Fibroids & Endometriosis

Endometriosis inflammation is caused by endometrial tissue that is not shed during menstruation. The tissue escapes the uterus and spreads, then attaches to other areas of the body —ovaries, lymph nodes, fallopian tubes, bladder, rectum, even kidneys and lungs. There, it grows as regular endometrial tissue (thickening then breaking down and bleeding) in abnormal places. Bleeding is usually severe during the menstrual cycle, from the vagina or the rectum, or bladder or back through the fallopian tubes (retrograde menstruation), instead of normally through the vagina. Scar tissue builds up, increasing risk for uterine and breast fibroids. (About 40 percent of American women 35 and older have fibroids. Yet 75% of them don’t know it because they are symptom-free.) It is important to note that endometriosis is the cause of 35-50% of infertility cases in American women.