Endometriosis vs. Adenomyosis: Similarities and Differences

 

 

When it comes to endometriosis, we should first define the endometrium. The endometrium is usually located in the uterine cavity. It is regulated by estrogen and progesterone in the body, showing periodic growth and exfoliation, which also constitutes a woman's monthly menstrual cycle. At the same time, the endometrium is also the soil in which a woman's pregnant embryos are grown. But when these endometrium tissues, including the glands and stroma, appear outside the uterine cavity, the disease is called endometriosis, or endo for short.

 

When endometriosis reaches the myometrium, adenomyosis or adenomyoma is formed. When it grows on the ovary, it is chocolate cysts. It can appear everywhere, including the fallopian tube, cervix, vulva, appendix, umbilicus, abdominal wall incision, bladder, lymph nodes, and even pleura and pericardium. As a result, endometriosis can cause irritation and inflammation of nearly every part of the body.

 

Hearing this, you may feel that this disease is so complicated that you don't know what to do, but you don't need to worry about it so much. Generally speaking, if there is no discomfort, there is no need to check for adenomyosis or endometriosis. Go to the hospital for examination only when you have symptoms, such as dysmenorrhea, chronic pelvic pain, abnormal menstruation, infertility, and pain during intercourse. 

 

Usually, the diagnosis of endometriosis and adenomyosis can be confirmed by 4 aspects of examination:

1. Its clinical symptoms, physical examination, and some auxiliary examinations.

2. Color Doppler ultrasound and further CT and MR can also help check.

3. Draw blood and check the serum CA125. In patients with mild endometriosis or adenomyosis, CA125 will be slightly elevated. And in more severe patients, the increase of CA125 will be relatively noticeable.

4. Laparoscopy, an abdominal examination, is currently the best method recognized internationally, and it is also a means of treatment. The pelvic and abdominal cavity can be observed directly from the bottom, and the location and scope of the lesion can be accurately found.

 

 

Treatment is based on different situations and different needs. The treatment principle is to strive to remove lesions, resolve pain, promote fertility, and avoid recurrence. The regimen must be comprehensively considered based on age, degree of symptoms, type of lesion, reproductive expectations, past treatment history, etc.

 

From the point of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), the main pathogenesis of endometriosis is blood stasis. Treatment should be based on the basic principle of "activating blood circulation and removing blood stasis." The herbal ingredients such as safflower, angelica, costustoot, and peach kernel in Fuyan Pill can help patients eliminate blood stasis, relieve pain, and effectively eliminate inflammation. For patients who are unwilling to undergo surgery or are not fit for surgery, Fuyan Pill is a good choice.

 

Patients can also choose uterine preservation surgery, a technique for treating adenomyosis under the premise of preserving the uterus. This technique is mainly aimed at diffuse adenomyosis and adenomyoma. Adenomyosis lesions, adenomyoma lesions, and other palpable lesions in the pelvic cavity will be removed during surgery to achieve the purpose of treatment.