3 Surprising Facts About Endometriosis

There are many rumors floating around about endometriosis. This is largely because there is very little information about the disease. It is important to clear up these rumors for the women diagnosed with this disease. Three facts listed below combat some of the rumors I heard when I was first diagnosed with endometriosis.

Hormonal Treatments Don't Cure Endometriosis

Many people think that different forms of birth control can actually cure endometriosis. This is untrue. Birth control can help to manage endometriosis but it is not a cure. It does stop your periods so birth control can tame your endo but it does not reverse the damage that has already been done. 

It is important to understand that there is no cure, just pain management. Once the endometrial tissue has begun growing, the only way to remove it is through surgeries, such as a laparotomy.  Even surgery doesn't always cure the disease. There are some organs where doctors cannot remove the tissue.

Hysterectomies Don't Cure Endometriosis
Hysterectomies are often the last resort for women with endometriosis. It is not always true that a hysterectomy will cure endometriosis though. 

Many women have endometrial tissue that has grown on their liver, spleen, small or large intestine, or bowel. This tissue can cause pain as well even after a hysterectomy. It is not only the uterus that causes pain. Taking the uterus out can help with endometriosis but just like birth control, it can't reverse the damage that has already been done. 

Pain Medications are Not Good Treatment for Endometriosis

I experienced this first-hand. Pain medications are an excellent short-term treatment for endometriosis. They eliminate your pain completely and you begin to feel great. They are not meant to be taken for a long period of time though. 

I was prescribed pain medications of different types for about a year after I was first diagnosed. This was great at first, but after a while, I became dependent on the medication and it was hard to get myself off of it. 

I would not suggest that anyone take pain medication for long periods of time. It only makes the pain worse when you are finished taking them. You become so used to living without pain when you are on pain killers that when you finally get off of them, it makes things much worse.