I was compensated by Med-IQ through an educational grant from AbbVie Inc. to write about the realities of endometriosis as a chronic disease. All opinions are my own.
If you suffer from endometriosis, or you think you might have it but aren’t sure, I hope this second post in my two-part endometriosis series will help you.
As I wrote about this summer, I didn’t know I had endometriosis until I had a hysterectomy. I cannot emphasize enough the importance of advocating for yourself and finding a doctor who will listen to your concerns, value your story and offer a full breadth of treatment options. It is also so important to discuss your goals of treatment—whether they be for pain management, infertility, or to slow the progression of the disease.
In my case, I saw a pelvic pain specialist, with incredible experience in all areas of pelvic pain, including the treatment of endometriosis. I advocated for myself and asked my care provider for a referral to a specialist. After all, the doctor who delivered your baby may not be the doctor most suited to help you on your journey with endometriosis.
Endometriosis Treatment Options
While I ended up needing a hysterectomy, this isn’t true for everyone. There are surgical and nonsurgical treatment options for endometriosis.
When considering your treatment options and personal treatment goals, think about the impact of endometriosis and the quality-of-life impact of painful periods, fertility desires, and non-period-specific symptoms that can come with endometriosis. Since I was done having children and was experiencing incredibly painful, heavy period and other complications, a hysterectomy was right for me. Interestingly, my mom and her mom both had hysterectomies at the same age as I was. Endometriosis can be genetic, so I think this fact is fascinating.
The treatment options range from:
– Lifestyle changes
– Nontraditional or holistic methods
– Nonhormonal medication
– Hormonal medications
– Surgical therapies
Click here to review a helpful handout about these treatment options.
Pelvic pain is not normal and treatment is available. If you want to make an appointment with a specialist, find one near you here.
Help with Endometriosis Educational Initiatives + Win $100
Med-IQ is conducting an anonymous survey and would appreciate your input. The survey will take just a few quick minutes to complete. Survey responses are shared only in aggregate. Your responses to these survey questions will provide Med-IQ with important information about your experience with endometriosis, which will help us develop future educational initiatives. Once you've completed the survey, you will have the option of providing your email address to be entered into a drawing administered by SOMA Strategies to win 1 of 8 $100 VISA gift cards. If you choose to enter, your email address will be used to randomly draw the winners and notify you of your prize if you win. Click here to take this quick survey.
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