Endometriosis Archives - Amazing Health Advances

Is Endometriosis Causing Your Painful Periods?

The AHA! Team — Fri, 01 Nov 2024 05:11:17 +0000

Esther L Ellis via Duke Health – If you experience extremely painful periods, don’t ignore it. It’s important to seek care from an obstetrician-gynecologist as these symptoms may signal endometriosis. The painful condition affects an estimated 6.5 million women in the U.S., but is often undiagnosed. That is a concern because endometriosis can cause scarring and inflammation, which can lead to infertility if left untreated. Here, Duke Health minimally invasive gynecology surgeon Amy Broach, MD, answers frequently asked questions about endometriosis including its symptoms, testing, and treatment options. What is endometriosis and why is it painful? During endometriosis, the tissue lining the inside of the uterus — the endometrium — grows outside the uterus where it doesn’t belong. Menstruation occurs when the endometrium responds to hormonal signals, grows and sheds each month. The endometrium outside of the uterus also grows, which can cause painful irritation, inflammation, and scarring. What are the symptoms of endometriosis? The most common symptom is painful periods. “We’re referring to pain where a woman is unable to go to school or work effectively, or they’re taking more pain medications than is appropriate,” said Dr. Broach. Symptoms of endometriosis also include pain during sex, bloating, painful bowel movements, and pain during urination or with a full bladder. It is possible to have endometriosis without symptoms. Does endometriosis cause weight gain? Endometriosis does not directly cause weight gain. However, Dr. Broach said the symptoms of endometriosis can impact a person’s ability to maintain a healthy weight. “Sometimes people in pain seek emotional comfort in food, and do not feel up to physical activity so it’s a complex situation.” How is endometriosis diagnosed? Endometriosis can be investigated with a physical exam or an ultrasound, which may show scarring or an ovarian cyst due to endometriosis. However, mild and even severe endometriosis can have normal ultrasounds depending on where it’s located, which is why the condition is often misdiagnosed. “By the time I see someone, they’ve often seen multiple providers and have been told, ‘Oh, you just have painful periods,’” Dr. Broach said. “If you feel like something is not being addressed, advocate for yourself. Seek an expert in the field. “ If your imaging comes back normal and your doctor still suspects endometriosis, laparoscopy is the next step. What is laparoscopy for endometriosis? Laparoscopy is a minimally invasive surgery used to diagnose and treat endometriosis. It allows your doctor to get a complete view of your pelvic area. During the procedure, your surgeon makes a small incision in the belly button, inflates your abdomen with gas, and inserts a lighted camera through the incision to inspect the pelvic area and appendix. Your surgeon will have a clear view to identify, remove, or destroy endometriosis lesions, cysts, and scar tissue without harming the healthy tissue around it. What are the stages of endometriosis? There are four stages of endometriosis based on how deep the tissue has penetrated, how widespread it is, and where it is located. During stage one, spots of endometriosis are smaller and shallower. Stage four means spots are deeply rooted into the tissue and are usually on important organs like the ovaries, colon, or bladder. Pain is not a consideration when staging endometriosis and a higher stage doesn’t mean your symptoms are more severe. How is endometriosis treated? Birth control pills and over-the-counter anti-inflammatories such as ibuprofen are usually tried first. If that doesn’t work, Dr. Broach said progesterone-only hormonal therapy given via pills, injections, or intrauterine devices (IUDs) is typically the next step. “A lot of people respond well to the intrauterine device,” she said. According to Dr. Broach, stronger medications are available for people with more severe endometriosis, which creates a “menopause-like scenario.” “The brain and the ovaries are still talking to each other but at a much lower volume,” she said. These medications are taken by mouth and lower hormone levels to reduce menstrual bleeding and pain. They are tried before the strongest medication used to treat endometriosis, leuprolide. Leuprolide is an injection that completely blocks the communication between the brain and the ovaries, temporarily stopping your periods. Your period will return once you stop taking the medication. Laparoscopic endometriosis surgery is usually preferred for women trying to get pregnant. “Doing surgery and resecting or treating some of the disease increases a woman’s ability to become pregnant for about six months after surgery,” said Dr. Broach. To read the original article click here.

