Endometriosis is a painful disorder in which tissue that normally lines the inside of your uterus, the endometrium grows outside (endometrial implant). It commonly involves ovaries, bowel or tissues lining your pelvis. The main symptoms are pelvic pain and infertility. While chronic pain exists throughout, it tends to aggravate during menstruation and / or sex. Though the cause is not entirely clear, women with a family history of the condition need to be extra cautious. Endometriosis is normally detected by its symptoms combined with a medical imaging. Though the growth is not generally cancerous, a biopsy is recommended to eliminate doubts. 

The condition of endometriosis is attached with social and psychological effects as it affects a woman's child bearing ability. Most minds race anxiously as to what the surgeon might find and will your body heal after the procedure. Here are some tips to prepare for your endometriosis laparoscopy

 Before the surgery: read up as much as possible about your condition and note down questions you want to ask your doctor. Get details about the entire procedure and how the doctor is treating your specific case. Having knowledge will help you stay calm and focused. Next, gear your home for the process. Stock your fridge with quick heat home made meals. It's best for you and the family to have healthy food than the store bought preservative laden food. Clean your home, change your sheets and purchase some loose fit clothing for later use. Last but not the least, stock up on some reading material that will come handy during your rest period. 
 On day of surgery: do not eat or drink anything from 12 midnight until the time of your surgery. You may also need the unpleasant enema procedure during your prep. Remove your nail polish and leave your jewellery, watch and valuables at home. Shower and get to the hospital early to get on with the forms you'll need to fill. The procedure requires anesthesia so do discuss your allergies or any concerns you may have with this aspect of the procedure. Once you are set with you iv and anesthesia, the doctor takes over to do what they do best cure you.
 The procedure: a small incision is made near the belly button and the abdomen is filled with co2 gas which lifts it away from other organs. During the laparoscopy, the doctor examines the pelvic organs, looking for obvious and atypical endometriosis lesions as well as endometriomas (endometriosis'filled cysts, adhesions, and scarring. He may then remove the lesions to send to a lab for biopsy
 After surgery: you'll most likely wake up groggy in the recovery room after your surgery. You may feel some pain as you come around but if it's a day procedure, you'll be able to leave as soon as you feel ready. 

Although pregnancy may temporarily suppress the symptoms of endometriosis, it does not eradicate the disease. The symptoms will almost always return after the baby is born. If you are suffering from this painful condition and want to seek help, you can consult here.

How To Prepare For Your Endometriosis Laparoscopy

The woman s reproductive system is an extremely complex one. The uterus which is the main organ with its appendages helps in conception, pregnancy, and childbirth by undergoing marvellous changes. The uterus measures just about 7.5 x 4.5 in a normal woman and expands to accommodate a full-term baby within her during gestation.

The uterus is lined with smooth muscles, and due to unknown reasons, this lining material could be found in other parts of the pelvic organs. This condition is known as endometriosis and is one of the main causes of pelvic pain. Most women suffer through it, and it mostly gets diagnosed when some other issue is being investigated. 

For women with endometriosis, there are mainly two issues to deal with i.e. pain and depression.

Pain: While the pain per se is one issue, the way it affects daily normal life is another thing to be considered. For the pain to minimally affect routine life, the following are effective ways.

Exercise: Anything that you prefer like swimming, jogging, dancing, aerobics, cycling. This will help in stress management and pain relief.
Rest: Get adequate rest of 8 to 9 hours per night. On severely painful days, go ahead and sleep for a couple of hours extra.
Stress management: Whether through yoga or meditation or music, learn to manage stress better. Nobody is without stress but managing it is the key.
Eat healthy and fresh: Whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables, increased fibres are definitely useful. Reduce whites including sugar, salt, and dairy products if possible.
Social life: Stay connected with people whose company you enjoy   be it family or friends, or even counsellor if required.
Speak up: Let your close circle of friends at work know your problem, so they can help when you need it the most.
Depression and mood swings can be managed in the following ways.

