What does endometriosis mean?
80897
Endometriosis is a condition where tissue similar to the lining of the uterus (the endometrial stroma and glands, which should only be located inside the uterus) is found elsewhere in the body. \n\nEndometriosis lesions can be found anywhere in the pelvic cavity: on the ovaries, the fallopian tubes, and on the pelvic sidewall. Other common sites include the uterosacral ligaments, the cul-de-sac, the Pouch of Douglas, and in the rectal-vaginal septum.\n\nIn addition, it can be found in caecarian-section scars, laparoscopy or laparotomy scars, and on the bladder, bowel, intestines, colon, appendix, and rectum. \n\nIn rare cases, endometriosis has been found inside the vagina, inside the bladder, on the skin, even in the lung, spine, and brain. \n\nThe most common symptom of endometriosis is pelvic pain. The pain often correlates to the menstrual cycle, but a woman with endometriosis may also experience pain that doesn’t correlate to her cycle. For many women, the pain of endometriosis is so severe and debilitating that it impacts their lives in significant ways. \n\nEndometriosis can also cause scar tissue and adhesions to develop that can distort a woman’s internal anatomy. In advanced stages, internal organs may fuse together, causing a condition known as a "frozen pelvis." \n\nIt is estimated that 30-40% of women with endometriosis are infertile. \n\nIf you or someone you care about has endometriosis, it is important to research the disease as much as possible. Many myths and misconceptions about endometriosis still persist, even in medical literature. For many women, management of this disease may be a long-term process. Therefore, it is important to educate yourself, take the time to find a good doctor, and join a support group.
840633
Your doctor is suggesting hysterectomy and you haven't even had a laparoscopy to diagnose Endo yet??  Get a new doc.\n\nD&C and hysteroscopy will not show Endometriosis.  Only surgical laparoscopy+pathology/histology can confirm Endo.\n\nYou can either have surgery with a qualified surgeon (by the sounds of it, a *new* one) who will remove all disease and thereby help improve fertility or you can skip directly to a reproductive endocrinologist who can assist you with any IVF or ART as necessary.\n\nHysterectomy is not a cure for Endometriosis, and Endo *doesn't* hurt all patients all the time.  Find a new doc to help you.\n\nGood luck and feel better.
641102
Could you mean Stein-Levinthal syndrome, or Polycystic Ovary Disease?
890662
I am not a doctor, but a pretty studied nurse - just from the latin of the actual anitibody test I would guess Endometriosis.  Do you have Gynecoglical problems. Let me know please if I am close
524940
Hemorraging is bleeding but also it depends on you. Some women who have endomitrios which makes you hemmorage....It's painful also during your period....
845080
if endometriosis has to do with the lining of the uterus i get that part, but i wouldn't know why there is a high WBC\n(whitebloodcell) count.  if endometriosis is bad howeve, then having lots of WBC's sounds like the infection, if thats what it is, is going away.\n    the only other thing i think endometriosis is, might be regarding ones menstration perhaps?
1171776
endometriomas?1?!?! teehee
313771
Note that endometriosis is specifically the condition where endometrial tissue (the lining of the uterus) is found outside of the uterus.\n\nFibroids are defined as non-malignant tumors of smooth muscle tissue, therefore you could theoretically get them in any smooth muscle tissue in your body.  However, the most common place to get them is in the uterine wall, and getting them there does not imply that you could get them anywhere else.  It is the impact of having them in the uterine wall that causes the problems associated with fibroids.\n\nIf you have the uterus removed, there will be no uterine wall to get fibroids, so a hysterectomy would solve whatever problems they are causing.  However, I would recommend researching other treatments before resorting to that, unless you are close to menopause anyway.
