Endometriosis

Video Transcript

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If you have endometriosis, you may have questions. While surgery may be the most effective way to relieve symptoms of endometriosis, it's not the right choice for everyone. It's often difficult to know how to treat your endometriosis. Endometriosis specialist Dr. Laura Douglas shares three questions for you to think about.

First, where is your endometriosis located? If your lesions are widespread or deeply embedded, removing them may help relieve your symptoms. Next, are your symptoms getting better with treatment? Non-surgical treatments such as medication and hormone therapy are sometimes effective for relieving pain, heavy bleeding, and other symptoms, but if these methods haven't relieved your suffering, it may be worth considering your options for surgery.

Finally, what are your plans for pregnancy? Endometriosis can interfere with your ability to become pregnant, especially if lesions grow on or around your ovaries. If you're trying to conceive or hope to someday, Laparoscopic Surgery or Laparatomy may make it possible to leave your uterus intact and improve your chances for pregnancy in the future.

Think about your symptoms and what's most important to you, and then connect with an expert who can help create a personalized treatment plan for you. To learn more, meet our team and schedule an appointment, visit UChicagoMedicine.org/Endometriosis.

At the University of Chicago Medicine, our experts are dedicated to improving the lives of our patients with endometriosis. Our team of endometriosis specialists has decades of experience to support you through challenges and discomforts at every step along the way, including:

Correcting or confirming your diagnosis
Providing treatment options to relieve your pain and other symptoms
Offering a second opinion
Performing advanced surgical techniques
Providing fertility treatment

Frequently Asked Questions about Endometriosis

What is endometriosis?

The endometrium is a layer of tissue that lines the inside of the uterus. When endometrial tissue grows anywhere outside of your uterus, you have endometriosis.

Endometriosis is thought to affect approximately 10 percent of individuals who are of reproductive age and have a uterus. Although it involves tissue growths — called implants or lesions — that spread from one organ to others, endometriosis is not a cancerous condition.

What are common symptoms of endometriosis?

Endometriosis symptoms vary from person to person depending on the number, location and size of the lesions. You may experience significant symptoms, or you may not be symptomatic at all.

In most cases, signs and symptoms may include:

Pelvic pain, particularly shortly before, during or right after your period
Heavy or abnormal vaginal bleeding during periods
Lower back or leg pains (cramps) during periods
Pain during sex
Inability to conceive (infertility)
Bladder/bowel complaints

Where in the body can endometrial implants grow?

Why does endometriosis cause pain?

Pain, the most common symptom of endometriosis, can be the result of:

Implants causing inflammation, which stimulates nerves and creates a sensitive pain response in the pelvis, often constant around the time of your menstrual period and increasing during intercourse
Scarring between the pelvic organs and tissues
Heavy vaginal bleeding, which increases inflammation and irritation around the pelvic organs

In addition to abdominal pain, inflammation in the pelvis may also cause pain in the lower back or pain during sexual intercourse.