Endometriosis Symptoms
In this short post we will take a look at Endometriosis Symptoms and the role that endometriosis plays in infertility. First to say is that endometriosis is a fairly common condition in women and varies in the severity and diversity of the problem. There are estimated to be about 1 in 2000 new cases of women diagnosed with endometriosis in the USA in a year and the average age is 39 years old. There are 3 times as many black women diagnosed with the condition compared to white, Asian or Hispanic.
What is endometriosis and how does it affect fertility?
For a larger more complete article on endometriosis symptoms click this link…
The endometrium is the lining uterus and this is the very same tissue that is constantly changing throughout a woman’s menstrual cycle in preparation for a fertilized egg. The endometrium thickens during the menstrual cycle and if no pregnancy results breaks away to cause the bleeding we see on menstruation. In actual fact the lining is thickening in preparation to accept a fertilized egg and this is a perfectly natural function. The cells of the endometrium are strongly influenced by hormones throughout a woman’s cycles. The problem with endometriosis is that these cells can become displaced and grow in other locations besides the lining of the uterus. The location of the miss placed endometrium cells can be found in the vagina, vulva, cervix, bowel, the bladder and in rare cases in the lungs. Whereas there is a natural exit for the lining of the uterus during a normal period, there is no natural exit often for endometrium cells in other parts of the body and this can setup chronic infections. It is very often quite a painful condition although effective treatments are available. Inflammation and the presence of cysts or adhesions all contribute to inhibit fertility. It should be noted that any form of long standing infection anywhere in the body is very bad for overall health in a great many ways outside of the consideration of infertility.
There are common symptoms of Endometriosis but because the site and extent of the miss placed endometrium cells is diverse, there are also quite a divers set of symptoms a doctor will be on the lookout for. Sometimes there may be no symptoms at all or the symptoms may be quite mild in form. Or it can be very disabling with huge degrees of pelvic pain and other discomforting symptoms. Infertility, pelvic pain, lower back pain, painful urination are some of the symptoms that may be experienced with endometriosis.
Higher levels of estrogen are common to women with endometriosis so drug and natural therapies that reduce the higher levels of estrogen are very useful therapies. Sometime surgical procedures are needed to remove cysts, adhesions and build ups of miss place endometrium tissue. Diet and lifestyle changes can have a great influence over the condition and in any case always assist other treatments to work better.
Once the underlying endometriosis issues have been addressed and treated, often fertility will be restored and successful pregnancy can follow.