Endometriosis is a common medical condition characterized by growth of tissue like endometrium, the lining of the uterus, beyond or outside the uterus.

Affecting an estimated 89 million women (usually around 30 to 40 years of age who have never been pregnant before) of reproductive age around the world, one in every 5 females get endometriosis. However, endometriosis can occur very rarely in postmenopausal women. An estimated 2%-4% of endometriosis cases are diagnosed in the postmenopausal period.

In endometriosis, the endometrium (from endo, "inside", and metra, "womb") is found to be growing outside the uterus, on or in other areas of the body. Normally, the endometrium is shed each month during the menstrual cycle; however, in endometriosis, the misplaced endometrium is usually unable to exit the body. The endometriotic tissues still detach and bleed, but the result is far different: internal bleeding, degenerated blood and tissue shedding, inflammation of the surrounding areas, pain, and formation of scar tissue may result. In addition, depending on the location of the growths, interference with the normal function of the bowel, bladder, small intestines and other organs within the pelvic cavity can occur. In very rare cases, endometriosis has also been found in the skin, the lungs, the eye, the diaphragm, and the brain.

Non Oral Estrogen Good for the Heart

Good for Heart Post Exercise Indicants
HRT and Breast Cancer. A study done at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas compared women given non-oral estrogen with women given oral estrogen or placebo. The results showed
that C Reactive protein levels, a marker for inflammation in blood vessels and a strong predictor of adverse cardiovascular
events in otherwise healthy women, doubled in women taking "oral estrogens" but remained unchanged in those taking non-oral
estrogen (patches, cream, pellets) or placebo. The study’s lead author attributed this difference to the “first pass” effect through the liver that occurs when taking estrogen by mouth.

1. An article in OB/GYN Clinical Alert written by its editor, Dr. Leon Speroff, states that contrary to the conclusion of the Women’s Health Initiative Study’s initial results which were first published 20 years ago, hormone therapy (estrogen and progesterone) in the early postmenopausal years can provide primary prevention of clinical coronary artery disease.

2. Another article by Dr. Speroff in the same March 2008 issue of OB/GYN Clinical Alert concludes that treatment of pain associated with endometriosis using a 20 microgram birth control pill taken once per day continuously is a good choice.