There are treatments aimed at relieving the symptoms of endometriosis. Unfortunately, however, there is no cure. If you need treatment for endometriosis, your options include medicine, hormonal therapy, nutritional therapy, complementary therapy, and surgery. Together with your doctor, you will develop a treatment plan based on:

• The severity of the symptoms

• Your wishes regarding pregnancy

• Your age

If you have endometriosis with mild symptoms, you may need no treatment beyond pain relief medicine. Pain relief medicines include analgesics, narcotics, and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.⁷

If you have minimal endometriosis and want to become pregnant, you should consult your doctor about next steps.⁸

If you have endometriosis and need treatment, your doctor may suggest hormonal therapy, which is most effective when growths are small. Hormones can come in pill form, as shots or injections, or in a nasal spray. Several hormones are prescribed for this treatment, including a combination of estrogen and progestin (birth control pills), a progestin alone, Danocrine (a weak male hormone), or a gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist (GnRHa). Symptoms often recur after hormonal therapy stops.⁸

Nutritional therapy may increase your ability to tolerate medical treatments, enhance your ability to deal with potential side effects, and improve your energy level.⁷

Many women with endometriosis get symptom relief through homeopathy, osteopathy, herbs, and traditional Chinese medicine. Physical therapy, exercise, and relaxation techniques may help strengthen pelvic floor muscles, and reduce pain, stress, and anxiety. After surgery, exercise and yoga may help your body heal compromised abdominal and back muscles. ⁷

For endometriosis with moderate or severe symptoms, surgery may be the best treatment. Surgical options include:

• Removal or excision of the endometriosis is another option to consider. Your doctor may be able to remove or excise the endometrial growths (also called implants) through surgery. Just as with a hysterectomy, however, endometrial excision does not guarantee that your symptoms will not return or that the pain will go away. Your surgeon may recommend an open procedure where the removal is performed through a large incision in the abdomen. An alternative to discuss with your doctor is a minimally invasive version of the same procedure that results in shorter recovery time, less time in the hospital, less scarring, and less pain. Using an approach similar to that of other minimally invasive procedures, the surgeon may be able to remove the visible endometrial implants surgically. Ask your doctor if MIP is an option for you

  Click here to watch an animation comparing an open with a minimally invasive endometrial excision.

• Hysterectomy, or surgery to remove the tissue involved in endometriosis and the uterus, is often considered the best treatment option if you have extensive endometriosis or severe pain. Your surgeon may also remove the ovaries and fallopian tubes at the time of the hysterectomy if the ovaries are affected by the endometriosis or if the damage is severe. Having a hysterectomy, however, does not ensure that the endometriosis will not return or that the pain will go away.

  There are various types of hysterectomies your physician may recommend. During the most commonly performed hysterectomy, a total abdominal hysterectomy (TAH), the uterus is removed through a large incision in the abdomen. Recovery requires a hospital stay of three to five days. Normal activity may resume in six weeks.⁴

  However, there are other surgical options for you to consider as well. Minimally Invasive Procedures (MIP), such as vaginal or laparoscopic hysterectomies, result in less recovery time, less time in the hospital, less scarring, and less pain. Find out more about MIP for hysterectomy and whether or not MIP may be an option for you.

  Click here to watch an animation comparing an open with a minimally invasive hysterectomy.