ENDOMETRIOSIS: TREATMENT
Non-surgical treatment
In addition to or instead of surgical methods, a variety of drug treatments have been used to treat endometriosis. The aim is to interrupt the cycle of hormonal stimulation of the misplaced endometriotic tissue in the hope that without stimulation it will shrivel up and wither away. Usually at least six (but more often nine) months of treatment is needed to achieve this. Usually a woman has no periods during the time of treatment. Not all endometrial tissue is destroyed; the lining tissue of the uterus recovers after treatment when the normal hormonal balance is restored.
The drugs used are generally hormone treatments, and consequently they often have the side-effects of hormone treatments, which can make them pretty unpleasant to take for six to nine months. However, in many women the side-effects are not too much of a problem, and the medication is often well tolerated. The lists of potential side-effects which accompany all drugs in the drug compendium seem daunting.
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