Endometriosis Treatments
What are my options?
There isn’t a known effective treatment plan that suits everyone with Endometriosis. However, there are various things you can do, and treatments you can try, that can be valuable in helping you manage your condition day-to-day.
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These treatments cannot necessarily cure Endometriosis, but they can be useful in helping you manage your symptoms, leading to a more active life.
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Endometriosis symptoms can be helped with a combination of pain relief and anti-inflammatory medications, pelvic floor physiotherapy, dietary changes, and alternative therapies such as acupuncture.
Hormone therapy treatments to limit, help regulate or temporarily stop your periods may also benefit.
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For more severe cases, treatment of the Endometriosis may need surgical intervention, if other treatments are not effective.
It is important to know.
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Since Endometriosis can cause a wide variety of problems, it’s important to understand that treatments are individualised, meaning what may work for one person, may not always work for another.
When deciding which treatment is best suited to you, your doctor will consider several factors, such as;
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Age
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Medical history
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The severity of your symptoms
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Whether you’re looking to start a family, either now or later
Along with various other individualised circumstances, and any possible side effects, risks, and complications.
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What are my options?
Self-Management
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You may decide you do not want to have any scans or surgery to look for Endometriosis. It might be that your symptoms are mild, or you’re actively trying to conceive or nearing the menopause.
Providing you consult with you GP; you can try self-management. This can vary from medications and modifiers for pain control, combined with pelvic health physiotherapy, or a referral to a specialist pain clinic.
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While there is not much evidence about them, some people also recommend using heat or cold press, tens machine, gentle exercise and stretches, holistic therapies such as massage or acupuncture, dietary changes- limiting foods known for causing inflammation and foods that make you feel unwell, and more.
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Medicines for pain control and hormonal treatments may also be useful. If you decide to manage your symptoms yourself, you can always have scans or surgery in the future if you change your mind or if you notice your symptoms progress.
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Hormone Treatments
Individuals with Endometriosis may experience extremely painful periods, in such cases, they make seek various methods to help alleviate their symptoms, and one option is hormone treatments.
These treatments are given to limit, help regulate, or temporarily stop your periods. These treatments are not a one-size-fits-all solution. It’s important you discuss your options with a doctor to determine the most suitable approach based on your individual needs and medical history.
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While many treatment options exist for managing Endometriosis, some individuals may find these treatments do not provide sufficient relief, and they may opt for surgical intervention as a means of addressing the condition more directly.
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A Laparoscopy
Endometriosis is a complex condition which happens when endometrial-like tissue is found growing and functioning in areas or organs within the body it shouldn’t be, leading to pain, inflammation, and sometimes fertility issues.
It can significantly impact quality of life for many individuals, leading to chronic (on-going) pain, reproductive challenges, and a range of physical and emotional symptoms. You may decide you want to have an operation if other treatments have not worked.
This type of operation involves removing the Endometriosis, separating organs stuck together by scar tissue, and removing cysts in the ovaries - whilst taking care to avoid causing further damage to the ovary and its function.
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