Endometriosis isn’t one of those conditions that lingers in the background. For the 11% of women between the ages of 15 and 44 in the United States who have endometriosis, the condition can cast a very wide, and extremely uncomfortable, net.
Given the complications of endometriosis, which range from pelvic pain to infertility, finding the correct treatment is often a top goal.
To help, women’s health expert Dr. Jose F. De Leon, who is part of the team at Kinwest OBGYN in Dallas and Irving, Texas, outlines a few endometriosis treatment options here. Bear in mind that your treatment options depend upon your goals, and these can differ from one woman to the next.
We kick off this discussion with an important point about endometriosis — the condition can be difficult to identify. With endometriosis, endometrial tissues and cells that normally line your uterus grow outside of the organ. These misplaced tissues can be found in your pelvic and abdominal cavities, and they can even grow in your chest cavity, although that’s rare.
Given its far reach into other areas of your health, diagnosing endometriosis can take 4 to 11 years as providers and patients chase symptoms down different avenues.
We point this out because it’s important that we confirm that your symptoms are, in fact, due to endometriosis before we discuss treatment.
One of the main complaints with endometriosis is painful periods, or dysmenorrhea. This occurs because endometrial tissues outside of your uterus are responding to your menstrual cycles, but they have nowhere to shed out.
If period pain is your chief complaint, medications are usually the first line of defense. To start, we can try over-the-counter medications like ibuprofen.
More effective are hormone medications that prevent the buildup of endometrial tissues during your menstrual cycles by suppressing the effects of estrogen. We can turn to:
Each of these hormone therapies can help with endometriosis discomfort, but they also prevent pregnancy, which is something to keep in mind.
Between 30% and 50% of women with endometriosis experience infertility. If you want to have children but you’re worried about the effects of endometriosis, we can try an approach in which we force you into a temporary menopause to control the growth of your endometriosis. To do this, we use GnRH agonists, which stop ovulation and your menstrual cycles.
After a period of time, and when you’re ready to have kids, you can stop taking the medications and your menstrual cycles return. This approach works for many women, but not always, which brings us to the next endometriosis treatment.
If you’re experiencing fertility issues as part of your endometriosis and you want to put family building back on the table, surgery is likely your next step.
A minimally invasive procedure in which we laparoscopically remove problematic endometrial adhesions can re-establish your fertility. We can also perform this type of surgery to alleviate other symptoms of endometriosis, such as painful intercourse, which is a common side effect of the condition.
To explore your endometriosis treatment options with Dr. De Leon in person, please contact Kinwest OBGYN today to schedule an appointment.
