What's Next When Your Doctor Thinks You Have Endometriosis?
Endometriosis is a condition that causes uterine tissue to develop where it shouldn't. While this doesn't seem like a big deal at first glance, it can cause a lot of pain, unwanted bleeding, and other problems such as fertility issues for women who have it. If your doctor thinks that endometriosis is a potential cause of your period problems or fertility issues, here's what's next for you.
Testing
Most doctors who suggest endometriosis can't be certain at first that's what your problem is. For most people, endometriosis is purely an internal condition that can't be seen or felt from the outside effectively. For this reason, you'll need to undergo some secondary testing so that your doctor can find out if their diagnosis is right.
Thankfully, these tests are painless. Your doctor may suggest an ultrasound, MRI, or both. Both of these tests can take some time, and an MRI can get noisy while you're inside of it, but you will be lying down with both tests, so you shouldn't experience any discomfort or soreness.
These tests will let your doctor take a look at the inside of your body. MRIs in particular are effective at revealing endometrial tissue.
OBGYN
Once you have a diagnosis of endometriosis or something else, like ovarian cysts, it's time to head to a specialist. Visiting with an OBGYN is the best option here.
OBGYNs specialize in taking care of a woman's reproductive health and organs. Your OBGYN will take a look at your scans and may perform a physical examination to get an idea of what's going on. From there, the two of you will start talking treatment.
Treatment
Good news: endometrial tissue can be effectively shrunk by prescribing birth control. This is usually the first weapon a doctor employs for this condition. By changing the hormones in your body, the unwanted extra uterine tissue will stop bleeding and you should find that any periods you have are shorter and less uncomfortable.
However, birth control isn't always the best option for everyone. Perhaps you're already taking it and still having problems, or maybe you have a great deal of endometrial tissue that isn't supposed to be there. In these cases, your OBGYN may recommend surgery to remove the excess tissue.
Treating endometriosis is a good idea. No one needs to go through the kind of pain that it generates. Talk to your doctor and get the ball rolling on being diagnosed and treated for your condition.
If you are wondering if you suffer from endometriosis, contact an OBGYN to learn more.
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