Written by Dr. Sarika Doshi

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.

It can be found in caecarian-section scars, laparoscopy or laparotomy scars, and on the bladder, bowel, intestines, colon, appendix, and rectum. But these locations are not so common.

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

Causes
The exact cause of endometriosis remains unknown, many theories have been presented to better understand and explain its development

1. Estrogens

   Endometriosis is a condition that is estrogen-dependent and thus seen primarily during the reproductive years. In experimental models, estrogen is necessary to induce or maintain endometriosis. Medical therapy is often aimed at lowering estrogen levels to control the disease. Additionally, the current research into aromatase, an estrogen-synthesizing enzyme, has provided evidence as to why and how the disease persists after menopause and hysterectomy.

2. Genetics

   Hereditary factors play a role. It is well recognized that daughters or sisters of patients with endometriosis are at higher risk of developing endometriosis themselves; for example, low progesterone levels may be genetic, and may contribute to a hormone imbalance

3. Retrograde menstruation

   The theory of retrograde menstruation, first proposed by John A. Sampson, suggests that during a woman’s menstrual flow, some of the endometrial debris exits the uterus through the fallopian tubes and attaches itself to the peritoneal surface (the lining of the abdominal cavity) where it can proceed to invade the tissue as endometriosis. While most women may have some retrograde menstrual flow, typically their immune system is able to clear the debris and prevent implantation and growth of cells from this occurrence.

4. Transplantation

   It is accepted that in specific patients endometriosis can spread directly. Thus endometriosis has been found in abdominal incisional scars after surgery for endometriosis. It can also grow invasively into different tissue layers, i.e., from the cul-de-sac into the vagina. On rare occasions endometriosis may be transplanted by blood or by the lymphatic system into peripheral organs such as the lungs and brain.

5. Cause of pain

   The way endometriosis causes pain is the subject of much research. Because many women with endometriosis feel pain during or around their periods and may spill further menstrual flow into the pelvis with each menstruation, some researchers are trying to reduce menstrual events in patients with endometriosis.

   Endometriosis lesions react to hormonal stimulation and may "bleed" at the time of menstruation. The blood accumulates locally, causes swelling, and triggers inflammatory responses with the activation of cytokines. It is thought that this process may cause pain.

Symptoms of endometriosis

The most common symptom of endometriosis is pelvic pain. The pain often correlates to the menstrual cycle, however a woman with endometriosis may also experience pain at other times during her monthly cycle.

For many women, but not everyone, the pain of endometriosis can unfortunately be so severe and debilitating that it impacts on her life significant ways.

Pain may be felt:

• before/during/after menstruation
• during ovulation
• in the bowel during menstruation
• when passing urine
• during or after sexual intercourse
• in the lower back region

Other symptoms may include

• diarrhoea or constipation (in particular in connection with menstruation)
• abdominal bloating (again, in connection with menstruation)
• heavy or irregular bleeding
• fatigue

The other well known symptom associated with endometriosis is infertility. It is estimated that 30-40% of women with endometriosis are subfertile.

When a woman or a girl has decided that she wishes to discuss her symptoms with a physician, she may benefit from preparing for this consultation by using the aid, your first consultation, which highlights the questions a doctor may ask her. By assessing the responses, it will help her physician to evaluate her symptoms, and together they can decide the right treatment plan for her.

Endometriosis and infertility

Overall, women with endometriosis find it harder to become pregnant than women in general. However, little research has been carried out into this topic, so it is not possible to give you an accurate indication of how much endometriosis will affect your fertility.

Nevertheless, studies indicate that women with minimal-mild endometriosis take longer to conceive (become pregnant) and are less likely to conceive than women in general.

It also appears that the more severe the woman’s endometriosis, the more likely it is that she will have difficulty becoming pregnant. Thus, women with moderate-severe endometriosis tend to have more difficulty conceiving than women with minimal-mild endometriosis.

However, it is important to remember that having endometriosis does not automatically mean that you will never have children. Rather, it means that you may have more problems.

Many women with endometriosis have children without difficulty, and many others become pregnant eventually.

Diagnosing endometriosis

At present the only reliable way to definitively diagnose endometriosis is by performing a laparoscopy and to take a biopsy of the tissue. This is what is known as "the gold standard".

Hormonal Treatment

• Minimal-mild endometriosis
  

  In women with minimal-mild endometriosis, hormonal drugs are not an effective treatment for endometriosis-related infertility, as none of the drugs leads to better pregnancy rates. Therefore, they should not be used to improve fertility in women with minimal-mild endometriosis.

• Moderate-severe endometriosis
  

  In women with more severe disease, no published studies have looked at the effect of hormonal treatment on infertility. However, it is assumed that they are not effective, so they should not be used to improve infertility in women with moderate-severe disease.

Role Of Homoeopathy in Endometriosis

As I written in all my topics that Homoeopathy treats the Diseased person, Homoeopathic treatment does not depend on what is the title of the disease or diagnosis of the disease. Homoeopathy is the scientific pathy where the treatment is given after considering the patients physical, mental complaints.

Homeopathic treatment is individualized - it considers the whole patient through symptoms (causality, mental, emotional and physical), rather than the disease as a name. Homeopathy does not need a name for a disease. It looks at the person as a whole and tries to find the contributing factors of disease. What does allopathy say about the causes of endometriosis? They have not been established -- in other words we don’t know!

In our HomeoCure Clinic We are observing many patients benifited by Homoeopathic treatment. Also patients started feeling better in their complaints like pelvic pain, menstrual irregularities etc. after starting the treatment.