No Endometriosis Found During Second Surgery

I just met with Dr. Goldman for my two-week post-op appointment. I was elated that he had found no new endometriosis since my previous surgery in August 2006, but was curious as to why that might be. Since the discovery of another endometrioma (cyst) on my right ovary back in February 2007 and the accompanying pain, I had assumed that more endometriosis was accumulating, as well.

I asked Dr. Goldman if the birth control pill I went on in March could be the reason why I was endometriosis free, or if the healthier eating habits or reduction of stress might have helped.

Dr. Goldman told me that sometimes surgery or other invasive treatments such as biopsy can stimulate a patient's immune system. Essentially, the body detects the presence of the surgical instruments and starts to work to protect itself. The newly-charged immune system starts to do its job better than it did before, cleaning out any future endometriosis that may occur.

Generally, every woman is said to have retrograde bleeding whcih can contribute to endometriosis, but most women's bodies work to rid the endometriosis from the pelvic cavity. Women with endometrosis are said to have compromised immune systems because their bodies do not clean out the retrograde bleeding. It is possible that as a result of the foreign bodies introduced into my pelvic cavity during my first surgery in 2006, that my body's immune system kicked into action to begin to clean away the endometriosis that it used to let accumulate.

Dr. Goldman also added that although the birth control pill works to slow down the spread of endometriosis, it will not make existing endometriosis disappear, so he doubts that the birth control pill had anything to do with it.

Finaly, he agreed that healthier eating and reducing stress can be helpful to strengthen the immune system. Perhaps it was a combination of better nutrition, lower stress and the previous surgery that helped me be endometriosis-free over the past months. I only hope that my immune system continues to be strong and to stop any future endometriosis!