When you want to know the myths (and the facts) about endometriosis, it’s best to hear them from an expert. Daniel Rostein, MD, FACOG, is a gynecology and infertility specialist with extensive expertise in diagnosing and treating endometriosis successfully.
Our Oak Brook, Illinois, office frequently sees patients who are confused, scared, or worried about their endometriosis diagnosis, and it’s often related to common myths. Today’s blog covers some of those myths and the truth behind them.
Endometriosis has a reputation as an extremely painful disease, but that's not always the case. Some women who have endometriosis are completely unaware of it until they seek treatment for another problem like infertility.
The amount of endometrial growth doesn’t always correlate to your pain level, either. You can have mild endometriosis with severe pain, or severe endometriosis might cause no pain at all.
This one is a complete myth. It’s true that endometriosis isn’t always easy to treat. Unfortunately, it sometimes comes back after successful treatment.
But, we often recommend a combination of treatments to help you get the best outcome and the longest-lasting symptom relief. For example, a combination of minimally invasive surgery and medication may be ideal to keep endometrial regrowth to a minimum while preventing severe symptoms.
With the right approach, which is often a combination of treatments, endometriosis is very much a manageable disease.
Up to half of women with endometriosis have difficulty getting pregnant, but that’s only part of the story. Endometriosis-related infertility may occur because of endometrial tissue and scarring on the ovaries and fallopian tubes. Other possible reasons include improper uterine lining development and immune reactions to inflammation.
However, many women with endometriosis can get pregnant naturally. If you’re struggling with infertility and have endometriosis, hormone therapy, medication, or reproductive surgery like an operative hysteroscopy or laparoscopy can remove endometrial tissue and may allow you to conceive.
But, even in the cases where those measures aren’t successful, there are assisted reproductive technology options that can still help you conceive. Dr. Daniel Rostein offers a wide array of infertility services, including intrauterine insemination (IUI), in vitro fertilization (IVF), egg freezing, and frozen embryo transfers.
Dr. Rostein and our caring team can help guide you through the endometriosis treatment process and, if needed, the path to having a baby.
If you have endometriosis or think you might, our experienced and empathetic team of women’s health and fertility specialists have the expertise to provide a diagnosis and treatment. Call our office or contact us online today.
