News of the day starts with the letter E for Endometriosis. Which sounds like, say it with me "en-doh-mee-tree-OH-sus" it is a problem many women have during their childbearing years. Which would be any time from now till menopause. It means that a type of tissue that lines your uterus is also growing outside your uterus. This does not always cause symptoms. And it usually is not dangerous. But it can cause pain and other problems.
The clumps of tissue that grow outside the uterus are called implants. They usually grow on the ovaries, the fallopian tubes, the outer wall of the uterus, the intestines, or other organs in the belly. In rare cases, they spread to areas beyond the belly.
How does endometriosis cause problems?
Your uterus is lined with a type of tissue called endometrium (say "en-doh-MEE-tree-um"). It is like a soft nest where a fertilized egg can grow. Each month, your body releases hormones that cause the endometrium to thicken and get ready for an egg. If you get pregnant, the fertilized egg attaches to the endometrium and starts to grow.
When you have endometriosis, the implants of tissue outside your uterus act just like the tissue lining your uterus. During your menstrual cycle, they get thicker, then break down and bleed. But the implants are outside your uterus, so the blood cannot flow out of your body. The implants can get irritated and painful. Sometimes they form scar tissue or fluid-filled sacs (cysts). Scar tissue may make it hard to get pregnant.
What causes endometriosis? Experts do not know what causes endometrial tissue to grow outside your uterus. But they do know that the female hormone estrogen makes the problem worse. Women have high levels of estrogen during their childbearing years. It is during these years-usually from their teens into their 40s-that women have endometriosis. Estrogen levels drop when menstrual periods stop (menopause). Symptoms usually go away then.
Soooo the specialist today gave me a pelvic exam and discovered the E word around my uterus so to treat this finally I catch a break. Treatment for it is taking 3 packs of birth control without sugar pills and then every third month take sugar pills for a period. So today while I'm still in the hospital getting figured out, I get to have less painful months cause I get to have less periods than the average women.
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