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Stop Endometriosis and Pelvic Pain: What Every Woman and Her Doctor Need to Know
Stop Endometriosis and Pelvic Pain provides extensive information about the realities and the myths of endometriosis and pelvic pain. Dr. Cook explains why so many patients are misunderstood and misdiagnosed, why most endometriosis surgery is done so poorly, the principles and correct techniques for effective endometriosis surgery, and how to find the best doctors and healthcare providers. This book embraces a women's perspective and provides much-needed support for women who have suffered from the pain of endometriosis. He also explains his comprehensive and successful program for treating endometriosis.
- GenresHealthNonfictionMedicine
240 pages, Paperback
First published July 30, 2012
34 people are currently reading
227 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
March 29, 2015
If I could give this book more than 5 stars, I would, not because it's hard to put down (though it is a compelling read for an informational book), but because it is full of detailed useful information that gives me hope for the future. I have been battling endometriosis for years, and have had two surgeries to "treat" it, but am still struggling. I lost my uterus and ascending colon to this disease and it is still eating away at my insides. I've been on hormone replacement for the last two years trying to suppress it and prevent another surgery, and while the endometriosis has been suppressed, the side effects of the bioidentical hormone therapy are almost as unwelcome as the disease itself. This book brought me to tears on more than one occasion, not only because the author does such a great job at explaining what women with this disease go through, but because he does it with a level of compassion that I thought no one who does not have this disease could. I now believe that I can find a surgeon who can help me when I am ready to have my next, and hopefully last surgery, even if I have to travel to do so. I believe any woman who has suffered with endometriosis should inform herself of her options, and can easily do so by reading this well written book.
December 29, 2018
So grateful Dr. Cook wrote this book and my therapist recommended it! After suffering for over three years now from excruciating, debilitating pain twice a month (up to three days during my period and 5+ days during ovulation time), I know that it's not my fault and I'm not exaggerating. This book will definitely help others who don't have endo understand it better and be able to provide better support to those who do have it. The passage from the husband of a women with endo at the beginning is so spot on from a man's perspective. I'm glad that men can come to understand the pain and what it involves like this.
My pain has shifted and decreased a little this year, but it was so horrible last year and the year before that--mostly because I was in denial about it and every month, thought I could get better or it would go away on its own. And I didn't know how to deal with it and I would fight it, which only made it worse. Each cycle is a still little different than the previous one, so I never know what to expect in terms of the pain levels and length of time I'll be in pain. But it's been fairly consistent that I have pain on days 0-2 and days 8-14. I have vomited because of the pain during day 2.
Now I've learned more what to expect and I can block out the days when I know I'll be in the most pain so I can be home resting in bed. However, I want to be able to live a life with less pain and where I don't have to be confined to bed for any number of days. The way Dr. Cook explains the options for surgery is helpful too. I know he is a competent and careful doctor who will likely be able to help me if I do decide on surgery. Luckily he is only a 35 minute drive away. I know patients travel from all over to see be able to see him.
"Because endometriosis is so difficult to diagnose, endometriosis is not currently a sub-specialty, and so few general OB/GYN doctors know how to treat this disease properly, it can be hard to find effective, respectful medical care. But it's essential. You have to educate yourself about this frustrating disease and find the support to cope with it. You need a physician who won't make you think you're crazy for reporting severe pain symptoms for which he or she can't find a cause or cure. Your doctor should listen to you, treat you with respect, give you a thorough exam, clearly explain your medical and surgical options, and provide you with adequate pain relief. In addition, your physician should offer suggestions for improving your overall health and well-being through nutrition, exercise, and perhaps complementary therapies. Most important, your doctor should be an expert in the surgical techniques that remove endometriosis--the only way to rid yourself of this disease." pg. 2
"When the girl hears the message that the pain isn't serious or real, what she really is hearing is to distrust her senses, her body--and herself. Worse, it may affect her self-esteem, as she comes to believe that others don't think her devastating pain is worth their trouble." pg. 10
"Endometriosis can take away many, even most, aspects of a normal life. Mothers can't reliably meet the needs of their children. Women with jobs outside the home can't get to work and function at their highest capacity. Wives push through the pain to be intimate with their husbands, but eventually the pain becomes too intense. Being the loving, compassionate woman, mother, and partner that she truly is becomes more and more difficult. Feeling like a vibrant and desirable being is often a dim memory. The pain takes over her life, and the stress on family relationships is common and real." pg. 12