606835
EndoKnow is one of the many websites owned and operated by Takeda Abbott Pharmaceuticals, the makers of Lupron.  Their sole intention of offering EndoKnow and its sister sites is to get patient's private info and then spam them with ads about how great Lupron is (which it isn't).  It is a direct-to-consumer marketing tactic and should be avoided at all costs.\n\nFor free, current and accurate info on the disease, offered with no hidden agenda other than to support and educate patients, visit the Endometriosis Research Center @ www.endocenter.org.  Their literature states:\n\n"About Endometriosis:\n\nWith Endometriosis, tissue like that which lines the uterus (the endometrium) is found outside the womb in other areas of the body. Normally, the endometrium is shed each month through menses; however, with Endometriosis, these implants have no way of leaving the body. The implants still break down and bleed, but result is far different than in women and girls without the disease: internal bleeding, degeneration of blood and tissue shed from the growths, inflammation of the surrounding areas, and formation of scar tissue result. In addition, depending on the location of the growths, interference with the normal function of the bowel, bladder, intestines and other areas of the pelvic cavity can occur. Endometriosis has also been found lodged in the skin - and even the brain.\n\nSymptoms include chronic or intermittent pelvic pain, dysmenorrhea (painful menstruation is not normal!), infertility, miscarriage(s), ectopic (tubal) pregnancy, dyspareunia (pain associated with intercourse), nausea / vomiting / abdominal cramping, diarrhea / constipation (particularly with menses), painful bowel movements, painful or burning urination, urinary frequency, retention, or urgency; fatigue, chronic pain, allergies and immune system-related illnesses are also commonly reported complaints of women who have Endo. It is quite possible to have some, all, or none of these symptoms. Endo symptoms are varied and often nonspecific, so they can easily masquerade as several other conditions, including adenomyosis ("Endometriosis Interna"), appendicitis, ovarian cysts, bowel obstructions, colon cancer, diverticulitis, ectopic pregnancy, fibroid tumors, gonorrhea, inflammatory bowel disease, irritable bowel syndrome, ovarian cancer, and PID.\n\nDespite today's age of medical advances, researchers remain unsure as what causes of Endometriosis. There is NO CURE, despite the continued propagation of such myths by the uninformed who still mistakenly believe that hysterectomy, pregnancy and/or menopause can "cure" the disease. Invasive surgery remains the gold standard of diagnosis, and current therapies continue to remain extremely limited, often carrying side effects.\n\nMistakenly minimized as "painful periods," Endometriosis is more than just "killer cramps." It is a leading cause of female infertility, chronic pelvic pain and gynecologic surgery, and accounts for more than half of the 500,000 hysterectomies performed in the US annually. Despite being more prevalent than breast cancer, Endometriosis continues to be treated as an insignificant ailment. Recent studies have even shown an elevated risk of certain cancers and other serious illnesses in those with the disease, as well as malignant changes within the disease itself.\n\nResearch has shown that genetics, immune system dysfunction, and exposure to environmental toxins like Dioxin may all be contributing factors to the development of the disease. Endometriosis knows no racial or socioeconomic barriers, and can affect women ranging from adolescence to post-menopause. The disease can be so painful as to render a woman or teen unable to care for herself or her family, attend work, school, or social functions, or go about her normal routine. It can negatively affect every aspect of a woman's life; from her self-esteem and relationships, to her cap
984202
Laser endometriosis surgery is a minimal invasive surgery technique, used for the treatment of endometriosis.\n\nThe laser fibre is passed through a hysteroscope into the uterine cavity, and is aimed at areas of endometriosis and fired. The areas where the laser is focussed onto die, and will slough away and be lost with your period. The lining of the uterus is not destroyed completely, as is the case with baloon thermal ablation.\n\nLaser ablation of endometriosis may also be carried out for endometriotic deposits within the pelvis and abdomen. The laser fibre would be introduced via a laparoscope, and then aimed at the deposits of endometriosis and fired in the same way as inside the uterus. The burnt areas of endometriosis are washed away, usually with a saline solution, and the wash solution is suctioned out of the body.\n\nLaser ablations such as these are not without their risks. There have been cases of hysterectomy having to be performed due to uterine perforation. In the case of laparoscopic laser ablation, there is a risk to the abdominal organs if the laser is not used accurately. Cases have resulted in perforated intestines, and some cases have lead to sepsis and peritonitis caused by undetected bowel lacerations caused by the laser.\n\nPain wise, the procedure is not too bad. It's about as uncomfortable as a D & C or hysteroscopy or laparoscopy. Severe pain following the procedure is uncommon, and is usually an indication of a complication.\n\nThe best thing to do is to talk with your Gynaecologist, and ask him or her to go through with you step by step the procedure they intend to carry out, and explain all the possible risks.\n\nHope this helps.
