Common Women's Health Problems

Endometriosis

Endometriosis is a disorder in which tissue that usually lines the inside of the uterus grows outside your uterus.

During a menstrual cycle, the uterus sheds the lining of the uterus. With endometriosis, that still happens, but the displaced tissue can't leave the body. Surrounding tissue can then become irritated and develop scar tissue and adhesions that can cause pelvis tissues and organs to stick to each other.

Endometriosis symptoms

The main symptom of endometriosis is pelvic pain that often corresponds with your menstrual pain. The pain is typically more severe than the feeling of typical menstrual cramps. Pain may also increase over time in endometriosis.

Other signs and symptoms of endometriosis can include:

• Pain during or after sex.
• Pain with bowel movements or urination, especially during your menstrual period.
• Excessively heavy periods, or bleeding between periods.
• Difficulty becoming pregnant. Endometriosis brings with it an increased risk of infertility.

If you experience these symptoms, talk with your doctor. They may ask the following questions to help you get the right diagnosis:

• How often do you experience the symptoms you describe?
• Are your symptoms worse around your menstrual cycle?
• Does anything help your symptoms?
• Does anything make your symptoms worse?
• How long have you had these symptoms?

Endometriosis treatment

Treatment for endometriosis typically involves medication or surgery. In general, doctors recommend starting with non-surgical options first.

Most doctors recommend starting treatment with an over-the-counter pain reliever. For patients who are not trying to get pregnant, hormone therapy may be prescribed.

For patients with endometriosis who wish to become pregnant, conservative surgery may be an option. In conversative endometriosis surgery, a doctor will remove endometriosis implants while preserving your uterus and ovaries. This approach may also help severe pain from endometriosis.

Clinical trials are researching potential new options for reducing pain in endometriosis while preserving fertility. If you're interested in taking part, start your search below:

Common health problems specific to women can include issues with the uterus and ovaries, and problems related to menopause. Clinical trials are researching potential new treatments for these conditions that may help symptoms and improve quality of life for women.

In this guide, we'll cover the symptoms, causes, and treatment options for:

• Uterine fibroids
• Endometriosis
• Polycystic ovarian syndrome
• Hot flashes

Uterine fibroids

Uterine fibroids are non-cancerous growths in the uterus that range in size from being undetectable to the human eye, to the size of a grapefruit. They do not develop into cancer or raise your risk of uterine cancer.

Researchers aren't sure what causes fibroids to grow, but they may be stimulated by hormones. They may grow larger during your menstrual cycle, or when taking birth control pills, or during pregnancy. Fibroids often shrink or disappear with menopause.

Most women with uterine fibroids don't experience symptoms. For those that do, symptoms can include:

• Pelvic pain that doesn't go away
• Menstrual periods lasting more than a week
• Frequent urination or difficulty emptying the bladder
• Back or leg pain
• Constipation

When to see a doctor about uterine fibroids:

• You're experiencing pelvic pain that won't go away
• You're having difficulty emptying your bladder
• You can't control your urine flow
• You experience very heavy and painful periods

See a doctor right away if:

• You experience uncontrollable bleeding, or sudden sharp pelvic pain

What are the treatments for uterine fibroids?

As many women with uterine fibroids do not experience signs or symptoms, most often, doctors recommend simply keeping an eye on fibroids and symptoms.

For severe uterine fibroids, treatments may involve hormones to regulate your menstrual cycle. These treatments typically shrink fibroids, but may not eliminate them all together.

Hormonal treatments can include:

• Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (Gn-RH) agonists. These medications treat fibroids by blocking the production of estrogen and progesterone. Because the treatment puts you into a temporary postmenopausal state, many women experience significant hot flashes while on them. This treatment is typically used for no more than three to six months, often before a planned fibroids surgery, as it can cause bone loss.
• Progestin-releasing intrauterine device (IUD). This device can relieve the heavy bleeding associated with fibroids, but doesn't shrink fibroids or make them disappear.
• Tranexamic acid (Lysteda). This treatment can be taken during your menstrual period to ease heavy bleeding days.

Focused ultrasound surgery (FUS) for uterine fibroids

One non-invasive surgical option for treating uterine fibroids is MRI-guided ultrasound surgery.

This treatment option preserves your uterus and requires no incision. It's performed while you're inside an MRI scanner to give your doctor the precise location of your fibroids. Then, the ultrasound transducer focuses sound waves into the fibroid to destroy them with heat.

Because FUS is a newer therapy, researchers are still learning more about its long-term safety and effectiveness.

Clinical trials for uterine fibroids

Clinical trials are researching potential new treatment options for uterine fibroids. If you're interested, answer a few questions to find trials near you for which you may qualify.