Are you being proactive enough for your fertility?
Treating endometriosis and other strategies is very proactive for your fertility!
if you have painful periods, painful sex, lower abdominal pains, or vague pelvic complaints, you may have endometriosis. Simple facts show that of women who are infertile about 50% have endometriosis, and of women with endometriosis about 50% of them will be infertile (statistics vary according to the study and exact stage of endometriosis). Infertility can be prevented with early diagnosis and therapy
Once a woman has been diagnosed with infertility, after trying for 12 months with no successful pregnancy, and no other explanation is the cause, then her fertility management includes consideration of endometrosis. Exactly why endometriosis causes infertility is unfortunately not exactly known. Endometriosis has been called an inflammatory condition which is caused by implants or lesions of uterine lining-like (endometrium-like) tissue outside of the uterus, usually on the ovary or near the ovary, on the fallopian tubes or near those structures. If there is tubal blockage then it is easy to understand why this is associated with infertility, the sperm and egg just won't meet up.
The degree of inflammation may be related to both the number and location of implants and the degree of infertility. Other causes discuss altered hormone and ovulation by an ovary affected by the endometriosis and even leading to defective numbers of eggs and embryos, as well as abnormal transport of the fertilized into the tube. Correcting fertility which is impaired by endometriosis is almost as controversial. Much research states that ovulation induction, and management of that treatment is the most effective and quickest way to conceive. You have to have individual consultation to decide the best overall treatment for both endometriosis and infertility.
The more advanced the stage the more likely a woman is to be infertile, so these women probably want treatment of their endometriosis before trying to conceive. Then studies differ on whether to take medication or perform surgery. As newer medications come on board this may change, but for now, for advanced cases of endometriosis medication, such as Lupron which can drastically lower estrogen levels, may be beneficial, although some studies suggest surgery is associated with more rapid times to conception than medication. The other issue is whether you have a case of endometriosis that will progress if not treated. Also endometriosis tends to be a progressive disease and 30-60% of patients will progress if not undergoing treatment, and we cannot predict which patients will progress.
New treatments are available at all times, and at Women's Health Practice we can often offer Clinical Research Trials that are on going on this topic. 217-356-3736.
Then it's time to get into Women's Health Practice to evaluate your symptoms and to see if we can help you make a diagnosis and get therapy, it may be you need other treatments or evaluations for getting pregnant so time to gab with us as to what the best way to get pregnant will be.