For women who have endured years of painful, debilitating and mentally draining endometriosis symptoms, a new pill called Relugolix could give them their lives back. The combination therapy pill could help them manage the chronic lifelong condition. When all else has failed, Relugolix could be the answer. But only to those with a history of previous medical or surgical treatments.

 

Relugolix

Relugolix allows women to gain control of what can be an uncontrollable cycle of severe pain, extreme tiredness and heavy periods. It can relieve unbearable cramps and the pain experienced during and after sexual intercourse. The pill can reduce discomfort from opening the bowels or urinating.

Relugolix releases pain-blocking hormones that contribute to the condition that can affect other body parts, such as the chest, bladder, and bowel.

 

Fertility issues and mental health.

Sadly for some, endometriosis can also cause fertility issues, making it difficult for a woman to get pregnant. However, experts can recommend treatments to help a woman conceive. Endometriosis can affect a woman’s mental health, it can be exhausting and relentless and be the cause of relationship and work issues. Self-care and mindfulness can help, alongside alternative therapies. Doctors can offer advice and pain management plans.

 

Relugolix is available to sufferers who have already tried other medical and surgical treatments that have failed to relieve their symptoms.

The drug assessment body NICE (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) has approved Relugolix. The pill is available to sufferers who have already tried other medical and surgical treatments that have failed to relieve their symptoms. The cost is £72 for a 28-day supply available through the NHS in the UK.

Unlike other common endometriosis treatments, such as the Leuprorelin (Lupron) injection that can only be administered by a health provider, the pill can be safely taken at home daily.

Reluguolix will enable women to create an effective coping mechanism for a monthly cycle that can leave some women bed-bound.

Emma Cox, Chief Executive of Endometriosis UK, said, “It’s a step forward and will give patients more choice, but it will impact a relatively small number of people. We need to see more investment in other research and treatments.”

 

Case study

Ami from St.Albans started to experience endometriosis symptoms after her first ever period when she was 13 years old. She wasn’t diagnosed with the condition until 10 years later and had tried six different contraceptive pills to find a way of helping relieve the pain with no success.

 

Ami explained, “I came off the pill and that’s when my periods became absolutely, completely unmanageable. They took over my life. I wasn’t going to university, I wasn’t going to work. If I was going to work, I was collapsing in pain consistently every single month. I was just so desperate, my mental health was on the floor. I don’t even know how I survived. It was like 20 to 25 days out of the month where I was just completely bed-bound.”

She had her first surgery in October 2021. It reduced the pain for 7-8 months, and then the pain gradually came back. She had a second operation in April 2024.

Read more about Ami here.

 

What is endometriosis?

Endometriosis is quite common. It can start from when a girl’s periods begin right up until menopause. Experts don’t know what causes endometriosis, but they do know that it is not curable but manageable.

Endometriosis occurs when tissue similar to that found in the uterus (womb lining) grows in other parts of the body. Common areas of the body are the ovaries, fallopian tubes and lining of the pelvis. Rarely, it is known to cause problems in the chest, bladder and bowels.

The growing tissue thickens, breaks down and bleeds each menstrual cycle. It grows in places it shouldn’t and it doesn’t leave the body. It can cause irritation and inflammation, and can form scar tissue and bands of fibrous tissue called adhesions.

Some women are unaware that they have endometriosis until they can’t get pregnant and tests reveal the condition. Diagnosis can take a long time and be misdiagnosed. The problem is that the symptoms are very similar to adenomyosis, fibroids, pelvic inflammatory disease or irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). If suspected, a doctor will ask a series of questions and do an ultrasound scan and or laparoscopy.

Doctors would be looking for clumps of tissue on an ultrasound scan. A laparoscopy is a minimally invasive procedure. A thin lighted camera (laparoscope) is inserted into the abdomen to visually examine the pelvic organs and potentially take tissue samples in a biopsy. A lab analysis would confirm the presence of endometriosis.

After diagnosis, a doctor will discuss different pain management options or surgery.

 

To help relieve the symptoms, a doctor will probably recommend:

• Heat and comfort – a warm bath, hot water bottle or heated wheat bag
• Physiotherapy – for exercise, strength and relaxation techniques
• Nerve stimulation – using electrodes to send electrical pulses through the body
• Pain modifiers – altering the body’s perception of pain
• Pain clinics – advice and support is given for chronic pain

 

For natural pain relief, we recommend our product Discomfort ReliefPro.

Areas of endometriosis or fluid sacks (ovarian cysts) can be removed by surgery.

 

There are three types of surgery.

1. Conservative surgery

This type of surgery will remove or destroy deposits of endometriosis via a laparoscopy (keyhole) and the deposits can be cut out (excision) or destroyed with heat or a laser.

1. Complex surgery

The surgery depends on the severity and the effect it has on other organs in the body such as the bowel and bladder. A multi-discipline surgical team would be needed.

1. Radical surgery

The radical surgery can include a hysterectomy to remove the womb with or without ovaries or an Oophorectomy where only the ovaries are removed.

 

Endometriosis is a gynaecological condition that is taking too long to diagnose. Sufferers feel massively gas-lighted by doctors who make them feel like they are ‘making a fuss’. More research and specialist nurses are needed to help the women that suffer in silence.

 

 

References

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cd7e47l3ny3o

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/endometriosis/

https://www.endometriosis-uk.org/surgery-and-endometriosis

https://www.endometriosis-uk.org/endometriosis-uk-statement-smc-relugolix-estradiol-norethisterone-acetate-film-coated-tablets#:~:text=Endometriosis%20UK%20welcomes%20the%20approval,the%20whole%20of%20the%20UK.