How To Get Rid Of Endometriosis

How To Get Rid Of Endometriosis

How To Get Rid Of Endometriosis

Women are no strangers to pain. Take childbirth, for instance. Men cannot really imagine how much pain a woman must endure in order to bring a life into this world. Women also get to experience that not really pleasant sensation of stomach cramps they sometimes get when they have their monthly period. What's more, if you're a woman and you think that the agony you experience each month is already the worst, think again. About 89 million women of reproductive age suffer from what is known as endometriosis—a common disorder that is the leading cause of chronic pelvic pain in women.

Understanding Endometriosis

The uterus has a lining of specialized tissue inside it that is called the endometrium. During the woman's menstrual cycle, hormones signal the lining of the uterus causing them to become thicker, in preparation for a possible pregnancy. If no pregnancy occurs, then the hormone levels go down and the thick endometrium lining inside your uterus begins to shed. The shedding produces bleeding and it gets flushed out of the body through the vagina, in what is commonly termed as menstrual bleeding.

In endometriosis, the endometrial tissue is located elsewhere in your body, not in the uterus. They can attach themselves to the ovaries, the intestines, or outside the uterus. As the hormones increase during menstruation period, the tissue continues acting like it normally does: it thickens, it breaks down, and then it bleeds according to the rise and fall of your hormone level. The problem happens when the blood doesn't have anywhere to go to exit so it becomes trapped, and the surrounding tissue becomes agitated. Furthermore, the trapped blood may cause the growth of cysts. The cysts may form scar tissues and abnormal tissues that bind organs together. When this happens, pain in the misplaced tissue can result, usually in the pelvic area. Further problems stemming from this scarring and adhesion include fertility problems.

Causes of Endometriosis

No one really knows what the exact cause of endometriosis is. The roles of hormones and the immune system are being looked upon by the experts. There are currently two major theories that the medical and scientific community has accepted.

The first theory is called Sampson's theory of reflux menstruation. The theory states that every months, during the women's menstrual period, endometrial cells slough normally and then exit the uterus through the fallopian tubes. They then attach to the lining of the abdominal cavity and then cause endometriosis. There are several problems with this theory, however:

• Even though most women have reflux menstruation, only about 10% to 15% of them have endometriosis;
• If reflux menstruation really was the origin of endometriosis, then the older women should have more widespread disease than the younger ones since endometriosis follows reproducible patterns of distribution in the pelvis;
• if endometriosis is an auto-transplant diseases as the theory suggests, then there shouldn't be any gene difference between the tissue found in endometriosis and the native endometrium, which is exactly the case;
• If the endometriosis is removed via surgery, there's a cure rate of appropriately 60%. If Sampson's theory is correct, then cure should be impossible since endometriosis should form every month for as long as the woman keeps menstruating;
• The theory does not explain endometriosis on distance sites, such as the lungs and skin.

The second theory that has been proposed is called the Embryologically patterned melaplasia theory. The theory states that the cells that are destined to become endometriosis are already laid down in tracts even in the embryonic stage. The tracts are typically placed in the posterior pelvis, which form at eight to ten weeks of embryonic life when the female reproductive tract migrates caudally. The cells like dormant until the girl reaches puberty, when ovarian estrogen starts to be produced, stimulating their growth.

Getting Rid of Endometriosis

Stopping endometriosis usually involves medications as well as surgery. Pain management is also an important part of treating endometriosis as it is the most common and prevalent symptom of the condition.

Use pain medications. For pain management of endometriosis, most doctors recommend a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen or naproxen sodium. Stronger medications can be prescribed if NSAIDs do not work. Don't take any pain medications without first consulting your doctor. You may have other complications that might be exacerbated by NSAIDs or other pain relievers.

Slow or halt the increase of the endometrial tissue outside the uterus. There are several ways how you can make this happen. First is to reduce the hormones that can cause changes on the endometrium through hormone suppression therapy or using hormonal contraceptives. Hormone suppression therapy must typically be done for several months, or even years.

Consider conservative surgery. The down side of getting hormonal therapy is that they prevent the woman from becoming pregnant. For those who want to get rid of endometriosis and still want to feel the joys of being pregnant, then surgery is the best option. Severe pain may also be removed by surgery.Conservative surgery removed the endometrial adhesions, scar tissues, and growths without removing the woman's reproductive organs. There are several ways this type of surgery can be done: through laparoscopic surgery, where a slender instrument called a laparoscope (equipped with a small surgical instrument) is inserted through a small incision near the navel, or through traditional abdominal surgery.

Hysterectomy. Hysterectomy is only recommended for the most severe cases. Hysterectomy alone is enough to stop endometriosis but unless the ovaries are removed, there's a chance that the endometriosis might return. The downside is that the woman will not be able to get pregnant anymore.

In dealing with endometriosis, it is important that a woman knows what she is going into, since her child-bearing capability might be involved in the equation. Endometriosis is rarely fatal, but then again, there are those who prioritize giving a life into this world more important than their own lives.

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