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What is endometriosis?
Endometriosis is a common health problem in women. It gets
its name from the word endometrium, the tissue that lines
the uterus (womb).
In women with this problem, tissue that looks and acts like
the lining of the uterus grows outside of the uterus in other
areas. These areas can be called growths, tumors, implants,
lesions, or nodules.
Most endometriosis is found:
- on or under the ovaries
- behind the uterus
- on the tissues that hold the uterus in place
- on the bowels or bladder
Endometriosis rarely grows in the lungs or other parts of
the body. This "misplaced" tissue can cause pain, infertility
(not being able to get pregnant), and very heavy periods.
What are the symptoms of endometriosis?
Pain is one of the most common symptoms of endometriosis.
Usually the pain is in the abdomen, lower back, and pelvis.
The amount of pain a woman feels does not depend on how much
endometriosis she has. Some women have no pain, even though
their disease affects large areas. Other women with endometriosis
have severe pain even though they have only a few small growths.
Symptoms of endometriosis include:
- Very painful menstrual cramps
- Pain with periods that gets worse over time
- Chronic pain
in the lower back and pelvis
- Pain during or after sex
- Intestinal pain
- Painful bowel movements or painful urination during menstrual
periods
- Heavy and/or long menstrual periods
- Spotting or bleeding between periods
- Infertility (not being able to get pregnant)
- Fatigue
Women with endometriosis may also have gastrointestinal problems
such as diarrhea, constipation, or bloating, especially during
their periods.
Who usually gets endometriosis?
About five million women in the United States have endometriosis.
This makes it one of the most common health problems for
women.
In general, women with endometriosis:
- get their monthly period
- are 27-years-old on average
- have symptoms for two to five years before finding out
they have the disease
Women who have gone through menopause (when a woman stops
having her period) rarely still have symptoms.
What can raise my chances of getting
endometriosis?
You are more likely to develop endometriosis if you:
- began getting your period at an early age
- have heavy periods
- have periods that last more than seven days
- have a short monthly cycle (27 days or less)
- have a close relative (mother, aunt, sister) with endometriosis
How can I reduce my chances of getting
endometriosis?
Some studies suggest that you may lower your chances of
developing endometriosis if you:
- exercise regularly
- avoid alcohol and caffeine
Why do patches of endometriosis
cause pain and health problems?
Growths of endometriosis are almost always benign or not
cancerous, but still can cause many problems. To see why,
it helps to understand a woman's monthly cycle. Every month,
hormones cause the lining of a woman's uterus to build up
with tissue and blood vessels. If a woman does not get pregnant,
the uterus sheds this tissue and blood. It comes out of the
body through the vagina as her menstrual period.
Patches of endometriosis also respond to a woman's monthly
cycle. Each month the growths add extra tissue and blood,
but there is no place for the built-up tissue and blood to
exit the body. For this reason, growths tend to get bigger
and the symptoms of endometriosis often get worse over time.
Tissue and blood that is shed into the body can cause inflammation,
scar tissue, and pain. As the misplaced tissue grows, it
can cover or grow into the ovaries and block the fallopian
tubes. This can make it hard for women with endometriosis
to get pregnant. The growths can also cause problems in the
intestines and
bladder.
Why is it important to find out
if I have endometriosis?
The pain of endometriosis can interfere with your life.
Studies show that women with endometriosis often skip school,
work, and social events. This health problem can also get
in the way of relationships with your partner, friends, children,
and co-workers. Plus, endometriosis can make it hard for
you to get pregnant.
Finding out that you have endometriosis is the first step
in taking back your life. Many treatments can control the
symptoms. Medicine can relieve your pain. And when endometriosis
causes fertility problems, surgery can boost your chances
of getting pregnant.
How would I know if I have endometriosis?
If you think you have this disease, talk with your obstetrician/gynecologist
(OB/GYN). Your OB/GYN has special training to diagnose and
treat this condition. The doctor will talk to you about your
symptoms and health history. Then she or he will do a pelvic
exam. Sometimes during the exam, the doctor can find signs
of endometriosis.
Usually doctors need to run tests to find out if a woman
has endometriosis. Sometimes doctors use imaging tests to "see" large
growths of endometriosis inside the body. The two most common
imaging tests are:
- ultrasound, which uses sound waves to see inside the
body
- magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), which uses magnets
and radio waves to make a "picture" of the inside of the
body
The only way to know for sure if you have endometriosis
is to have a surgery called laparoscopy. In this procedure,
a tiny cut is made in your abdomen. A thin tube with a light
is placed inside to see growths from endometriosis. Sometimes
doctors can diagnose endometriosis just by seeing the growths.
Other times, they need to take a small sample of tissue,
or a biopsy, and study it under a microscope.
What causes endometriosis?
No one knows for sure what causes this disease, but scientists
have a number of theories.
They know that endometriosis runs in families. If your mother
or sister has endometriosis, you are six times more likely
to get the disease than other women. So, one theory suggests
that endometriosis is caused by genes.
Another theory is that during a woman's monthly periods,
some endometrial tissue backs up into the abdomen through
the fallopian
tubes. This transplanted tissue then grows outside the
uterus. Many researchers think a faulty immune
system plays a part in endometriosis. In women with the
disease, the immune system fails to find and destroy endometrial
tissue growing outside of the uterus. Plus, a recent study
shows that immune system disorders (health problems in which
the body attacks itself) are more common in women with endometriosis.
More research in this area may help doctors better understand
and treat endometriosis.
To read the rest of this article (including treatment information)
from WomensHealth.gov, please click here: http://www.4woman.gov/faq/endomet.htm
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