Do what makes you happy: There are some activities which will definitely make you feel better. A quiet walk to get some fresh air. Watching a dance video. Listening to your favourite soundtrack. Changing body language to one without stopped shoulders and frowning foreheads can make a big difference.
Focus on the good: Writing down or thinking about what went well for the day can cheer you up and overcome the blues that is so common in women with endometriosis.
Positive thinking: Instead of saying, I can not try saying I will try. It makes a BIG difference, and you will be amazed at the results.
Keep happy company near you: Surround yourself with happy, positive people and see your happiness quotient go up!!!
Endometriosis is definitely an enigma that is not well known, understood, or identified. However, the above are definitely useful way to cope with it.

Pain & Depression Due To Endometriosis - How To Deal With It? 

Endometriosis is a condition in which the endometrial cells lining the inside wall of the uterus begin to grow outside the uterus. In a majority of the cases, the growth is on the ovaries, the Fallopian tubes, or the tissues around the uterus. In rare cases, it occurs in other body parts. Normally, women in the age group of 30 to 40 years are prone to developing this condition and genetics is believed to be the reason behind this disorder. It is a serious medical condition if it causes discomfort to the woman.

Signs and Symptoms:  The signs and symptoms of endometriosis include chronic pelvic pain, pain during menstruation, urination, and intercourse, longer periods, bleeding between menstrual cycle, bloody urine or stool, and urinary and bowel problems.

Treatment methods:  In many cases, endometriosis goes undiagnosed and it can only be diagnosed through biopsy. If the biopsy confirms endometriosis, then it can be treated in the following ways:

Hormonal treatment: Hormonal treatment includes birth control pills, placement of the intrauterine device, Gonadotropin-releasing hormone, and Danazol or Medroxyprogesterone (Depo-Provera).
Pain medication: Pain killers with anti-inflammatory properties are prescribed to those who suffer from painful menstruation.
Surgery: This is the last treatment option and only advised to those who did not find relief from medicines and hormonal treatment. Surgeons try to remove the areas affected by endometriosis but in severe cases, the ovaries might need to be removed completely.
Complications: It is important to treat endometriosis on time as delay can lead to complications. The complications arising out of endometriosis include the following:

Infertility: The scarring and distortions caused in the reproductive organs due to endometriosis and the endometriotic cysts can make a woman infertile.
Scarring: The bleeding and the inflammation caused by endometriosis leads to scarring of the tissues of ovaries.
Ovarian cysts: Sometimes, the abnormal growth of endometrial cells outside the uterus spreads to the ovaries and starts growing over there, leading to cysts.
Prevention: As it been mentioned before, in many cases, endometriosis goes undiagnosed but it can be prevented or its symptoms managed effectively if one is cautious. One should do the following:

Exercise regularly: Exercise increases immunity and also reduces the level of estrogens, which slows down the progression of endometriosis. It also provides relief from pain.
Eat nutritious diet: A diet rich in vitamin and minerals ensures good health of the reproductive organs and a fine immune system. This helps to fight the symptom of endometriosis and keeps the disorder in check.
Endometriosis is known to affect a large number of women and since the early symptoms are mild or confusing, most of the time they go undetected. Nevertheless, a woman can avoid it and the complications arising out of it by being mindful of the symptoms. They should also undergo a regular pelvic exam and follow the instructions of their gynecologist. This would ensure timely detection of the disorder and if this is ensured, the management also becomes easy.

Suffering From Endometriosis - What Are Its Treatment Options?

The uterine cavity has a tissue base that is known as the endometrium. When this endometrium spills over or spreads to the other parts of the reproductive organ, it begins to punch through the uterine lining. Such a condition creates complications and even infertility, and is known as endometriosis.

Read on to know more about endometriosis and how it can cause infertility.

Endometriosis

When the endometrium tissue spreads to areas like the ovaries, and the abdominal cavity, it can lead to numerous complications. Apart from pain, this may also cause infertility. 5 to 10% of the women worldwide suffer from this condition and have trouble conceiving. Additionally, about 30 to 40% of the infertility cases are due to endometriosis, not all cases. These figures are all confirmed by various medical studies.

How does it cause infertility?

