How to Treat Endometriosis
Ask your doctor about hormonal therapy., Take progestin., Consider which form of progestin to use., Get a prescription for gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonists ., Ask your doctor about danazol., Consider the possibility of surgical...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Ask your doctor about hormonal therapy.
Hormonal therapy can help in the treatment of endometriosis because it is these hormones that cause the lesions to undergo changes similar to the menstrual cycle.One of the most common forms of hormonal therapy is oral contraceptives; you take the pills for 21 days and then take sugar pills for 7 days to mimic the natural menstrual cycle.
If the sugar pills are not taken, birth control pills stops the menstrual period completely, this helps in decreasing the pain and in some cases causes it to vanish completely.
There are a few type of birth control pills that have only a couple days of sugar pills every 3 months; these also help reduce or eliminate pain. -
Step 2: Take progestin.
This can be taken in different forms like a pill, via an injection, or through an intrauterine device (IUD).
Progestin is similar to the body's hormone progesterone.When progestin is taken, it makes the progesterone levels in the body similar to what they would be if you were pregnant.
Progestin helps in reducing estrogen production, thereby stopping ovulation, along with menstrual cycle in most women. , Your options include the following:
Pill:
When taken as a pill daily, these hormones decrease menstrual flow without causing the uterus lining to grow.
Once you stop taking the progestin pill, you are back to square one; the symptoms can return and pregnancy can occur.
IUD.
An IUD containing progestin, such as Mirena, helps in reducing endometriosis-related pain.
It decreases the size of lesions and menstrual flow.
Injection.
As an injection, progestin has to be taken once every 3 months.
This treatment generally stops the menstrual flow, but some women do bleed many times during the first year of taking the injection.
When this bleeding occurs, pain can recur.
After stopping the injections, it can take few months for menses to return.
Once the periods are back, the woman can conceive. , These medications stop the production of certain hormones to prevent ovulation, menstruation, and the growth of endometriosis.
This treatment sends the body into a "menopausal" state.
These medicines are available in different generic names.Their doses are as follows:
Leuprolide is injected into muscle (intramuscularly) once a month.
You can also take an injection that lasts for 3 months.
Nafarelin is sprayed into the nose (intranasally) twice a day.
Goserelin
3.6 mg pellet is injected under the skin of the abdomen (subcutaneously) once every 28 days.
Slowly the pellet is assimilated by your body. , Danazol is a suppressive drug with some androgenic activity.
The treatment with this drug stops the release of hormones that are involved in the menstrual cycle.
Women will have a period only now and then or sometimes not at all when on this medication.The patient is started with the dose of 800 mg, administered in two divided doses depending on the severity of the disease.For mild cases, an initial daily dose of 200 mg to 400 mg given in two divided doses is recommended and may be adjusted depending on patient response. , Conservative surgical treatment involves removal of the tissues, adhesions and restoring the normal pelvic anatomy as far as possible.
In order to do this the physician can perform a laparoscopy (camera assisted video surgery) so as to remove the lesions or destroy them using intense heat without harming the normal tissues.
It is a minimally invasive procedure in which the surgeon makes only 2-3 small incisions on the abdomen.
He or she can also do laparotomy which is a major operation during which the small lesions that are not visible in laparoscopy are removed, and if needed, the surgeon removes the uterus.
The physician tries to conserve the ovaries as far as possible but if necessary he can remove them also.
This major surgery is the last resort for endometriosis treatment. , The recurrence rate is estimated to be 10 percent per year.
In women who have had a hysterectomy where both ovaries have not been removed, there is 6 times the risk of recurrence as compared to cases in which the ovaries are removed. -
Step 3: Consider which form of progestin to use.
-
Step 4: Get a prescription for gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonists .
-
Step 5: Ask your doctor about danazol.
-
Step 6: Consider the possibility of surgical treatment.
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Step 7: Realize that endometriosis can reappear after surgery.
Detailed Guide
Hormonal therapy can help in the treatment of endometriosis because it is these hormones that cause the lesions to undergo changes similar to the menstrual cycle.One of the most common forms of hormonal therapy is oral contraceptives; you take the pills for 21 days and then take sugar pills for 7 days to mimic the natural menstrual cycle.
If the sugar pills are not taken, birth control pills stops the menstrual period completely, this helps in decreasing the pain and in some cases causes it to vanish completely.
There are a few type of birth control pills that have only a couple days of sugar pills every 3 months; these also help reduce or eliminate pain.
This can be taken in different forms like a pill, via an injection, or through an intrauterine device (IUD).
Progestin is similar to the body's hormone progesterone.When progestin is taken, it makes the progesterone levels in the body similar to what they would be if you were pregnant.
Progestin helps in reducing estrogen production, thereby stopping ovulation, along with menstrual cycle in most women. , Your options include the following:
Pill:
When taken as a pill daily, these hormones decrease menstrual flow without causing the uterus lining to grow.
Once you stop taking the progestin pill, you are back to square one; the symptoms can return and pregnancy can occur.
IUD.
An IUD containing progestin, such as Mirena, helps in reducing endometriosis-related pain.
It decreases the size of lesions and menstrual flow.
Injection.
As an injection, progestin has to be taken once every 3 months.
This treatment generally stops the menstrual flow, but some women do bleed many times during the first year of taking the injection.
When this bleeding occurs, pain can recur.
After stopping the injections, it can take few months for menses to return.
Once the periods are back, the woman can conceive. , These medications stop the production of certain hormones to prevent ovulation, menstruation, and the growth of endometriosis.
This treatment sends the body into a "menopausal" state.
These medicines are available in different generic names.Their doses are as follows:
Leuprolide is injected into muscle (intramuscularly) once a month.
You can also take an injection that lasts for 3 months.
Nafarelin is sprayed into the nose (intranasally) twice a day.
Goserelin
3.6 mg pellet is injected under the skin of the abdomen (subcutaneously) once every 28 days.
Slowly the pellet is assimilated by your body. , Danazol is a suppressive drug with some androgenic activity.
The treatment with this drug stops the release of hormones that are involved in the menstrual cycle.
Women will have a period only now and then or sometimes not at all when on this medication.The patient is started with the dose of 800 mg, administered in two divided doses depending on the severity of the disease.For mild cases, an initial daily dose of 200 mg to 400 mg given in two divided doses is recommended and may be adjusted depending on patient response. , Conservative surgical treatment involves removal of the tissues, adhesions and restoring the normal pelvic anatomy as far as possible.
In order to do this the physician can perform a laparoscopy (camera assisted video surgery) so as to remove the lesions or destroy them using intense heat without harming the normal tissues.
It is a minimally invasive procedure in which the surgeon makes only 2-3 small incisions on the abdomen.
He or she can also do laparotomy which is a major operation during which the small lesions that are not visible in laparoscopy are removed, and if needed, the surgeon removes the uterus.
The physician tries to conserve the ovaries as far as possible but if necessary he can remove them also.
This major surgery is the last resort for endometriosis treatment. , The recurrence rate is estimated to be 10 percent per year.
In women who have had a hysterectomy where both ovaries have not been removed, there is 6 times the risk of recurrence as compared to cases in which the ovaries are removed.
About the Author
Catherine Adams
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