615796
is a common medical condition where the tissue lining the uterus (the endometrium, from endo, "inside", and metra, "womb") is found outside of the uterus, typically affecting other organs in the pelvis. The condition can lead to serious health problems, primarily pain and infertility. Endometriosis primarily develops in women of the reproductive age.\n\nThe definitive treatment for endometriosis is a total hysterectomy (removal of the uterus and surrounding tissue) and bilateral salpingoophorectomy (removal of the uterine tubes and ovaries).  So no it doesn't occur after a hysterectomy.
669615
Endometriosis. I was doubled over for months while the doctors tried to figure out what was wrong and what to do with me.
413457
Menstruation is a woman's monthly bleeding. It is also called menses, menstrual period, or period. When a woman has her period, she is menstruating. The menstrual blood is partly blood and partly tissue from the inside of the uterus (womb). It flows from the uterus through the small opening in the cervix, and passes out of the body through the vagina. Most menstrual periods last from three to five days.
548671
Killer cramps and GI disturbances are signs of Endometriosis.  Pain and symptoms such as those you describe are never normal and are the body's way of telling you something is wrong.  The pill can be helpful, but it's not your only choice for treatment.  The important thing is to get diagnosed.  Determining the underlying cause will help you get effective treatment, whether it turns out to be Endometriosis or something else.  Talk to your GYN and also visit www.endocenter.org; the ERC has a fact sheet dealing with Endo in the lesbian community.  Good luck to you.
693198
A fibroid is an overgrowth of smooth muscle cells in your uterus.  They can be anywhere in the cervix, the endometrium, or in the body of the uterus itself.  These usually are benign and the only problems they can cause is excessive bleeding and pain.  Just keep an eye on it and your periods to make sure there aren't any changes and follow up with your doctor regularly.
448348
Here is what I could find:\n\nEndometriosis is a condition in which tissue similar to the lining of the uterus is located outside the uterus. Usually there are implants of this tissue in the pelvis. When the lining of the uterus bleeds during the menstrual cycle, these implants also bleed. This causes pain and scarring in the pelvis. The other pelvic structures react to this bleeding by becoming adherent to each other so that tubes, ovaries and intestine are stuck together. If the endometrial tissue is within an ovary, that ovary will fill with blood. These are called endometriomas and are cysts in the ovary filled with old blood. This old blood has the appearance of thin chocolate or motor oil. They are also called chocolate cysts of the ovary. Endometriomas are frequently found at surgery for ovarian cysts.  http://www.gyncancer.com/ovarian-cysts.html\n\nWhat are Endometriomas/Chocolate Cysts?\nThis disease process is also known as Endometriosis of the ovaries. Tiny implants of cells that line the uterine cavity become transplanted and form small cysts on the outside of the ovary. These cysts enlarge and produce Endometriosis of the ovary. They respond to hormone stimulation during the menstrual cycle and produce many small cysts, which may then occupy and even replace the normal ovarian tissue.\n\nThese endometriomas are filled with a thick chocolate-type material, which is the reason they are known as "chocolate cysts". When this type of ovarian cyst ruptures, the material spills over into the pelvis and onto the surface of the uterus, bladder and bowel and the corresponding spaces between. Adhesions can develop because of this rupture and may lead to pelvic pain.  http://www.alternativesurgery.com/education/ovariancysts.php\n\n) Endometrioma or "chocolate cyst". These are cysts that form when endometrial tissue (the type that lines the inside of the uterus) invades an ovary. It is responsive to monthly hormonal changes, which causes the cyst to fill with blood. It’s called a “chocolate cyst” because the blood is a dark, reddish-brown color. Multiple endometriomas are found in the condition called "endometriosis". Although often asymptomatic, chocolate cysts can be painful, especially during your period or during intercourse.  http://www.ovarian-cysts-pcos.com/ovarian-cysts.html
330445
See your doctor if you don't get a period soon sometimes it could be a symptom of ovarian cysts or endometriosis.