Over the years I have seen many patients with significant endometriosis including those unfortunately affected with deep invasive disease and also ovarian involvement or endometriomas commonly known as chocolate cysts. We had been aware of a link between larger endometriomas and the subsequent development of rare forms of ovarian cancer for some years although the…
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Whilst thinking about chronic pain recently I recalled a book I read some time ago: Endure mind, body and the curiously elastic limits of human performance. The book explores the wave of paradigm-altering research over the last decade suggesting the seemingly physical barriers we encounter are set as much by our brain as our body.…
Chronic pain has long been a complex puzzle in the medical field, with numerous theories on its origin and persistence. However, recent research has suggested that inappropriate feedback loops may be a significant factor in chronic pain. Professor Lorimer Moseley, a pain researcher and neuroscientist, has proposed that chronic pain can be caused by the…
My first attempt at using ChatGPT. Pretty impresive Dear readers, Here’s a roundup of recent advances, discoveries, treatments, and news reports related to endometriosis: New drug shows promise for endometriosis treatment: A new drug, called elagolix, has shown promising results in clinical trials for the treatment of endometriosis-related pain. The drug works by suppressing the…
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In the last few weeks alone I have seen 3 patients who have had “failed” surgery. That is the surgeon was unable to complete the planned surgical procedure. I am quite sure this relates to surgical experience and training. The most recent Australian and New Zealand Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology dated August 2022 contains…
Over the years I have noted a substantial number of my patients particularly with endometriosis have been taking antidepressant and antianxiety medication. These drugs predominantly belong to a class known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). These agents are not without side effects and most patients would experience some issues. Additionally, people become in essence…
Patients are often interested in the status of their fallopian tubes and quite understandably are concerned as to whether they may be blocked or not. Superficially this sounds like a very reasonable and logical question. Indeed, one of the tests often performed by fertility specialists is to demonstrate tubal patency. Simplistically it is easy to…
Hardly a week, and sometimes hardly a day goes by without a patient telling me she has been diagnosed with stage IV endometriosis. I normally try to cross reference this claim with operative images or video. I am becoming increasingly concerned that many patients are told or led to believe that they have severe and…