Endometriosis | HealthInfi

Overview

Endometriosis is a noncancerous condition in which tissue similar to the endometrium (uterine lining) grows outside your uterus and adheres to other structures, most commonly in the pelvis, such as on the ovaries, bowel, fallopian tubes or bladder. Rarely it implants in other places, such as the liver, lungs, diaphragmand surgical sites.

Endometriosis (en-doe-me-tree-O-sis) is an often painful disorder in which tissue that normally lines the inside of your uterus — the endometrium — grows outside your uterus. Endometriosis most commonly involves your ovaries, fallopian tubes and the tissue lining your pelvis. Rarely, endometrial tissue may spread beyond pelvic organs.

With endometriosis, displaced endometrial tissue continues to act as it normally would — it thickens, breaks down and bleeds with each menstrual cycle. Because this displaced tissue has no way to exit your body, it becomes trapped. When endometriosis involves the ovaries, cysts called endometriomas may form. Surrounding tissue can become irritated, eventually developing scar tissue and adhesions — abnormal bands of fibrous tissue that can cause pelvic tissues and organs to stick to each other.

Endometriosis can cause pain — sometimes severe — especially during your period. Fertility problems also may develop. Fortunately, effective treatments are available. It is a common cause of pelvic pain and infertility. It affects about 5 million women in the United States. Historically thought of as a disease that affects adult women, endometriosis is increasingly being diagnosed in adolescents, as well.

The most common symptoms are painful menstrual periods and/or chronic pelvic pain.

Others include:

• Diarrhea and painful bowel movements, especially during menstruation
• Intestinal pain
• Painful intercourse
• Abdominal tenderness
• Backache
• Severe menstrual cramps
• Excessive menstrual bleeding
• Painful urination
• Pain in the pelvic region with exercise
• Painful pelvic examinations
• Infertility

It is important to understand that other conditions aside from endometriosis can cause any or all of these symptoms and other causes may need to be ruled out. These include, but are not limited to, interstitial cystitis, irritable bowel syndrome, inflammatory bowel disease, pelvic adhesions (scar tissue), ovarian masses, uterine abnormalities, fibromyalgia, malabsorption syndromes and, very rarely, malignancies.

When endometriosis tissue grows outside of the uterus, it continues to respond to hormonal signals—specifically estrogen—from the ovaries telling it to grow. Estrogen is the hormone that causes your uterine lining to thicken each month. When estrogen levels drop, the lining is expelled from the uterus, resulting in menstrual flow (you get your period). But unlike the tissue lining the uterus, which leaves your body during menstruation, endometriosis tissue is essentially trapped.

With no place to go, the tissue bleeds internally. Your body reacts to the internal bleeding with inflammation, a process that can lead to the formation of scar tissue, also called adhesions. This inflammation and the resulting scar tissue may cause pain and other symptoms. Recent research also finds that this misplaced endometrial tissue may develop its own blood supply to help it proliferate and nerve supply to communicate with the brain, one reason for the condition’s severe pain and the other chronic pain conditions so many women with endometriosis suffer from.Read More