ENDOMETRIOSIS
- Your Pain is real. Let's find out why.
If your periods take over your life, if intimacy hurts, or if you have been told for years that severe cramps are simply normal, please hear this: you do not have to keep living this way.
Endometriosis is not just a medical term; it’s an experience, a challenge, and often a journey for countless women. As they navigate the maze of symptoms, emotions, and treatments, knowledge becomes the guiding light. At the Women’s Health Group, under the skilled leadership of Dr. Awad, we endeavor to be the beacon that illuminates the path for those affected. Our mission transcends mere diagnosis and treatment; it’s about creating a space of understanding, validation, and genuine care.
- 30+ years caring for women
- Pain Managing Strategies
- Board Certified OB-GYN care
- Compassionate Caregivers
- Your Pain is real. Let's find out why.
If your periods take over your life, if intimacy hurts, or if you have been told for years that severe cramps are simply normal, please hear this: you do not have to keep living this way.
Endometriosis is not just a medical term; it’s an experience, a challenge, and often a journey for countless women. As they navigate the maze of symptoms, emotions, and treatments, knowledge becomes the guiding light. At the Women’s Health Group, under the skilled leadership of Dr. Awad, we endeavor to be the beacon that illuminates the path for those affected. Our mission transcends mere diagnosis and treatment; it’s about creating a space of understanding, validation, and genuine care.
- 30+ years caring for women
- Pain Managing Strategies
- Board Certified OB-GYN
- Compassionate Caregivers
- 30+ years caring for women
- Pain Managing Strategies
- Board Certified OB-GYN care
- Compassionate Caregivers
Our Services
What is endometriosis?
Medically reviewed by Michael M. Awad, DO, OB-GYN
Endometriosis is a chronic condition in which tissue similar to the lining of the uterus (the endometrium) grows outside the uterus. It is most often found on the ovaries, fallopian tubes, the ligaments that support the uterus, and the lining of the pelvis. Less often it affects the bowel or bladder.
Each month, this tissue responds to your hormones. It can become inflamed, bleed, and form scar tissue (adhesions) that binds organs together. That inflammation is what drives the deep, sometimes relentless pelvic pain so many women describe. When endometriosis forms a cyst on the ovary, it is called an endometrioma. A related condition, adenomyosis, occurs when similar tissue grows into the muscle wall of the uterus, and the two often occur together.
You are far from alone. Endometriosis affects roughly 1 in 10 women and girls of reproductive age worldwide, yet many wait years for an accurate diagnosis. Our goal is to shorten that wait.
Endometriosis Symptoms You Should Not Have to Live With
Endometriosis looks different in every woman. Some have severe pain with mild disease; others have few symptoms until they try to conceive. These are the signs we hear about most:
- Periods so painful that over-the-counter medicine barely helps (dysmenorrhea)
- Pelvic or lower back pain between periods (chronic pelvic pain)
- Pain during or after sex (dyspareunia)
- Painful bowel movements or urination, especially during your period
- Heavy bleeding or spotting between periods
- Bloating that swells during your cycle, sometimes called “endo belly”
- Fatigue that rest does not fix
- Difficulty getting pregnant (infertility)
If any of these sound familiar, it is worth a conversation. You do not need to prove how bad it is. We believe you, and we will take it from there.
- Strategies to Help Manage Your Pain
Strategies for Comprehensive Care
Medications
Beyond hormonal therapies, anti-inflammatory drugs can be pivotal in managing pain.
Physical Therapy
Tailored physiotherapy sessions can help alleviate certain symptoms, improving pelvic muscle functionality.
Nutrition & Lifestyle
A balanced diet and certain lifestyle modifications can play a role in symptom management. We provide guidance on this front, recognizing that holistic care often yields the best outcomes.
Emotional Well-being & Support
Recognizing that endometriosis affects the mind as much as the body, we emphasize mental well-being. We facilitate connections with therapists, support groups, and patient communities, ensuring that every individual feels heard, understood, and never alone.
Endometriosis and fertility
Hearing “endometriosis” when you hope to have children can be frightening. Please know that many women with endometriosis go on to become pregnant, some naturally and some with help.
Endometriosis can affect fertility through inflammation, adhesions, and endometriomas that affect the ovaries. If pregnancy is part of your future, we choose treatments that protect your fertility, time surgery thoughtfully, and coordinate infertility evaluation and IVF referrals when you need them. When you do become pregnant, our obstetric team can care for you through prenatal care and delivery.
