapy, either with or without medication, may be helpful for central nerve pain.
Women's Health Specialists also offers NovaSure® endometrial ablation, which uses energy to destroy the uterine lining, thereby reducing heavy menstrual flow.
Are you dealing with pelvic pain and want to know if it’s endometriosis? Call our office at 615-907-2040, or book your appointment online with us today.