Endometriosis can prevent ovulation, which is the process that occurs every month. During the ovulation process, the ovaries release eggs that may be fertilised in order for the woman to conceive. In this condition, the fimbria of the fallopian tubes also has trouble in capturing the egg, which prevents conception from taking place. This leads to infertility in the long run. Endometriosis also interferes with the proper production of the hormones that are required for normal ovulation and fertilisation of the egg.

Diagnosis: The diagnosis of the condition can be done with the help of lab tests and ultrasounds as well as imaging tests that can create the image of the womb and the endometrium lining. This will help in showing the severity and damage caused by the tissue. A surgical procedure called a laparoscopy may be carried out by the doctor to ascertain whether the patient is suffering from this condition. In this procedure, a small incision will be made and a camera will be inserted to view the insides on a screen, to learn more about the tissue s spread and the kind of treatment that will be required. The doctor will also diagnose the condition on the basis of various symptoms like irregular and heavy bleeding.

Treatment:

Treatment for endometriosis associated with infertility needs to be individualized for each woman. There are no easy answers, and treatment decisions depend on factors such as the age of the woman, the severity of the disease and its location in the pelvis, the length of infertility, and the presence of pain or other symptoms. Some general issues regarding treatment are discussed below.

Treatment for Mild Endometriosis

Medical (drug) treatment can suppress endometriosis and relieve the associated pain in many women. Surgical removal of lesions by laparoscopy might also reduce the pain temporarily.

However, several well-controlled studies have shown that neither medical or surgical treatment for mild endometriosis improve the pregnancy rates for infertile women as compared to expectant management (no treatment).

For treatment of infertility associated with mild to moderate endometriosis, controlled ovarian hyperstimulation with intrauterine insemination - IUI is often attempted and has a reasonable chance to result in pregnancy if other infertility factors are not present.

Details about IUI success rates with endometriosis

IUI and endometriosis

Success rates with IUI for endometriosis have been variable in studies, showing:

A pregnancy rate of 6.5% for women with endometriosis vs. 15.3% per cycle for unexplained infertility
A pregnancy rate of 5.6% for women with advanced endometriosis vs. 22.7% per cycle for mild endometriosis vs. 25.7% for no endometriosis
Pregnancy chances with insemination for natural cycle IUIs (no drugs) with endometriosis are about 2% per cycle vs. 11% with injectables plus IUI for endometriosis
Treatment for severe endometriosis

Several studies have shown that medical treatment for severe endometriosis does not improve pregnancy rates for infertile women.

Unfortunately, the infertility in women with severe endometriosis is usually resistant to treatment with ovarian stimulation plus intrauterine insemination. If the pelvic anatomy is very distorted, artificial insemination is unlikely to be successful. These women often require in vitro fertilization in order to conceive.

Although the studies of in vitro fertilization for women with severe endometriosis do not all show similar results, pregnancy success rates are usually good if the woman is relatively young (under 40) and if she produces enough eggs during the ovarian stimulation.

Endometriosis - How It Results in Infertility?

What is Endometrium?

The uterus is where the fetus grows and develops. It has three linings- the outermost lining, the middle layer and the innermost lining. The innermost layer is called Endometrium. The endometrium is made of mucosal tissues.

How the endometrium changes and what is its function?

Before ovulation, when an egg is released, the functional layer of the endometrium undergoes a change. Vascularization takes place i.e. a buildup of blood vessels and tissues that thickens the endometrium in anticipation of implantation of a fertilized egg. If conception does not take place, the tissues and cells are shed from the endometrium lining. This is when a woman gets her period.

When conception does take place, the fertilized egg attaches itself to the endometrium. The endometrium also supports the placenta, which provides the fetus with oxygen and nutrition.

What is the ideal thickness of the endometrium?

In pre-menopausal women, the thickness of the endometrium should be-

  Between 2-4 millimetres during menstruation,
  5-7 millimetres at the onset of the early proliferative phase
  Around 11 millimetres during the late proliferative phase
  16 millimetres during the secretory phase



What is a poor/thin endometrium?

