Endometriosis: Symptoms, Types, Stages, Causes and Treatments
The name endometriosis is derived from the term “endometrium”. Endometriosis meaning is a state in which the endometrium tissue develops outside the uterus on other reproductive organs like ovaries, fallopian tubes or inside the pelvis.
In normal conditions, the endometrium tries to grow inside the uterus during a woman’s menstrual cycle, to support a possible pregnancy. If the woman does not get pregnant, then it breaks down and bleeds with each menstrual cycle.
However, in an endometriosis disease condition, the endometrial tissue is got displaced and tries to develop outside the uterus.
Then, it has no path to leave the body and becomes trapped. This generates the inflammation of surrounding tissues, which then create scar tissue and develop into growths.
Thus, we can say that endometriosis disease can cause pain, which may be serious sometimes, especially at the time of menstrual periods.
Also, fertility problems may arise in women. But fortunately, there are effective treatments available that can help to treat endometriosis.
In this article, we are going to give complete information about endometriosis disorder such as its types, stages, causes, and treatments.
What are the Symptoms of Endometriosis?
The following are some of the signs and symptoms of endometriosis:
- The essential symptom of endometriosis disease is pelvic pain, that usually associated with menstrual periods. Women who suffer from endometriosis commonly explain menstrual pain far worse than the usual one. And with passing time the pain may also increase.
- Back and abdominal pain at the time of period.
- Painful sexual intercourse
- Pain while urinating or stool movements.
- excessive bleeding during the menstrual period.
- Constipation or diarrhoea
- Existence of blood in stool or urine
- Infertility
- Weakness
- Sickness or swelling
What are the Types of Endometriosis?
Endometriosis can be classified into three categories depending on where it occurs:
- Superficial peritoneal lesion: This is the most common type of endometriosis. In this, women have lesions on their peritoneum. It is a thin film that lines the pelvic cavity.
- Endometrioma (ovarian lesion): These are dark, fluid-filled cysts, also known as chocolate cysts. They form deep in your ovaries and don’t respond well to treatment and can harm healthy tissue.
- Deeply infiltrating endometriosis: It develops under the peritoneum and can affect organs near the uterus, like the bowels or bladder. Approximately 1% to 5% of women with endometriosis have it.
What are the Stages of Endometriosis?
- Minimal Endometriosis: In this stage, there is a few small lesions but no scar tissue.
- Mild Endometriosis: In this, there are more lesions present but no scar tissue. Also, this involves less than 2 inches of your abdomen.
- Moderate Endometriosis: In this stage, the lesions can become deeper. Also, endometriomas and scar tissue can emerge around ovaries or fallopian tubes.
- Severe Endometriosis: This stage involves many lesions and possibly large cysts in the ovaries. Scar tissue can occur around the ovaries, and fallopian tubes, between the uterus and the lower part of the intestines.
What are the Causes of Endometriosis?
Endometriosis is a condition in which there are no exact and known reasons that cause it. Some of the potential reasons are given below -
- Retrograde menstruation: In this menstruation, instead of flowing out of the body, the menstrual blood, including endometrial cells, flows back via the fallopian tubes into the pelvic cavity. These endometrial cells then attach to the surfaces of pelvic organs and the pelvic walls. This is the place where they restart to develop and thicken and bleed throughout each menstrual cycle.
- Conversion of peritoneal cells: This is called the "induction theory". Experts said that hormones or immune factors encourage the transformation of peritoneal cells into endometrial cells.
- Embryonic cell conversion: According to a study, oestrogen hormones may transform embryonic cells (cells developed in the initial stages of pregnancy) into endometrial-like cells.
- Scar implantation surgery: After such surgeries, like hysterectomy or C-section, the endometrial cells may attach to areas of surgical incisions.
- Endometrial cell transportation: The blood vessels or lymphatic fluid systems can transfer endometrial cells to other body parts.
- Immune system disease: Immune system deficiencies can make the body incapable to identify and kill endometrial-like tissue which is growing outside the uterus.
How Does Endometriosis Affect Fertility in Women?
The most common reason for infertility in women is endometriosis. This disease interrupts reproductive organs in women and reduces their ability to get pregnant. Have a look at the below-mentioned conditions that caused infertility:
- When endometrial tissue wraps around the ovaries, it can block eggs from releasing.
- The endometrial tissue can stop sperm from making its way up to fallopian tubes.
- Tissue can prevent a fertilized egg from sliding down tubes to the uterus.
The solution for such issues is that doctor can surgically remove the endometrial tissue. Hence, the sperm get a clear way to fertilize the egg.
Apart from surgery, patients can also consider the intrauterine insemination (IUI) technique. In this, the partner’s sperm puts directly into the woman’s uterus.
Additionally, In vitro fertilization (IVF) is another alternative. It can increase the chances of conceiving, but the statistics on IVF pregnancies are different.
What are the Diagnoses Involved in Endometriosis?
- Pelvic Test: With this test, the doctor will be able to feel cysts or scars behind the uterus.
- Imaging Tests: This includes ultrasound, a CT scan, or an MRI that can make clear pictures of your organs.
- Laparoscopy: This is usually the only way to be completely sure whether the patient has endometriosis or not. In this, the doctor makes a tiny cut in the abdomen and inserts a thin tube with a camera on the end which is called a laparoscope. So he can see where and how big the lesions are.
- Biopsy: In this, the doctor takes a sample of tissue. After that, an expert looks at it under a microscope to confirm the diagnosis.
What are the Treatments for Endometriosis?
The Endometriosis treatment depends on the seriousness of the symptoms, the location, the age, the woman’s desire to get pregnant, and the spread of the disease.
Some of the treatments we have explained here that you can have a look at:
- Medicine for Pain: Doctors can recommend pain reliever medicines. The non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, such as ibuprofen or naproxen, worked for multiple people. If medications don’t reduce pain, you can ask about other options.
- Hormonal Therapy: Hormonal therapy helps lower the amount of estrogen in the body and can stop the period. This allows lesions to bleed less, so the formation of inflammation, scarring, and the cyst will reduce.
- Surgeries: Doctors might suggest taking surgery to carry out as much of the affected tissue as possible. Laparoscopy is a surgery to treat this condition in which a minor incision is created in the abdomen and has a quick recovery time. It can even help in the diagnosis of the disease.
Laparotomy is one more procedure that is used to remove scar tissue and tumours. In this, the incision made is more expansive, and recovery will take a longer time.
Additionally, in the most serious cases, a patient may need a surgery called a hysterectomy. In which ovaries, uterus, and cervix take out of the body. While without them, women can’t get pregnant in the future.
Conclusion -
Most women do not have proper knowledge regarding such serious disorders, and that is why got delayed in curing them. We tried to gather all crucial aspects of endometriosis in one place.
We hope this article has helped you to know about endometriosis which is a severe disease and required to be treated on time. We will come up with more such important issues in future, so stay connected with us, and in case of any queries, comment to us.
