Welcome to my Endometriosis Page Endometriosis is known as a silent disease, It often lurks around for quite sometime before it shows its nasty face. Along with endometriosis comes another silent partner called adhesions/scar tissue, who as well is waiting to show its ugly face. I have been suffering Gyn related pain and problems for 23 years now. The last three years have been chronic, I have had 13 abdominal surgeries so far, I have tried many treatments to try to battle these two conditions. I have tried multiple medications, cortizone injections,abdominal nerve blocks, and many abdominal surgeries. So far the doctors have not come up with a cure for me. I have been living on Demerol, Robaxin and Neurotin  for nine years now to try to bring some pain relief. Why Demerol I have been asked, because its the only pain medication I am not allergic too. Which also makes pain relief difficult. To hear more about my struggle with pain you may go to my page called My Pain My Story. Because I too suffer, I decided it was my time to create a page for women who are also suffering from this conditions. Any Stories and information you may have is welcome. Just e-mail me, and I would be more than interested in hearing your battle with endometriosis. Also if you have a web site that carries information either your own personal story or medical information concerning endometriosis or other gynecologist related problems. I will be more than happy to place your link here. The information and links listed below will help you understand more about this condition.

What is endometriosis ? The medical definition of endometriosis is: Endometrium including both endometrial glands and stroma in an ectopic location.  What that means is, tissue similar to the lining of the uterus that is found living outside the uterus, usually in the female pelvis.   Where does it live? Usually, endometriosis is found in the female pelvis.It has been found on every pelvic organ including the uterus, ovaries, tubes, ligaments, ureters, bowel, bladder,cervic,rectum and other peritoneal surface,endometriosis has also been found in other locations like the knees, thumbs,arms, thigh, hips, vulva, lungs,liver,what they are finding out is endometriosis seems to go anywhere it wants to go.   What does it do? The magnitude of endometriosis pain depends in part on where it is and how much you have. A spot of endometriosis may stay small and relatively inactive for many years. However, even the tiniest implant can cause incapacitating pain if it irritates a nearby nerve.  Larger implants can become locally invasive as they respond to hormone stimulation. The tissue surrounding the implant can start to break down and bleed. The body's natural reaction is to try to cover this raw area with scar tissue/adhesions. But if active endometriosis becomes trapped beneath adhesions, enormous pain and pressure can result. A large walled-off area (frequently an ovary) can lose its central blood supply. Then degeneration and destruction of the localized blood can create a cystic mass called an endometrioma. An endometrioma can be quite small or grow very large. Advanced endometriosis can result in pelvises frozen with adhesions. This means that organ designed to float freely within the pelvis is stuck together. Then, any movement of any one of those structures such ovulation, movements during sexual intercourse,bowel movements,stretching,bending ect. Can result in enormous pain.   What does it feel like? Endometreosis is known as a silent disease,often time there are no symptoms,the most common symptom is pain.Here are a few more,as with any disease symptoms vary from person to person.Some may have more or less. Severe menstrual cramps pelvic pain apart from menses backache painful intercourse painful bowel movements fatigue bloating constipation menstrual diarrhea pain with exercise painful pelvic exams painful and frequent urination   Low resistance to infections Extensive allergies Difficulty becoming pregnant   Chemical sensitivities   Frequent yeast infections   How is it diagnosed ? So far the only way to get an accurate diagnose is to preform a laparoscopy, a surgical procedure done under anesthesia.This will then shows the location, size, and extent of the growths. After confirmation,then you and your doctor can figure out a treatment that is best for you.   Who can get endometriosis? Endometriosis affects an estimated women of reproductive age in the United States, and an additional 500,000 women in Canada. The disease affects women of all races and socioeconomic groups, starting in their teenage years through middle age. 47% of women diagnosed with endometriosis had symptoms before age 20. A woman who has a mother or sister with endometriosis, has a risk of developing endometriosis that is six times greater than that of the general population. Other risk factors include having a menstrual cycle lengths of 27 days or less, early onset of menstrual periods, and periods lasting seven or more days What causes endometriosis? The cause of the disease is unknown, although many theories trying to explain why it happens have been advanced Does Endometriosis Always Cause Pain? Pelvic pain is estimated to be responsible for almost 25% of gynecology visits. 15% of women may have endometriosis without having any pain symptoms   Endometriosis and Pain: Treatment Although there is no cure for endometriosis, a variety of treatment and options exist.   Pain medication Over-the-counter pain relievers may include aspirin and tylenol, ibuprofen, naproxen sodium, and some cases, prescription drugs may be required Oral Contraceptives GnRH agonists Lupron ,Synarel, Zoladex ,Danocrine are drugs that stop virtually all ovarian activity These drugs should  only be taken for 6 months at a time because they can cause bone density loss and other changes associated with menopause Some side-effects commonly associated with GnRH drugs include: Hot flashes Mood swings Irritability Weight gain or loss Loss of libido Forgetfulness Depression Anxiety Bone density loss Progestagens Progesterone counteracts the effect of estrogen on the endometrium Danazol Is not used much since equally effective medications are available and the side effects of Danazol can be undesirable. Alternative Treatments Complementary treatment options may include traditional Chinese medicine, nutritional approaches, homeopathy, allergy management, and immune therapy Surgery Diagnostic,conservative,Aggressive,Radical surgery is usually done when everything else has failed What does endometriosis look like? Pictures of endo   Endometrial polyps- are small growths inside the uterus that are almost always benign (non-cancerous).  However, they can cause a lot of abnormal and heavy bleeding, because they irritate the lining of the uterus   The Stage or Severity of Endometriosis Stage 1: Endometriosis in stage one is classified as minimal. Most patients will get a score of 1 to 5 points, meaning there are isolated incidents of endometrial tissue growth outside the uterus. Stage 2: Endometriosis in stage two is considered mild. A patient having a score of 6 to 15 points has mild endometriosis. A doctor makes this diagnosis when there are several small implants and a few small areas of scar tissue or adhesions. Stage 3: Stage the endometriosis is moderate. Patients with 16 to 40 points have moderate endometriosis. The implants in stage three must be superficial and deep. There must also be several prominent areas of scar tissue or adhesions. Typically the symptoms of endometriosis are common in patients with moderate Stage III endometriosis. Stage 4: This is the most severe stage of endometriosis, with over 40 points needed for diagnosis. Patients with stage IV endometriosis will have many superficial and deep implants as well as large adhesions. Endometriosis symptoms including infertility are common in patients with stage IV endometriosis. Some women with endometriosis will have no symptoms at all. The symptoms of endometriosis experienced by women do not necessarily correlate with the severity of the disease or the stage of endometriosis. Some women with mild endometriosis will experience severe symptoms, while women with severe endometriosis may not have any symptoms at all. Pelvic pain however is most common in women with severe endometriosis. If you suspect that you are experiencing any of the symptoms of endometriosis it is important that you consult with your healthcare provider. Your doctor can provide you with several different treatment alternatives for relieving the pain and discomfort of endometriosis. What is endometrial ablation?

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Endometriosis Information A great listing of information here.

Endozone Bowel Endometriosis Endometriosis Association Do I Have Endometriosis EndoKnow The Endometriosis Pavilion Forum Electronic Pain Diary Endometriosis Quilt Add Your Name The National  Lupron Victims Network Lupron Facts Endometriosis Research Center Nezhat Medical Center Endometriosis.org Endo sisters websites