Learn About Endometriosis and Infertility
If you know anyone with endometriosis you could know that it can cause agonizing cramping during their menstrual cycle. In fact, some girls are totally hamstrung by this pain. But what is endometriosis and why do we care?
Endometriosis is when the endometrial lining from the uterus is found growing some place else in the body. Often it’s found growing on the ovaries or some place else in the abdomen and the agony that girls feel is often because these cells are doing their job each month by losing along with the endometrial lining in the uterus. Fantastic how those crazy cells know their job even if they’re in the wrong place!
The other reason we care about endometriosis is that it’s a common finding with girls who are sterile. It’s thought that 5-10% of women might have endometriosis, but it’s’s thought that twenty percent of ladies that are unable to conceive have endometriosis.
So how do you know if you have endometriosis – or endo? Some girls might suspect they have endo due to intense cramping during their menstrual cycle. But there are other symptoms, too. Some ladies don’t have any cramping during their cycle at all . Some girls have lumbar region pain. Some women might have discomfort during intercourse. Some women might have agony during bowel movements or urinating. Are you seeing a trend? Of course, the flip side of the coin is that you might not have any symptoms.
I speak from experience here. I had none of the classic symptoms of endo except that I was not ready to get pregnant. How is endo diagnosed? A laparoscopy is the only way to really diagnose endo as it doesn’t show up on any test. A lap is done under general anesthesia with a scope put in thru a little incision under your navel. Another incision is made at your bikini line which permits the doctor to employ a tool to move things around if need be. Once the scope is on the doctor can have a look around and if the endo or other scaring is present they can remove it.
Endo is ’scored’ in stages from 1-4 based primarily on the location and a complicated point system. Just so you know, when you wake up in recovery and your health practitioner gives you this number it will not translate to how much discomfort you’ve been in. It’ll just give you an idea of how broad the endometriosis was in your system. That is’s all.
What you may really want to chat to with your doctor is how the removal of the endo will impact on your fertility. Many ladies find that the next three to 4 cycles after they’ve recovered are their most comfy and their doctor may wish to milk the removal of the endo and push ahead. Continuing with interuterine insemination ( IUI ) is an excellent idea or even heading off to in vitro fertilization ( IVF ) – just depending on what you’re most comfortable with – because even though the endo has been removed there’s no way to actually know how endo affects fertility. Doctors all have good guesses but there’s no answer yet. One answer is there though – now that the endo is removed you may feel better and now you know one of the likely reasons you weren’t ready to get pregnant on your own.
So, let your health practitioner give you good counsel . Discover what you can about endometriosis because it is possible to Conquer barrenness.
Alana Reyer is an infertility expert. For more great information on infertility levels, visit http://www.infertilityhelp-alana.com/pcos-and-infertility/.
