Questions To Ask Your Doctor
about endometriosis treatment
At EndoWest, we work hard to provide the most expert treatment of endometriosis. We understand that patients have many options when considering treatment of endometriosis. Together with the information provided on this website, here are some questions that should be asked to any consulting doctor for endometriosis treatment.
- What is the goal of medicines used for endometriosis? Many doctors will present hormone medicines as treatment of the disease. It is important to know that although they can help the symptoms in some patients, there is no evidence that they prevent worsening of the disease growing inside.
- Lupron can only be used for a short period of time. What is the plan after the Lupron is stopped and the pain returns because the disease is still present? Lupron is expensive and has the highest risk profile of any medicine that is used for “endometriosis care”. If it doesn’t make the disease go away, what is the purpose of the cost and risk to the medicine.
- At surgery what do you do if everything is stuck together from endometriosis?
- How do you treat endometriosis on or in the bowel or bladder?
- How do you treat endometriosis growing around the ureters?
- How do you treat endometriosis growing on or in the diaphragm?
- (for hysterectomy recommendation) How will removing the uterus treat the endometriosis that is growing in the other areas of the pelvis?
- (for removal of the ovaries) What is your plan to treat endometriosis left behind that continues to produce its own estrogen?
Endometriosis can be very unpredictable. Ideally endometriosis is treated completely with one surgery. At minimum, attempt must be made to treat. With most patient’s the amount and location of the endometriosis is not known before surgery. Patients have a choice between seeking care with a doctor to diagnose and partially treat the endometriosis if it is advanced or atypical in appearance and may not be recognized, or seek treatment with a doctor who specializes in complex endometriosis and can handle almost any type of endometriosis and adhesions that are found unexpectedly at surgery.
