Endometriosis - Medications

SYMPTOMS & TREATMENTS

Treatment with medicines does not cure endometriosis. Medicines are also generally not recommended if infertility from endometriosis is your main problem. But anti-inflammatory (NSAID) therapy can reduce pain and bleeding. Hormone therapy with birth control hormones, a gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist (GnRH-a), progestin, or danazol can shrink endometriosis growths and reduce pain.

Birth control hormones and NSAID therapy are usually recommended first. Unlike other hormone therapies, they are least likely to cause serious side effects and can be a long-term treatment option.8

Medication Choices

  • Anti-inflammatories (NSAIDs) reduce pain, inflammation, and bleeding from endometrial tissue.
  • Birth control hormones (patch, pills, or ring) create hormone levels in the body that are similar to pregnancy. This stops monthly ovulation and the growing, shedding, and bleeding that makes endometriosis painful. Birth control hormones improve endometriosis pain for most women.5 And birth control hormones are the hormone therapy that is least likely to cause bad side effects. For this reason, many women can use them for years. Other hormone therapies can only be used for several months to 2 years. For more general information on birth control hormones, see Birth control pill, patch, or ring.
  • Gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist (GnRH-a) therapy lowers estrogen, triggering a menopause-like state. This shrinks implants and reduces pain for most women.
  • Progestin (pills or Depo-Provera shot) creates progestin levels in the body that are similar to pregnancy. This stops ovulation and lowers estrogen, shrinking endometriosis growths and reducing pain for most women.
  • Danazol therapy lowers estrogen levels and raises androgen levels, triggering a menopause-like state. This shrinks endometriosis implants and reduces pain for most women. This relief usually lasts for 6 to 12 months after treatment. But danazol side effects can be significant.
  • Aromatase inhibitors stop estrogen production. In small studies, aromatase inhibitors have been shown to reduce pain and the chance of endometriosis growths coming back. Aromatase inhibitors may help women with endometriosis who have not had relief with hormone treatments. Aromatase inhibitors are used in combination with a hormone treatment (such as birth control hormones or progestin). Long-term use of aromatase inhibitors may cause bone loss. More research needs to be done before it is known how well this treatment works and what the side effects are.9
Click here to view a Decision Point.Should I use hormone therapy to treat endometriosis?

Treatment with medicine does not restore fertility. In fact, hormone therapy prevents or endangers pregnancy. NSAIDs have been linked to increased miscarriage risk, especially at the time of conception and when an NSAID is used for longer than a week.7

What To Think About

Ovarian cancer risk is higher in women who have endometriosis.2 Using birth control hormones for 5 or more years lowers this risk.8 Danazol may increase ovarian cancer risk.10

All hormone therapies for endometriosis can cause side effects and pose certain health risks. Some cause especially unpleasant side effects. Before starting a medicine or hormone therapy, review its possible side effects. If they sound less difficult than your endometriosis symptoms, discuss the therapy with your doctor.

By: Healthwise StaffLast Revised: July 28, 2009
Medical Review: Sarah Anne Marshall, MD - Family Medicine
Deborah A. Penava, BA, MD, FRCSC, MPH - Obstetrics and Gynecology

© 1995-2011 Healthwise, Incorporated. Healthwise, Healthwise for every health decision, and the Healthwise logo are trademarks of Healthwise, Incorporated. This information does not replace the advice of a doctor. Healthwise, Incorporated disclaims any warranty or liability for your use of this information. Your use of this information means that you agree to the Terms of Use. How this information was developed to help you make better health decisions.

Advertisement
Care Circle

It Seems That You Are Not Logged In...

OR

Join Now

Welcome to Care Circle, an exclusive tool to help you take care of yourself and your loved ones. Here's how it works:

  1. Create profiles for yourself and your loved ones.
  2. Select the topics and conditions that interest each of you.
  3. Get customized news updates, original content, tools, and expert advice for each Care Circle member delivered directly to your personalized homepage.

The information you input is strictly private; you choose who has access to your Care Circle.

How do I add myself or someone else to my care circle?

Click on "Add someone." Fill out the short profile. Choose an avatar. Select the topics and conditions that interest this person from the pulldown menu. You can select as many as you want, but you must choose at least one. Click on "Add Someone" again. You should start getting updates immediately.

How do I save content to my Care Circle?

Click on "Manage My Care Circle." Select the tab of the person for whom you're saving content. Put your cursor over the piece of content that you want to save; a disk icon will appear in the righthand corner. Click on the disk and the piece of content will be moved to a save folder.

How do I add additional topics and conditions for someone in my Care Circle?

Click on "Manage My Care Circle." Select the tab for the person whose preferences you'd like to update. Under "Add More to Follow," select additional topics and conditions.

How do I delete topics and conditions for someone in my Care Circle?

Click on "Manage My Care Circle." Select the tab for the person whose preferences you'd like to update. Under "Follows," scroll over the topic or condition you want to delete. An "X" should appear on the righthand side. Click on the "X" and the topic or condition will be deleted from the list.

See All News

Advertisement