Adenomyosis: Symptoms & Treatment By Women's Health Experts

Naga Munchetty talked about adenomyosis. It's chronic and affects the uterus. Sometimes her pain is so bad she can't move. Her husband called an ambulance during a recent flare-up.

Lots of individuals don't know about this condition, even though it affects up to 20% of women.

Adenomyosis can make menstrual bleeding and pelvic pain worse. Patients can have different symptoms. Some women with adenomyosis have little to no symptoms.

Adenomyosis may affect fertility. Women with this condition who conceive have a greater chance of miscarriage, early delivery, pre-eclampsia, and postpartum bleeding.

Adenomyosis is a condition that we don't fully understand yet. We're unsure of what causes it. Diagnosis and treatment are available, however. Knowing more information about adenomyosis will help researchers come up with new treatment plans.

The uterus has two layers: the endometrium and the myometrium. The endometrium is where embryos attach. When there is no pregnancy, this layer is discarded during a period. The myometrium is the muscular layer and controls contractions. Those with adenomyosis have endometrium-like cells where they shouldn't be - in the myometrium.

Many women with adenomyosis also have endometriosis. But adenomyosis and endometriosis are not the same. Endometriosis has cells outside the uterus, mostly in the pelvic area.

Lack of knowledge and discussion amongst the public means that adenomyosis remains largely unknown, despite the increased awareness of endometriosis due to recent research and social media.

Adenomyosis leads to pain, profuse bleeding and infertility. It's not very well-known though.

Better Diagnosis Options On The Rise

Adenomyosis is hard to detect. In the past, doctors had to look at the uterus under a microscope after removing it to diagnose it. They had to check for endometrium-like cells in the myometrium.

In the last few years, there have been more diagnoses of adenomyosis due to better imaging technologies. Doctors can now identify adenomyosis without needing to remove the uterus. However, they are still trying to create a standard method for diagnosing it without surgery.

We are not sure how many women have adenomyosis. But we do know that about 20% of women who had hysterectomies for other reasons had adenomyosis. This was found during pathology assessments.

"Adenomyosis: A Complicated Condition"

Adenomyosis tissue growth can be either focal or diffused. It can also be classified by the depth of tissue invasion. Scientists are still researching if the type or depth of lesions relate to symptoms. Severity of symptoms and lesions don't always match.

We don't know why some women get adenomyosis. As women get older, it happens more often.

The area between the endometrium and myometrium can get hurt by period cycles, giving birth, or medical treatments. In certain women, the tissue damage doesn't mend properly, causing endometrial cells to grow strangely into the myometrium. This causes discomfort and bleeding by ruining the myometrium's usual tasks.

Adenomyosis could be caused by many things. There might not be one specific cause for it.

Treating Adenomyosis: What Are The Options?

There are a few ways to treat abnormal menstrual bleeding, like taking pills containing hormones, like oral contraceptives or progesterone pills. Women can also opt for a device that releases progesterone, like Mirena. Some women may use a drug called GnRHa, which stops the production of sex hormones. For less bleeding, tranexamic acid is an option. Pain can be eased with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.

Not all women respond the same to treatments for adenomyosis. This suggests there may be different forms of the condition. Treatment plans need to be customized based on the patient's goals and symptoms.

If medicines don't work, surgery can be done to take out the problem areas or the uterus.

Care for endometriosis has not improved for these three reasons. If you have endometriosis, you might not get the support you need. Endometriosis affects many women. So many endometriosis patients have surgery, but they still have problems. Some doctors don't understand endometriosis. The UK government has announced better support for endometriosis patients. But there's still a long way to go.

Adenomyosis is an issue for lots of women. Even younger women can have it. However, it doesn't get enough attention. There's a lot that people don't know about adenomyosis. This includes both healthcare professionals and regular folks. We need to make a change. If we do, we can get better at dealing with the condition. This includes finding out what it is, how to diagnose it, and how to treat it.

Researchers working on adenomyosis are searching for a reliable, non-invasive way to diagnose the condition. They also hope to find a cure in the future.

The Conversation published this article and it has a Creative Commons license. You can read the original article.

The writers have no conflict of interest or financial gain from this article. They are only affiliated with their academic roles.