Endometriosis unbearable menstrual pain

Unbearable menstrual pain may indicate endometriosis

07/19/2012

Many women suffer from menstrual cramps. However, if these are very strong every month, people should seek medical advice. Often an endometriosis is behind the menstrual pain. Experts estimate that one in ten women of childbearing age is affected.

Endometriosis is often diagnosed late
Monika K. has been suffering from endometriosis for 18 years, the chronic condition in which uterine-like cells settle outside the uterus and cause severe pain. After consulting numerous medical practices and specialists, a gynecologist finally diagnosed her. But the usual therapies did not help her. As a rule, sufferers are treated with hormone supplements such as the birth control pill in order to alleviate the usually cyclical symptoms. If this is not enough, the pain-causing industry can be surgically removed. Some women even go through this procedure several times to finally find relief. Nevertheless, there are women whose pain is getting worse. „Sometimes I do not know what to do anymore. Then only strong analgesics help“, Monika K reports. „I have already operated four times. I do not think another surgery would improve my situation. That's why I put on a pain therapy now.“

At Annabell M., the first operation brought the desired success. „I am so glad that I have no complaints at the moment.“ The 32-year-old is now even mother of a young son. „After seven years, I finally got pregnant - despite endometriosis.“

According to estimates by the Foundation Endometriosis Research, every tenth woman suffers from endometriosis. Since the symptoms can be non-specific and very different, the number of unreported cases is high. Some patients suffer from period-related, diffuse pain in the abdomen. Others have migraines, nausea or pain during intercourse. Therefore, sufferers often have a veritable medical odyssey behind them before the endometrioma is diagnosed.

Endometriosis can lead to infertility
„On average, almost seven years elapse before the diagnosis, "reports Stefan Renner, senior consultant at the Department of Gynecology at the University Hospital Erlangen and head of the endometriosis center. „If the affected person can no longer control their lives through the pain, then at the latest it is time to go to the doctor ", says the chief physician of the Clinic for Gynecology and Obstetrics of the Martin Luther Hospital Berlin, Professor Uwe Ulrich, Christian Albring, President of the Association of Gynecologists explains that no woman should wait seven years to diagnose, he advises sufferers to remain persistent in the diagnosis.

Endometriosis is a benign, often very painful chronic disease of women. Cells of the uterine lining appear outside the uterine cavity. Just like the normal uterine lining, these cells also change during the menstrual cycle, swell and bleed. However, they can not leave the body but cause inflammation, pain, scarring, adhesions and even cysts and tumors. Endometriosis occurs in most cases in the lower abdomen and pelvic area. The ovaries are often affected. A spread of the cells on the vaginal wall and the intestine is possible. Very rarely it comes to infestation of the lungs and the brain. Endometriosis can lead to infertility. Renner estimates that about half of the women who try in vain to get pregnant suffer from endometriosis. The cause of the disease is not yet known.

Endometriosis can only be diagnosed via tissue sample
To find the so-called Endometrioseherde, usually leads no way past a laparoscopy. To make the final diagnosis, tissue samples must be taken, explains Ulrich. If the disease is confirmed in the laboratory, the treatment will be based on the guideline for the diagnosis and therapy of endometriosis, which was prepared under the direction of Ulrich. He advises those affected to visit an endometriosis center at the latest.

Hormone therapy, for example with the birth control pill, which occurs in the first step of the treatment, suppresses the menstrual period. The pain-causing tissue outside the uterus should be so sedated, explains the chief physician. Since the pain starts again at the latest when the hormone dose is discontinued, surgery usually follows. „The central treatment of endometriosis is still an operation, "Ulrich explains.

Unfortunately, the treatment does not work for every woman. „Often not all flocks are found, "says Ulrich. „For example, when the foci are in the uterine lining, they are hard to see, "adds Albring. „By the fifth operation at the latest, everyone involved has to ask whether this is still good, "says Ulrich.

Alternative treatment options of endometriosis
Alternative healing methods are increasingly recommended even in endometriosis. These include homeopathy and traditional Chinese medicine such as acupuncture. Overweight people should reduce their weight. A healthy diet that eliminates milk, dairy and wheat, and consumes lots of fresh fruit, vegetables, cold-pressed oils such as primrose oil, olive oil and linseed oil, as well as fatty sea fish because of the omega-3 fatty acids, helps many patients overcome the symptoms to alleviate.

The exchange of victims in self-help groups and networks can be particularly beneficial to the mental state. Because of the often long history of suffering, many patients feel left alone with their disease. (Ag)

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