Your reproductive health plays a significant role in your overall health and well-being. From infertility issues to birth control, you need to discuss sensitive topics with your doctor. Here are common questions to ask your doctor about reproductive health:
What Are Ideal Birth Control Methods?
Your medical provider seeks to understand your lifestyle, reproductive goals, and medical history to choose the ideal contraceptive method. The medical specialist will explain different contraceptives and how they work. Your birth control options include barrier methods, short-acting hormonal methods, sterilization, fertility awareness, and long-term hormonal choices. These options help to prevent sperm from reaching the egg, inactivate or damage the sperm, and prevent the egg from being released monthly.
Other birth control options alter the uterine lining to prevent a fertilized egg from attaching to it, while others thicken the cervical mucus to inhibit sperm from passing through it. The doctor helps you to understand if your choice of birth control is reversible depending on your reproductive health goals. People who prefer not to have children at any time in the future can opt for more permanent methods. Understanding the side effects of your choice of contraceptives helps to determine how it may affect your overall health.
What Available Infertility Treatments Do You Offer?
While it is normal for some women to get pregnant in their 20s and 30s, some find it hard to conceive. If you and your partner are experiencing infertility, understanding the treatment options can help you to make informed decisions. Your doctor will prescribe medications that enhance your chances of conception and full-term pregnancy. The options can be in the form of hormone replacements to restore ovulation in women or medications to mitigate erectile dysfunction in men. Your doctor will discuss health conditions that interrupt your reproductive health, such as thyroid conditions, infections, cancer, and poor diet.
You can discuss treatment options that help in ovulation conditions, such as high-dose hormones and injections like controlled ovarian hyperstimulation (COH). In vitro fertilization (IVF) is a good solution for infertility for you and your partner. The doctor may also talk about assisted reproductive technology (ART) by explaining the pros and cons to allow you to make an informed choice. Understanding your condition helps the doctor determine if your condition requires surgery to restore your reproductive health. Common fertility conditions that require surgery include reproductive tract scars, uterine fibroids, polyps, and endometriosis.
What Are the Available Endometriosis Treatments?
Endometriosis is a condition that causes a tissue similar to the uterine lining to form outside the uterus. The lining also forms on other parts, such as the fallopian tubes and the ovaries. When the endometrial-like lining forms outside the uterus, it is known as the endometrial implant. The condition alters your menstrual cycle and affects the misplaced endometrium, causing inflammation and pain. Your doctor discusses how the tissue grows thicker and breaks down, then gets trapped in the pelvis.
The trapped tissue can cause scar formation, extensive menstrual pains, fertility problems, and irritation. You can discuss endometriosis treatment with your doctor, depending on your symptoms and the extent of the condition. The doctor recommends pain relief medications, such as hormone therapy, to inhibit the progression of endometriosis. Treatments such as hormonal contraceptives prevent monthly buildup of the endometrium and include birth pills, vaginal rings, and patches. The doctor may recommend surgery to remove the tissue and prevent further menstrual periods and childbirth.
Consult a Reproductive Health Specialist Today
Your doctor helps you understand if the symptoms you present to them are normal and offers treatments. Asking the doctor about your symptoms can enhance preventive and early treatment of reproductive conditions. If you are unsure what condition you are suffering from, consult a competent reproductive health provider.