It’s actually very beneficial for teens (and older women) who have endometriosis to take birth control pills. Endometriosis is a progressive disease, and birth control pills bring the progression to virtually a complete halt. If not halted, not only do the symptoms get worse and worse, but it’s also a fairly common cause of infertility. There’s also been some scary research showing that in at least some women who have both endometriosis and migraines, the source and timing of the migraines is explained by stray endometrial tissue which has ended up in the brain, and is flaring up there with each menstrual cycle. Dietary and lifestyle factors may be contributing to the incidence of endometriosis (though I don’t think that’s actually been established), but regardless of how the endometriosis got started, once a teenager or adult woman is experiencing distressing symptoms from it, starting on birth control pills is a smart move in the vast majority of cases.
Or drugs that simulate menopause. Alternatively, they can stay pregnant as often as possible. Or, if they don't want children, they can stop a bad case of it with a hysterectomy.
Women with no symptoms or mild symptoms may require no treatment whatsoever; women with severe symptoms may need a combination of treatments. Some cases of endometriosis can be controlled with lifestyle changes while others require medical intervention.
Many women with endometriosis find that simple lifestyle changes can be very helpful in managing their condition.
Since endometriosis has been linked to toxic chemicals, such as dioxin and PCBs, a physician or dietitian, may recommend minimizing or eliminating your intake of red meat. Environmental dioxins and PCBs are often found in animal fat.
Some women with endometriosis also benefit from reducing their intake of dairy products, as dairy products increase the production of prostaglandins, which in turn, can increase pain.
Also, instead of birth control pills, women with endometriosis can be treated with Progestins. Progestin treatment usually stops a woman from ovulating each month.
If birth control pills or other hormones are not wanted or effective, then other medications can be used, such as Danazol.
Danazol is a drug that lowers a woman’s estrogen levels and increases her testosterone levels. Ninety percent of women report that the medication relieves their symptoms, though it does not cure the disease. It stops a woman's menstrual period and the pain that accompanies it, and puts her body in a state similar to menopause.
Danazol can cause some nasty side effects. Besides turning a woman into a guy with greasy hair, it can cause ovarian cancer. Because of the side effects, it's not widely used, or only used for a short time.
GnRH analogs can also be used.
It is a hormone that regulates a woman's menstrual cycle. GnRH analogs cause a woman to stop having her period and produce a state that is similar, but not identical, to menopause.
Studies find that the illness returned in about 50 percent of women five years after they stopped taking GnRH drugs.
GnRH analogs are also used to treat other disorders in women, such as fibroids and polycystic ovary syndrome, as well as premenstrual syndrome (PMS).
The family of GnRH drugs include Lupron, Zoladex, Synarel and Suprefact. The side effects of these drugs, which tend to be similar to those of menopause, include osteoporosis, hot flashes, mood swings, vaginal dryness, smaller breasts and headaches.
These treatments are given by injection (every three months, every month or every day). They are also available in the form of nasal spray. These drugs are very expensive.
Alternatively, endometriosis can be treated with Laparoscopy. The most common and most effective is laser laparoscopy. It can completely remove the endometriosis and there is less blood loss and less tissue damage than with other surgeries.
The success of this procedure depends on the extent of the endometriosis and how long the surgeon is able to spend on the surgery. For a case of extensive endometriosis, it may take hours to remove all the nodules.
Vaporization is another surgical method. Vaporization destroys endometrial tissue using a high-power laser.
There is also Coagulation. Coagulation is a technique that uses an electrical current to destroy endometrial tissue.