If endometriotic tissue is stuck within the muscle wall of the uterus it is called adenomyosis. Adenomyosis is a condition related to endometriosis, but it typically affects older women (often in their forties) who have had pregnancies in the past. It may present as increasingly painful and heavy periods, which occasionally may be irregular. A woman with adenomyosis may experience pelvic pain and pain during intercourse. When examined, she will probably have an enlarged uterus, and endometriosis may also be visible on laparoscopy.
Adenomyosis may also be present without symptoms, but if it does cause problems it can be treated. Unfortunately, the drug treatments do not work as well for adenomyosis as for endometriosis. Often removal of the uterus (hysterectomy), with or without removal of the ovaries (oophorectomy), is the effective treatment. If a woman is approaching menopause she may choose not to have surgery, because the cessation of her periods should bring relief from the majority of her symptoms.
*191\52\4*