- Understanding Your Pain
The Complex Nature of Endometriosis
Broad Symptomatic Presentation
Beyond pelvic pain and menstrual irregularities, endometriosis can lead to gastrointestinal symptoms, fatigue, and even bladder issues.
Influence on Fertility
While not all with endometriosis will face infertility, the condition can affect fertility to varied extents, warranting specialized care and counseling.
The Diagnostic Journey:
Clinical Assessment
A thorough discussion about symptoms, menstrual history, and pain patterns often provides the initial clues.
Advanced Imaging
Techniques like transvaginal ultrasounds or MRIs can offer insights, although they might not always capture endometrial implants.
Confirmatory Laparoscopy
This remains the definitive diagnostic tool, allowing for direct visualization and simultaneous treatment of endometrial lesions.
There is no single right answer for endometriosis. Your plan depends on your symptoms, your goals for pregnancy, and what matters most to you. We walk through the benefits and trade-offs of each option so you can decide with confidence.
Pain relief and lifestyle support
Anti-inflammatory medication (NSAIDs), heat, movement, and nutrition guidance can ease milder symptoms and complement other treatments.
Hormonal therapy
Birth control pills, patches, or rings, a progestin-releasing IUD, progestin-only medication, and GnRH-targeting medications can quiet the hormonal cycle that fuels endometriosis. For many women, the right hormonal treatment brings real relief without surgery.
Pelvic floor physical therapy
Years of pain can leave pelvic muscles tense and guarded, which adds its own pain. Pelvic floor physical therapy can reduce pain with intimacy, urination, and bowel movements.
Robotic Excision Therapy
When medication is not enough, or when fertility is a priority, Dr. Awad performs robotic-assisted laparoscopic surgery to carefully remove (excise) endometriosis lesions and endometriomas through a few small incisions. Most patients go home the same day and recover faster than with open surgery.
Hysterectomy
When other treatments have not brought relief excision of endometriosis may be an option. Dr. Awad performs this minimally invasive procedure robotically, and only after we have explored every alternative together.
Common Endometriosis Questions We Hear Most
Can Endometriosis be diagnosed without surgery?
Often, yes. A careful history, a gentle pelvic exam, and pelvic ultrasound let us make a clinical diagnosis and begin treatment. Laparoscopy is the only way to confirm endometriosis with certainty, and we recommend it only when it will change your care.
Does Endometriosis affect my fertility?
It can, but many women with endometriosis still become pregnant. Inflammation, scar tissue, and ovarian cysts can make conception harder, so we choose treatments that protect your fertility and offer an infertility evaluation when you are ready.
Are painful periods just normal?
Some cramping is common. Pain that keeps you home from work or school, does not respond to over-the-counter pain relievers, or is getting worse over time is not something you should have to accept, and it deserves a thorough evaluation.
Does a hysterectomy cure endometriosis?
Not always. Endometriosis grows outside the uterus, so removing the uterus alone may not relieve symptoms. For some women, hysterectomy combined with excision of endometriosis is the right choice. We talk through every option before surgery is considered.
Michael M. Awad, DO, OB-GYN
Dr. Mike Awad is a second-generation OB-GYN whose areas of focus include endometriosis, pelvic pain, uterine fibroids, and abnormal bleeding. As a skilled robotic gynecologic surgeon, he favors minimally invasive treatment while recognizing that surgery is not always the first or best answer. His philosophy is simple: meet every patient where she is, listen carefully, and make sure she feels understood and confident in her care.
He works alongside our physician assistants, Morgan Johannes, PA-C, Jennifer Sykstus, PA-C, and Georgiana Gomorczak, PA-C, so you have a team who knows your story at every visit. Meet the full care team.
Your comfort, privacy, and dignity come first
Endometriosis touches the most private parts of life: your body, your cycle, your intimacy, and sometimes your hopes for a family. Talking about it takes courage. Here is our promise to you.
Your pain is taken seriously
We never dismiss what you feel as "just a bad period." Every symptom is a clue, and we follow each one until we understand it.
We explain first, then proceed together.
We'll always tell you what to expect before we begin, in plain language and at your pace.
Intimate questions are welcome here.
Pain during sex, bladder or bowel changes, and emotional strain are part of endometriosis care. You can bring them up in whatever words feel comfortable.
Your information stays private.
Your conversations and records are protected, and follow-up messages go through our secure patient portal.
You Deserve Answers and Relief
Endometriosis care for women across Chicago’s Southwest Side, including Garfield Ridge, Clearing, Burbank, Oak Lawn, Bridgeview, and Summit. New patients welcome. Most major insurance accepted.
