Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Coping With Endometriosis

By Garcelina Duvantes


The endometrial cells in the body are shed every month when a woman goes through menstruation. Endometriosis is developed when there is an overgrowth of endometrial cells. These endometrial overgrowths will try to attach themselves to parts of body which are outside of the womb. Usually they attach themselves to the surrounding tissues of the womb. Endometriosis implants can be found on and around the fallopian tubes, the surface of the pelvic cavity, bladder, cervix or vagina and even in the intestines. In severe cases endometriosis has been found in the liver around the brain and the lung.

Unfortunately, endometriosis often has the terrible timing of affecting women while they are in their most fertile years. Needless to say it makes fertility very difficult, challenging or impossible in the most severe cases. A lot of young women find themselves battling this condition between the ages of twenty five to thirty five years, this is the time when a lot of women are ready to start a family. In rare cases though this problem has been known to present itself in girls as young as eleven years old. One of the major problems with endometriosis is that it often shows no symptoms and is actually the leading cause of hysterectomies in women.

Endometriosis is more common in women who are of European descent than it is in women of Asian or African descent. Doctors and scientists are not sure exactly why this occurs. The reason endometriosis even occurs at all has also baffled scientists and doctors for a long time. There are those that hypothesize that this occurs because when menstrual blood flows back into the fallopian tubes and pelvic cavity during menstruation endometrial tissue gets into other parts of the reproductive system but this is just one theory as to how this debilitating condition actually occurs.

There are certain medications that are commonly employed in the battle against endometriosis, these are contraceptives, progestins and Gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogs. Gonadotropin releasing analogs (GnRH) are useful for relieving pain. Pain can be a major problem for women suffering from endometriosis. These work by suppressing estrogen production in the woman's ovaries, in this way it stops the release of hormones from the pituitary gland .The menstrual flow ceases, creating an artificial menopause.

This form of treatment usually works well, as the oral contraceptives combine (estrogen and progesterone).Progestins are more powerful than birth control pills and are prescribed for women whose pain does not subside with birth control pills or they may not be able to take birth control pills.




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