Laparoscopy For Endometriosis

GI problems that get worse when you have your period may be caused by endometriosis, a painful, chronic disease that affects more than five million women in the United States. It occurs when the endometrium grows outside the uterus and wraps itself around other pelvic organs like the ovaries.

You may have endometriosis if you have:

• painful bowel movements during tour period
• diarrhea, constipation, or nausea that gets worse during your period
• very painful periods
• pain during sex
• infertility
• painful urination

If you suspect you have endometriosis, you should seek help from your gynecologist. After a pelvic exam, your doctor may begin treatment, though the condition can be definitively diagnosed only via a laparoscopy. This procedure involves making a small incision, through which a flexible lighted tube called a laparoscopy for endometriosis instead. Your doctor can see any endometrial lesions through the laparoscope is inserted. Treatment depends on the degree of your symptoms and can range from simple observation to treatment with hormones to a hysterectomy in women who are finished with childbearing.

For more information about laparoscopy for endometriosis, contact:

Endometriosis Association
tel (414) 355-2200