Myth Buster: Pregnancy And Menopause Are Not Cure For Endometriosis

Endometriosis has been a poorly understood condition for years. It happens when tissue similar to the lining of the uterus is found outside it. The tissue responds to the hormones and sometimes swells and bleeds like the endometrial tissue. This tissue can grow in ovaries, fallopian tubes, and sometimes in other parts of the pelvic region and is less commonly found in the digestive tract, around the lungs and the heart. The condition is characterised by pain and unusual bleeding. The abnormal tissue growth is affected by the hormones such as estrogen. Since the development of the endometrial patch is a hormone-mediated process, conditions like pregnancy can sometimes suppress the symptoms for a while and thus many women having endometriosis are taught that everything will turn out to be all right after pregnancy. The lack of research and knowledge gaps around the topic has led to the spread of many misconceptions. Just like pregnancy, there are also some unanswered questions about menopause and endometriosis. Pregnancy, menopause and endometriosis During pregnancy, there is the suspension of menstruation. So due to changes in the hormonal environment, the symptoms might subside during the gestation period. However, due to a lack of evidence-based research, it is also suspected that the condition can make pregnancy more painful due to extra pressure on the pelvic nerves. The abnormal lining that characterizes the condition needs estrogen for growth. As a woman hits menopause, the level of estrogen starts to fall rapidly. With the decreasing level of the sustaining hormones, the tissue might stop growing, resulting in a lessening of the symptoms. As per experts, if a woman has mild endometriosis, her condition is likely to improve after menopause. However, in women who have severe endometriosis (even have severe symptoms like excessive pain, inflammation and lesion formation), the symptoms might become better but won't vanish. In some cases, the condition might continue to persist. Sometimes, if a woman is on hormone replacement therapy for treating symptoms of menopause, it might reactivate the condition. Hence, pregnancy is usually a temporary pause in the manifestation of the symptoms. Post-menopause, the symptoms might subside for some but for others, the condition shall persist for a long. Diagnosis for postmenopausal endometriosis Endometriosis is a complex medical condition that is often misdiagnosed, partly due to the lack of understanding of the condition, the stigma prevailing around it and misconceptions that are being portrayed as factual concepts. The following are some diagnostic tools a medical expert might use to diagnose the condition- Pelvic test Ultrasound CT Scan MRI Scan Laparoscopy.