Can someone explain edometriosis to me?

Question

I have to get a biopsy done this week to test for it. I have been searching it but I cant find a really clear definition of what it is. Thank you!

Endometriosis

Sorry forget the n :)

Answer 1

I'll be glad to help. I am an OB/GYN Nurse Practitioner, and have experienced endometriosis on a personal basis also. THe uteus discharges blood every month. With this condition,. the blood sometimes backs up and goes through the Fallopian tubes and causes implants on the ovaries, intestines and bladder, and pelvic cavity. Every month when you have a period and bleed, so do these little implants, causing you a lot of pain...they can even go through the lymph system to other parts of your body, and in my experience they went into my right shoulder blade. So each month I would get this pain in my shouder just before the period was due...wild!! Endometriosis used to be controlled by doing a hysterectomy and removing the ovaries. Now they have medication to control this. Good luck. By calculation, I only had 1 good week a month...that means I had 12 good weeks a year. Don't live with this without getting it treated. It affects everything in your life!

I just read where someone made the comment that endometriosis is also uterine cancer...it is definitely not!

Answer 2

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.

Endometriosis 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.

In addition, it can be found in caecarian-section scars, laparoscopy or laparotomy scars, and on the bladder, bowel, intestines, colon, appendix, and rectum.

In rare cases, endometriosis has been found inside the vagina, inside the bladder, on the skin, even in the lung, spine, and brain.

The 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.

Endometriosis 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."

It is estimated that 30-40% of women with endometriosis are infertile.

Since the cause of endometriosis remains unknown, a treatment which fully cures endometriosis has yet to be developed, and there is no overwhelming medical evidence to support one specific type of endometriosis treatment over another.

Answer 3

Heh - doctors don't fully understand endometriosis.

But anyway ...

Endometriosis is a disease of the endometrium - the lining of the uterus - where there are abnormal collections / deposits of the endometrium cells in various places around the body. When these cells deposit within the lining of the uterus it is called Adenomyosis. When they deposit elsewhere it is called Endometriosis.

It is a relatively common disease, affecting somewhere approximating 10% of women of reproductive age (possibly underreported).

It can cause all kinds of problems: pain, infertility, heavy or painful periods, nausea, vomiting ...

Rarely it can cause seizures - people have found endometrial deposits in the brain (catamenial epilepsy).

Rarely it can cause pneumothorax - people have found endometrial deposits in the chest (catamenial pneumothorax).

Treatment can be medical or surgical:
o Medical - hormonal treatment to suppress the menstrual cycle can reduce the cyclic pain caused by endometriosis

o Surgical - operations to locate and remove/destroy the endometrial deposits can be helpful to reduce pain or restore fertility

Have a look at the wiki page.

[Edit]
*sigh* Endometriosis IS NOT a form of endometrial cancer
It is quite a strange disease in its own right. Nobody can adequately explain how the endometrial deposits can get to the places they have been found in. Various theories abound about endometrial cells floating out from the fallopian tubes. Other theories suggest the cells migrate when the baby is forming or that cells grown abnormally in odd locations.

Answer 4

Endometriosis is a noncancerous disorder in which functioning endometrial tissue is implanted outside the uterine cavity. Symptoms depend on location of the implants and may include dysmenorrhea (painful menstruation), dyspareunia (painful or difficult coitus), infertility, dysuria (difficult or painful micturition), and pain during defecation. Diagnosis is by biopsy, usually via laparoscopy. Treatment includes anti-inflammatory drugs, drugs to suppress ovarian function and endometrial tissue growth, surgical ablation and excision of endometriotic implants, and, for severe disease if no childbearing is planned, hysterectomy plus oophorectomy.
Please see the web pages and Google search for more details and images on Endometriosis.

Answer 5

ENDOMETRIOSIS or Endometrial cancer develops when the cells that make up the inner lining of the uterus (the endometrium) become abnormal and grow uncontrollably.Endometrial cancer (also called uterine cancer) is the fourth most common type of cancer among women and the most common gynecologic cancer. The uterus, or womb, is the hollow female organ that supports the development of the unborn baby during pregnancy. The uterus has a thick muscular wall and an inner lining called the endometrium. The endometrium is very sensitive to hormones and it changes daily during the menstrual cycle. The endometrium is designed to provide an ideal environment for the fertilized egg to implant and begin to grow. If pregnancy does not occur, the endometrium is shed causing the menstrual period.

I have given only basic information here. You can see - http://www.answers.com/topic/endometrial-cancer-2 - for more informations on this disease, Causes and Symptoms, Diagnosis and treatments from this site. Best of luck.

Answer 6

It is sort of where part of your period goes uphill for some reason (fibroids in uterus?) and goes thru the fallopian tubes into the abdominal area and attaches to your intestines, etc. and bleeds when you menstruate but doesn't have anywhere to exit the body, so you have pain. It can also be found lower (vaginal area) sometimes ...

here is one link (you can google it)
http://www.endometriosis.org/endometriosis.html

If you have a hysterectomy and they find it on intestines or other places, then they can burn it off with silver nitrate (think that was what they burned mine off with).