Endometriosis Awareness Month: You Are Not Alone. Find relief for Pain and Infertility!

March may be March Madness and St, Patrick’s day but it is also Endometriosis Awareness Month around the globe. Did you know that endometriosis impacts about 1 out of every 10 women in the U.S. alone? This means that, for every woman you know, including friends, family member, co-worker or acquaintance, it is likely that at least one of those is coping with the effects of endometriosis.

This month, you may be seeing fundraisers and social media campaigns to create awareness about this serious medical condition. Unfortunately, endometriosis is predisposed to be misdiagnosed and it often goes undiagnosed. A lot of that is because of a lack of awareness and education about the disease.

Our team at the Idaho Fertility Center actively supports reproductive health and promoting awareness for endometriosis in the community at large. So what exactly is endometriosis?

The Skinny on Endometriosis

Endometriosis centers around a woman’s ovaries, fallopian tubes as well as the pelvic lining. It most often leads to pain and inflammation. That’s because the endometrial tissue lining the womb grows outside of the uterus where it becomes thick, breaks down, and bleeds when you have your menstrual cycle. The reason for this is that because it’s in an area that doesn’t allow the tissue to leave, becoming trapped. Women who struggle with ovarian cysts can find themselves with scars and adhesions.

The result is a diminished quality of life, dealing with ongoing physical pain. Emotional pain is also a common outcome of this disease as it is a leading cause of female infertility. So what should you look out for?

Endometriosis Symptoms
You might have endometriosis if you find yourself with these symptoms:

-Irregular bleeding
-Pain during your menstrual cycles
-Pain during intercourse
-Bloating or other digestive issues
-Excessive tiredness
-Infertility

Despite what we know about this medical condition, we still don’t know what causes it, and that’s one of the biggest reasons it can be hard to manage. Women who live with the symptoms of endometriosis may be in the dark as to why it is happening. Even for those women who receive a diagnosis, the relief from knowing what is happening may be tempered a bit as it will always need to be managed. For now, there is no known cure.

Endometriosis Treatment
The two most common treatments for managing the symptoms of the disease are medication and surgery. If you are struggling with endometriosis, the bright side of this is that there are surgical options and fertility treatments that can raise your likelihood of conception.

Our Idaho Fertility Center team effectively treats mild endometriosis with controlled ovarian hyperstimulation and intrauterine insemination to achieve pregnancy. Women dealing with severe endometriosis often have the most success with in-vitro fertilization. To learn more, we encourage you to reach out to our team in Idaho Falls, Idaho. We look forward to helping you find the answers you need and get the relief you want for your symptoms.

There is always hope, and this month, our hope is to help women with endometriosis to have their best quality of life. You can participate in Endometriosis Awareness Month by wearing a yellow ribbon when you go out and talk about it. Others find that donating to a national organization helps fill some of that emotional space.