Treating the pain of endometriosis

Many women suffer through years of painful menstrual periods before they are able to get an answer about what’s causing them: a common and often undiagnosed condition called endometriosis. What is endometriosis? Endometriosis is a condition that occurs when tissue much like the tissue that lines a woman’s uterus — called the endometrium — starts to grow in other places inside the body. Most commonly, these growths are within the pelvis, such as on the ovaries, the fallopian tubes, the outer surface of the uterus, or the bladder. During the menstrual cycle each month, the tissue lining the uterus grows thicker, then breaks down as blood that exits through the vagina. The wayward tissue growths of endometriosis respond to the same hormones as the uterine lining. But instead of draining through the vagina as a menstrual period, blood from tissue growth elsewhere in the body has nowhere to go. It pools around nearby organs and tissues, irritating and inflaming them, and sometimes causing scarring. In addition to pain, endometriosis can cause other symptoms, such as bowel- and bladder-related problems, heavy periods, sexual discomfort, and infertility. Diagnosing endometriosis may take time In some cases, diagnosis of endometriosis is delayed because teenagers and adult women assume that their symptoms are a normal part of menstruation. Those who do seek help are sometimes dismissed as overreacting to normal menstrual symptoms. In other cases, the condition may be mistaken...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Pain Management Stress Surgery Women's Health Source Type: blogs