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Women with Endometriosis May Have Higher Risk of Stroke

AHA Publisher — Mon, 25 Jul 2022 07:00:54 +0000

American Heart Association (AHA) via Newswise – DALLAS, July 21, 2022 — A large, prospective study found that women with endometriosis may have a higher risk of stroke compared to women without the chronic inflammatory condition, according to new research published today in Stroke, the peer-reviewed flagship journal of the American Stroke Association, a division of the American Heart Association. Endometriosis (abnormal growth of endometrial-like tissue outside the uterus) is estimated to affect approximately 10% of reproductive aged women in the U.S., according to study authors. Previous research found that women with endometriosis are at greater risk of cardiovascular diseases such as heart attack, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. “These findings suggest that women with a history of endometriosis may be at higher risk of stroke,” said Stacey A. Missmer, Sc.D., study senior author and professor of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive biology at Michigan State University College of Human Medicine in Grand Rapids, Michigan. “Clinicians should look at the health of the whole woman, including elevated blood pressure, high cholesterol and other new stroke risk factors, not only symptoms specifically associated with endometriosis, such as pelvic pain or infertility.” In this study, researchers led by first author, Leslie V. Farland, Sc.D., assistant professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at University of Arizona in Tucson, examined the association between endometriosis and the development of ischemic stroke (caused by blood clots blocking blood flow) or hemorrhagic stroke (caused by bleeding in the brain) among women enrolled in the Nurses’ Health Study II. The analysis involved 112,056 women who were nurses between the ages of 25 and 42 years old from 14 U.S. states at the start of the study in 1989. The current study ended in 2017. A laparoscopy (surgical procedure in which a fiber-optic instrument is inserted through the abdominal wall to view the organs in the abdomen or to permit a surgical procedure) was used to make the diagnosis of endometriosis. Endometriosis was reported in 5,244 women and most of the participants (93%), including those diagnosed with endometriosis, were white women. Researchers analyzed data collected every two years for many possible confounders or risk factors, including alcohol intake, current body mass index, menstrual cycle pattern in adolescence, current oral contraceptive and postmenopausal hormone exposure, smoking history, diet, physical activity, aspirin use, race/ethnicity and income. Additionally, researchers investigated if the link between endometriosis and risk of stroke could be explained by other mediating factors such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, hysterectomy (removal of the uterus), oophorectomy (removal of the ovaries) and postmenopausal hormone therapy. During the 28 years of follow-up including medical record confirmations, researchers documented 893 strokes. The analysis found: Women with endometriosis (5,244) had a 34% greater risk of stroke, compared to those without the condition (106,812). The largest proportion of the stroke risk associated with endometriosis was linked to hysterectomy and/or oophorectomy (39%) and postmenopausal hormone therapy (16%). No significant differences were seen in the relationship between endometriosis and stroke across multiple factors – such as age, infertility history, body mass index or menopausal status. “There are circumstances when a hysterectomy and/or oophorectomy is the best choice for a woman, however, we also need to make sure that patients are aware of the potential health risks associated with these procedures,” Missmer said. “Other research also suggests that hysterectomy is associated with elevated stroke risk even if there is no history of endometriosis.” “These results do not indicate that women who have endometriosis will have a stroke. Instead, these findings signify only an association of moderate relative risk. The absolute risk of stroke in women is low,” Missmer said. “Women with endometriosis should pay attention to their whole body and discuss added risks and preventive options with their health care team.” “While we know that adverse pregnancy outcomes are associated with increased risk of premature cardiovascular disease, this study sheds light on the association of gynecological issues such as endometriosis with stroke, which could impact both patients and clinicians,” said American Heart Association Go Red for Women volunteer Garima Sharma, M.B.B.S., who is director of cardio-obstetrics and assistant director of medicine at Johns Hopkins Cardiology in Baltimore. “Most importantly, this study underscores the importance of understanding reproductive and gynecological history.” The study had several limitations. Data detailing subtypes of strokes was not available. As a result, the relationship between subtypes of strokes and endometriosis could not be evaluated. Another limitation of the study is that researchers were unable to determine the impact of time from endometriosis-associated symptom onset and age at endometriosis diagnosis. To read the original article click here.

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