Adenomyosis is a non cancerous disease of the uterine muscle, also known as “uterine endometriosis“.
Symptoms include heavy bleeding, clots, painful cycles, painful intercourse and abdominal bloating.
Signs include painful pelvic exams and an enlarged uterus. Not all these noted signs and symptoms need be present to have the disease. Adenomyosis can occasionally be visualized on MRI, but conclusive diagnosis requires a tissue biopsy. This disease, like fibroids, is hormone dependent, and requires estrogen to spread. As hormones peak with the menstrual cycle, adenomyosis is further invading the uterine muscle. Traditional medicine advocates birth control pills, ablation therapy and IUDs as treatment options, but these modalities only treat the symptoms, not the actual disease. Most common treatment is hysterectomy. We do not advocate hysterectomy but recommend treatment of the adenomyosis with a laser to preserve the uterus.