Medications. Contraceptives. Even surgeries. More doctors are using a mixture of treatments to help women deal with chronic pain associated with endometriosis.

“There are several. I typically prefer to combine both surgical therapy and medical therapy,” says  Dr. Tim Hughes, an OB/GYN with Lee Memorial Health System.

Endometriosis is when a tissue that lines a woman’s uterus also grows on the outside of the uterus. It can cause severe pain for some women, especially around ovulation.

While there is no known cure, gynecologists, like Dr Hughes, are using multiple techniques to help women find relief. “There’s some conservative therapies and they can be things as easy as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medicines, such as ibuprofin, naproxen, and those are all over the counter,” adds Dr. Hughes.

He says combining outpatient laproscopic procedures with medicine seems to provide the best results. “The literature in the past has shown that those patients have the longest pain-free intervals. Some don’t reoccur at all.”

Additional procedures like laser surgery and higher potent medicines are also helping to dull the pain until a more permanent solution is found.