Severe pain during your period and infertility can be caused by endometriosis, and there are treatments which can help.
There are some things in life that men will never understand, it’s a fact. And before you say the pain of giving birth, you should also think about the pain some women go through every month.
Period pain is no laughing matter. Some women’s pain are so excruciating that they simply can’t function normally and go about their daily routine. If you are the one to experience severe period pain, it could be a condition called endometriosis.
The condition can also be extra debilitating for some, as it can affect a woman’s fertility.
We talked to Dr Agilan Arjunan, Obstetrician and Gynaecologist from KL Fertility Centre, specifically about the condition, and how women can find treatment for it.
What is endometriosis?
“Endometriosis is a condition where the tissues that lines the womb, also known as uterus lining, is present outside of the uterus as well. The uterus lining sheds as period blood every month when a woman doesn’t get pregnant, yet because the tissues are also present outside of the uterus, it will also bleed as it breaks down. The bleeding causes inflammation of the uterus which then leads to scaring as well as ovarian cysts,” Dr Agilan explains.
What is causing it?
According to Dr Agilan, there has not been any conclusive answer to the question.
“So far what we think is happening is, the menstrual blood somehow flow backwards, it retrogrades. The blood then goes through the fallopian tubes and those uterus lining tissues gets implanted outside of the uterus.”
The exact reason why the blood flows backwards is the question to be answered. Theories claims that it has to do with genetics, yet which exact gene in the woman’s body to cause the condition is still unknown.
And so far, the condition is not curable, and women will have it until they are no longer menstruating.
The symptoms
Severe period pain is the most common of symptoms for endometriosis. Yet many women with the condition are lucky not to have much pain during their periods. However, the second most common symptom of endometriosis affects women more, as it can cause them to produce lesser quantity and quality of eggs to get pregnant.
“Some of the women who come into the clinic looking to get help with pregnancy, is found to actually have the condition, despite having mild or no period pain,” Dr Agilan tells.
Other symptoms may include unusual pain during sex, as well as severe back pain, pain during urination, and pain during bowel movement. “For these type of pains, it may be caused by the uterus lining getting implanted somewhere else other than the outside of the uterus, perhaps on the bladder or the bowel.”
Uncommon infertility
Severe period pain is indeed debilitating, yet the inability to conceive a child can be harrowing, and can be a bigger motivation for women to seek treatment.
Dr Agilan explains; “Endometriosis can result in infertility in three ways. The first, is because of the ovarian cysts that grows after inflammation. Cysts causes lesser eggs production.”
“The second is the scarring. Scarring is also a result of inflammation, and it can actually block the fallopian tubes and halt fertility in women. The third way, is that it can actually lessen the quality of the eggs themselves. We have compared two women of the same age undergoing IVF. One had endometriosis, and we’ve found that her eggs were of lesser quality than the one without endometriosis.”
Treatment
The treatment for the condition depends on what the bearer wants to achieve. Based on the symptoms, one may only want the period pain to stop, while others want to have a child (and stop the pain as well if they have it).
“If the infertility is caused by an ovarian cyst, which we think may hurt egg production, then we will need to remove it through laparoscopic surgery. This will suppress the condition long enough to make way for her to get pregnant.”
“If the goal is to simply stop the pain, there are a few options. One is hormonal treatment in the form of contraceptive pills. This will halt any ovarian activity and no period pain. Another one is to start her on long term painkillers, usually taken a day before period and continue to take throughout to numb the pain.”
“The third option is suppression through injection. This is more temporary, and will usually prescribed to older women who are facing menopause soon. It’s kind of like buying them time before menopause.”
“And lastly, is to remove the uterus altogether. Women with no plans to have any more children, and are 45 and above, could find this option viable.” – The Health