What Is Endometriosis and How Do You Get It?

Endometriosis likely isn't a new condition, but it's one that's only been discovered and recognized by medical science in recent history. If you've been diagnosed with endometriosis or your doctor suspects that you might have it, you likely have lots of questions and concerns. Here's what you should know about endometriosis.

1. What it Is

To understand endometriosis, you need to understand how your reproductive system naturally works. The uterus is the part of your body that's responsible for carrying a child, and it sheds its lining each month when you don't get pregnant. This internal organ contains specialized tissue that's receptive to hormone shifts that naturally change throughout your menstrual cycle. This tissue isn't supposed to exist anywhere but the uterus, but when things go wrong, endometriosis is the result.

In short, endometriosis is the presence of uterine tissue outside of the uterus. For most women, it appears in the abdominal cavity or the pelvis, but it can grow anywhere in the body in extreme cases. The problem with this condition is that since the endometrial tissue responds to hormones just like your uterus does, that means that it sheds and bleeds once a month, which can be quite painful.

2. How You Get It

Unfortunately, doctors and scientists aren't 100% certain yet what determines whether or not a woman develops endometriosis. There is, however, a genetic factor at work. For example, if your mother had endometriosis, there's a strong likelihood that you'll develop it too. However, this can be problematic, as many women were never diagnosed with endometriosis in past years, so you may not be able to predict whether or not you'll get it. The good news is that endometriosis isn't cancerous and typically doesn't spread once it develops. 

3. What Can Be Done About It

There are a few things that your gynecologist can do for your endometriosis symptoms and pain. One of the first steps women often receive is to be placed on birth control, either monthly or year-round. This is done because it helps to shrink the endometrial tissue and prevents it from bleeding erratically in the abdominal or pelvic cavity.

However, in cases where there's a great deal of endometriosis and it's causing a great deal of pain, surgery may be your best choice. Surgery removes the unwanted endometrial tissue, and birth control is usually prescribed afterward to keep it from growing back. Learn more about treatment options by contacting gynecologists such as George L Stankevych, MD.