If the endometrium lining does not meet standard thickness and is not conducive to implantation, it is called a poor endometrium.

Causes behind thin endometrium

There could be many reasons that can lead to a poor endometrial layer-

  Inadequate secretion of estrogen
  Insufficient blood flow
  Prolonged use of birth control pills
  Substandard quality of endometrial tissues
  Presence of fibroids (small uterine tumours)
  Amenorrhea (unnatural periods/ excess bleeding or too little bleeding)
  Intrauterine adhesions (scar tissues form between the layers of the uterus and glue them together)
  Pelvic inflammatory disease
  Use of clomiphene

What are the symptoms of poor endometrium?

  Infertility (inability to conceive)
  miscarriage
  Irregular menstruation
  Painful periods
  Inadequate bleeding during menstruation

Treatment for poor endometrium

  Since the most common cause of poor endometrium is insufficient estrogen, doctors prescribe estrogen pills that can raise estrogen levels.
  If poor endometrium is the result of poor blood flow, an Ultrasonography Test will reveal that. Then doctors prescribe Vitamin E pills and L-arginine amino acid pills to thicken the endometrium layer.
  Regular exercising increases blood flow to the uterus
  Acupuncture is a very effective stress buster. Chronic stress could lead to a shrunk uterine wall. Acupuncture can allay the stress and promote the health of the uterus.
  Intrauterine adhesions can be extracted through surgery.
  Natural remedy (through natural therapy) includes asparagus, royal jelly, cover and they help in thickening the endometrium layer.
  Granulocyte Colony Stimulating Factor if injected into the body raises endometrial thickness and combats infertility.

Only an endometrium of normal thickness can support a pregnancy. If the lining is not thick enough medical intervention may be necessary.

Poor Endometrium - Can It Be Treated?

Every woman desires to experience the sweetness of motherhood but unfortunately, some fail to get it. It is because either they have low fertility or because they have developed a disease or disorder like endometriosis and Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) due to which they fail to conceive.

Endometriosis is always associated with infertility. To get relief from troublesome problem is to get pregnant earliest may be by IUI if tubes are patent or by IVF. Endometriosis is conditions which lead the womb cells (endometrial cells) to develop in other parts of the body because of which women experiencing this disease fail to release the menstrual blood and also fail to conceive. But these days nothing is impossible it this medical advancement era. There are many ways and methods by which one can conceive.

So here we are providing a useful set of information on some of the best Fertility treatments.

Intrauterine Insemination or Artificial Insemination: It is a normal process in which the sample of a prepared sperm from the husband or the partner is injected directly into woman s uterine cavity during ovulation.
In Vitro Fertilization: In this process, specific medication is used for the stimulation of the ovaries which lead them to produce more eggs in a while. Then eggs are then removed and fertilized with the husband or partner s sperm in a laboratory. The fertilized eggs are placed for 3-5 days to develop an embryo and then the embryo is transferred to woman s uterus.
It is considered as one of the best and last stop infertility solution which proves to be a boon for a sterile couple. As in this process, fertilization takes place outside the body because of which there is no problem of conception even in the condition of any blockage and also minimizes the risk of endometriosis-related infertility. The endometriotic deposits produce and releases toxin into the uterus, fallopian tubes and ovaries thus the egg gets toxic and fail to fertilize the sperm. 

In such condition, many patients rush for many other infertility treatments like fertility medications, intrauterine insemination, etc and when they lose hope of getting the desired result then they find a ray of hope by this ultimate treatment. There are five times more chances of conceiving by this method regardless of the age of women and the stage of endometriosis. The treatment is a boon not only for woman grappling with endometriosis but also for other critical issues like severe male infertility factor, blocked fallopian tubes, and reduced ovarian reserves. In such cases instead of wasting the money on other treatments doctors advice for IVF.

IVF minimizes the chances of miscarriage and also increases the chances of having a healthy baby. So if you are grappling with any such infertility issue than this informative guide may aid you in the journey from infertility to hearing child squeal at your home.



Endometriosis - How IVF Is Beneficial In This Case?

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