OhioHealth Gynecologist Says You Don’t Have to Live With Endometriosis Pain

For many women, living with endometriosis means living with unanswered questions.

“There is a lot of information and misinformation about endometriosis, both online and as you talk to your friends,” said Mini Somasundaram, MD, OhioHealth minimally invasive gynecologist. “One of the struggles that women have with endometriosis and pelvic pain: What’s normal? What’s not normal?”

While “a certain amount of cramping” can be normal, debilitating pelvic pain is not and often the line between the two has been blurred.

Endometriosis occurs when tissue similar to the lining of the uterus grows outside of it, leading to inflammation, chronic pelvic pain and, in some cases, infertility. Symptoms don’t always look the same and pain doesn’t have to be constant to be considered serious.

“Chronic doesn’t necessarily mean pain all the time,” Dr. Somasundaram said. 

It means pain that occurs for one to two weeks at a time and is severe enough to interfere with daily life. Research shows about 60 percent of women with chronic pelvic pain have experienced symptoms for six months or longer. But many patients report feeling brushed aside.

Dr. Somasundaram said the focus at OhioHealth is listening closely and helping patients sort through what their symptoms may be telling them. 

“Are there things that we can do in order to help without major interventions?” Dr. Somsundaram said. “Our greatest goal is to build trust with our patients, and we do that with empathy and compassion.”

Often by the time many patients seek specialized care, they’ve already tried multiple medications or non-surgical options. In some cases, surgical removal of endometriosis is recommended, and minimally invasive approaches have been shown to lead to better outcomes. But surgery is rarely the only piece of the puzzle.

“The goal is to come up with a treatment plan that’s appropriate for the patient as an individual,” Dr. Somsundaram said. “We want to minimize how many procedures a patient has to undergo, and that’s best achieved by combining surgical and medical management together.”

Endometriosis is frequently associated with pain during intercourse, infertility and long-term discomfort, but no two experiences are identical. What matters most is speaking up when something doesn’t feel right.

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To hear more from Dr. Somasundaram about various topics in women’s health, be sure to follow her on LinkedIn.