Endometriosis is one of the leading causes of infertility and menstrual pain. Endometriosis is when the tissue that usually makes up the lining of the uterus (known as the endometrium) starts to grow in other places around the body.This wandering endometrial tissue can grow anywhere but it tends to stay in the pelvic cavity either on the ovaries, around the outside of the uterus or sometimes in the vagina, near the appendix, small intestine or bladder. The endometrial tissue acts exactly the same as it does when it lines your uterus, so every month it swells and thickens getting ready for fertilization and when there is no egg it breaks down and then sloughs off.
The telltale symptoms of Endometriosis are pain during intercourse, menstrual pain and infertility. Other symptoms depend on where abouts the endometrial tissue is growing. For example if it is growing in your pelvic cavity close to the uterus there will be painful periods and abdominal tenderness. The pain may be just before your period or after the end of your period.
Causes of Endometriosis:
There are a few possibilities for the cause of endo. One is the menstrual backflow theory which says that some of the flow from your period, which includes pieces of endometrial tissue, travels back into the fallopian tubes and enters the pelvic cavity. These bits of endometrial tissue then implant themselves onto the organs that are close by and start to grow.
Another theory says that the lining of the body cavities is able to grow into anything – known as “totipotential” tissue – and when a woman starts to produce estrogen this tissue gradually develops into endometrial tissue. This theory explains why it is possible to find endometrial tissue in remote parts of the body such as the lungs or the nose.
So, who is likely to get endometriosis? Typically, a woman diagnosed with endometriosis is aged in her twenties or thirties and has not yet produced any children. For some reason Japanese women are more at risk and in countries where women have children at a younger age there are less occurrences of the disease.
Over time, Endometriosis tends to get worse, this is because each month the blood and waste that is produced by the wansering endometrial tissue cannot leave the body so eventually it causes pain, inflammation and scar tissue. The scar tissue gets bigger and bigger and eventually organs can become stuck together. EG. the ovaries can become stuck to the back of the pelvic cavity. Advanced endometriosis can also result in large cysts that are filled with dark blood; these cysts are quite fragile and hard to remove in one piece.
There are three stages of Endometriosis:
(1) small scattered implants occur on the lining of the pelvis or the surface of the ovary. No scarring, cysts or adhesions and the bowel has not yet become involved.
(2) small cysts, mild adhesions and some scarring on one or both the ovaries with the ligaments supporting the uterus possibly involved, but not the bowel.
(3) Both ovaries are involved and are both have become fixed in place by adhesions. The fallopian tubes have become blocked or fixed in place and the uterus is now either adhered or pushed out of place. The bowel, bladder and ureters are all involved.
One of the main symptoms of Endometriosis is infertility. This could be because the fallopian tubes have become blocked or because adhesions interfere with the fertilization process. Endometriosis may have also invaded the ovaries and this can prevent them from functioning properly. But, in some cases there may be no no large implants in th pelvis and no blockages – what may be happening is that the endometrial tissue which produces hormones is interfering with ovulation and this would also explain the increased monthly pain as the implants produce more prostaglandins which is the substance that causes menstrual cramping.
To learn more about how to treat endometriosis please visit:
More About Endometriosis:
New Way Found to Diagnose Endometriosis
Until now, a diagnosis of endometriosis — in which the tissue that lines the uterus, called the endometrium, grows outside the uterus — was made by inspection of the pelvis via laparoscopy, a procedure that requires anesthesia.
Because the symptoms of endometriosis are so similar to other conditions, such as pelvic inflammatory disease, polycystic ovarian syndrome, and ovarian cancer, it can go undetected for years, slowly causing more and more damage.
Why does endometriosis cause infertility
Endometriosis and infertility go hand in hand, but not always. Many women who have been diagnosed with endometriosis are infertile, but some of them aren’t.
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