Category: Treatment

Besides medication and surgery, there are many other methods to help you treat your pain.

People often turn to alternative and complementary therapies (ACT) to seek symptom relief and to support health in general.

There is no one specific diet for endometriosis. No food, diet, or supplement will “cure” endometriosis, but it can help manage symptoms and is great for overall health and well-being.

Find the right therapist can be just as difficult as finding an endometriosis specialist. There are many different types of therapists providing many different types of therapy out there, and “fit” between you and your therapist is very important. I’ve included some helpful information and tips below to help you find a good therapist if you’d like some support along your Endo journey.

Endometriosis is intimately linked to mental health. While depression and anxiety together impact 10-20% of the general population, metanalyses (studies looking at the results of other studies to find trends) show higher rates of depression and anxiety in people with endometriosis

It comes as no surprise to those of us who suffer from endometriosis and/or any related conditions that it can affect our mental health and well-being.

I had never heard of pelvic physical therapy prior to beginning my doctoral program at Duke University. I remember very clearly when I first learned that some physical therapists did “that.”

Endometriosis can cause problems with the surrounding muscles and soft tissues. Pelvic floor spasms, tight muscles, other myofascial changes, and more will often contribute to symptoms (such as pain with defecation or pain with sex).

I had never heard of pelvic physical therapy prior to beginning my doctoral program at Duke University. I remember very clearly when I first learned that some physical therapists did “that.”

Addressing the issue of pain management is difficult. Most people with endometriosis wait an average of ten years for a diagnosis.

An often used treatment for endometriosis is to lower the estrogen in a woman’s body via hormonal suppression. Birth control can mimic a pregnancy state, while other treatments, such as gonadotrophin-releasing hormone agonists (GnRHa), can mimic a menopausal state.

Should I take medication to prevent recurrence of my endo?” There is no definitive answer to this question- it is an individual choice that should be discussed with your provider.

Paracetamol or acetaminophen as it is also known is a very safe and effective painkiller when taken in regular intervals. It has been used to reduce the levels of narcotics that patients have to use to control their pain. I would always recommend that a patient suffering chronic pain should be on regular paracetamol.

Medications are used to help alleviate the symptoms of endometriosis. They do not get rid of the disease itself. Often, once medications are stopped, the symptoms return.

Just as discussed with pain medications, hormonal medications may help alleviate the symptoms of endometriosis. They work for some and not others. Your provider should tailor your treatment to fit your needs and desires. Here are some points to consider:

Adhesions are bands of scar-like, fibrous tissue that can form when there is any kind of tissue injury. According to Van Den Beukel et al. (2017), adhesions can cause pelvic pain.

Adhesions are formed as a protection your body provides. When you fall and skin your knee, a scab forms to protect the raw area until the skin heals. Internally, adhesions perform much the same way.

I think it is time to explain the Davinci robot from the viewpoint of someone that actually uses the device. There are many people that may disagree with some of the things I will mention, or describe, but this is based on my published data, my experience, and my opinion.

Carbon left behind by laser vaporization is more problematic than just the question of being mistaken for recurrent disease. Carbon can stimulate a foreign body giant cell reaction which can be its own cause of pain and lymphadenopathy.

Endometriosis is a common disease whose treatment consumes a substantial amount of health care resources. As healthcare spending grows as a proportion of GDP, there is more pressure for cost-containment and wiser use of funds.

There are different approaches to the surgical management of bowel endometriosis, such as shaving, excision, and resection. Different studies reveal the advantages and disadvantages of the different techniques.

Just as endometriosis treatment is not one size fits all, recovery will be different for every individual as well. The extent of the disease removed, length of surgery, how your own body heals, and many other factors will come into play.

The average time from symptom onset to diagnosis is 7-12 years. You cannot un-do this in a few hours of surgery. This does not mean individuals with endometriosis and pelvic pain cannot get well. They absolutely can but it is not like appendicitis where you have acute pain, surgery, surgical recovery and back to normal in a few weeks.

Endometriosis lesions can have many different appearances and varying locations. It used to be taught that the lesions had “black, powder burn” appearance; however, we know now that they can vary widely in appearance and can be clear, yellow, tan, red, or black.

The skill of the surgeon can affect the ability to accurately identify endometriosis in order to diagnose as well as to remove all disease (Jose, Fausto, & Antonio, 2018; Fischer et al., 2013). Also, endometriosis is not confined to the pelvis and can involve areas such as ureters, bowel, or diaphragm that require a higher level of care.

confirmation, and it better ensures that all of the endometriosis lesion is removed. With ablation, it may or may not reach deep enough to destroy all the endometriosis lesion and it does not allow for pathology confirmation.

While medications can be effective for symptom relief, they can have difficult to tolerate side effects, do not stop the progression of disease, and symptoms can return once stopped. Surgery can offer long term benefits and prevent further damage to tissue.

There has been a lot of “chatter” on Endometriosis social media pages lately about hormone therapy to prevent endometriosis from progressing as well as “chatter” regarding hysterectomy to “treat” endometriosis.

Patients with endometriosis often go through years of symptoms before the diagnosis of endometriosis is made and even longer before finding relief.

reatment for endometriosis includes management of symptoms, surgical diagnosis, surgical removal of disease, and identification and management of additional conditions that cause pelvic symptoms.