Bromocriptine

This medication is very effective in treating elevated prolactin levels when the elevation of these levels is not caused by medication or thyroid disease. Bromocriptine can shrink pituitary tumors which elevate prolactin. Elevated prolactin causes "inappropriate" milk secretion and interferes with normal ovulation. Bromocriptine is usually started at bedtime to reduce side effects. When prolactin levels return to normal ovulation usually returns and chances of pregnancy normalize.

Risks include nausea and vomiting, light headedness which may occur if blood pressure falls when the patient stands up quickly. Other side effects include nasal stuffiness and constipation which can easily be overcome. Although elevations in blood pressure, hallucinations, gastric bleeding and the worsening of Raynaud's Disease have been reported, these side effects occur very rarely.

Your doctor or care provider will explain in detail the risks, side effects, and benefits of your medication before you start taking the medication.

When endometriosis blocks a vital structure such as the bowel or ureter, or when the disease appears in a large volume in the ovary, or when medical treatment fails, or when the patient is older and doesn't want to wait many months before trying to conceive, surgical treatment is the best treatment.

The different options are a belly button incision called a laparoscopy or through a large incision called a laparotomy. In both methods treatment can be conservative or more radical. Either laser or conventional forms of surgery can be used.

When laser is used the laser vaporizes the endometriosis and allows for removal of the disease from the organ's surface without harming the organ below. Despite whatever benefits have been claimed with the use of laser, success rates or pregnancy rates have not been demonstrated to be substantially different than when other forms of surgery were used.

The risks for these treatments, as in other surgery, are bleeding, infection, the risks of anesthesia and unexpected problems such as burns or damage to nearby organs and possible need for additional surgery.