"One of the problems with endometriosis is that it is a silent and invisible disease. If you have rheumatoid arthritis, people around you see your gnarled hands and think, 'No wonder they hurt.' If you're in a cast or covered in bandages, people understand the grimace on your face. But with endo, the cause of the pain is hidden, so it is all too easy for people to blame the woman, not the disease--and for the woman to blame herself, against all reason, for not getting better. With this disease, the woman is effectively held prisoner and tortured by her own body in broad daylight, often with no one who fully understands her situation or who can effectively help her." pg. 12-13
"Since endometrial implants create their own estrogen, they can continue to grow even after a hysterectomy. What happens too often with hysterectomies is that the physician takes the uterus out and leaves the disease, believing that any remaining endo will 'melt away.' It will not just melt away. It must be cut out and removed from the body. In some patients, especially if they have severe pelvic congestion--adenomyosis--which is endometriosis that has invaded the muscle wall of the uterus, it may be appropriate to perform a hysterectomy to remove all the endometriosis." pg. 42
"If you have or suspect you have endometriosis, you will have to be proactive about your medical care. You should learn as much as you can about this disease, so that you can understand your treatment options. You may have to fight with your insurance provider; you may have to travel; you may have to pay more out of pocket than you expected. But you've got to make sure you get good care, and you can't give you until you do. No matter what any physician says to you, you have to trust yourself. It's your body, and you know when you're in pain and when you feel right." pg. 47
"I don't want to sound anti-robot because I am not. I have and do use the robot in select appropriate cases. Quite frankly, it is fun to use and it is much more comfortable sitting at a console working in the 3D virtual world of robotic surgery than the standing, bending, and twisting required when doing traditional laparoscopy. Like many things in life, robotic surgery has its advantages: 3D view, increased magnification, 'wristed' instrument movement--and its disadvantages: delayed and restricted range of movement, inability to directly interact with the patient during surgery (important for adjusting the position of the uterus and bowel), lack of haptics (ability to feel touch including pressure or resistance), limitations in surgical tools and types of surgical energy, and more scars (lack of cosmesis). The robot is evolving and getting better all of the time. The current limitations will eventually be resolved with this evolution. Some type of computer and technologically assisted surgery will certainly become the standard type of surgery in the future. At this point in time, if a surgeon does not need the advantages of the robot, including help with spatial orientation, then the current disadvantages including cosmesis seem to preclude its adoption by the vast majority of endometriosis specialists. Perhaps I am an idealist, but I am compelled to do what I think is in my patients' best interest and treat them as I would want to be treated." pg. 115
"Few medical conditions are as painful as endometriosis. What starts as painful periods usually becomes more intense and prolonged over time. Patients describe the pain as knifelike, burning, tearing, hot, sharp, and even worse than childbirth. What originates as cyclic pain becomes chronic pain. Women with endometriosis can experience dizziness, nausea, headaches, diarrhea, constipation, gastrointestinal distress, fatigue, and a general achy feeling--a sense of being completely depleted and out of sorts.
For some women with endo, the pain becomes severe and chronic enough that they can't make plans, because they don't know whether they will be curled up in a ball on the bed that day, trying to breathe through stabbing pain. The ongoing pain and disruption to everyday life can lead to despair and hopelessness, and the fear that you will never feel like yourself again. You start feeling isolated and alone, with nothing but pain for a (sometimes constant) companion." pg. 121
"Endometriosis acts like menstrual tissue in that it builds up throughout the month and then sheds. The problem is, unlike menstrual issue, the endometriosis has nowhere to go. It stays in the body and causes inflammation throughout the pelvic region. The endometrial cells themselves release inflammatory chemicals (prostaglandins and histamines). All that inflammation irritates the pain receptors.
Organs stuck to one another with scar tissue may tug every time you move. When endometriosis starts eating into tissues or organs, the pain receptors in those areas will react. The pelvic region is full of inflamed blisters that hurt every time they rub against other tissue; when, like blisters popping, the endo ruptures, that sends out even more inflammatory chemicals, which further irritates the pain receptors. Repeated inflammation may make the pain receptors even more painful with time. The pain is often worst during menstruation, when hormone levels are changing, the endometriosis can be bleeding, and the tissues in the pelvis expand, which stretches and strains those pain receptors." pg. 124
"My patients have pain so severe, they need narcotic pain relief. It may be for only a couple days each month; it may be for chronic severe pain with breakthrough acute pain--that is, when it hurts all the time but sometimes hurts even more. Not all doctors, however, believe in using narcotic painkillers to treat what is known medically as 'chronic nonmalignant pain,' or long-term, severe pain not caused by cancer. These doctors are afraid their patients may abuse the pain meds. Some argue that over time, narcotics can actually make the pain worse, and that these patients will need more and more pain meds to get the same results. While this is a real concern, in my experience such patients are very rare exceptions. The overwhelming majority of patients do not want pain meds; they want relief from intense pain." pg. 132
"On top of that is the sense that you can't even count of yourself. 'Your body becomes your betrayer,' says Drucker. That resonates deeply with anyone; if you can't trust your body, you can't trust yourself. 'There's a tearing apart of an essential relationship to the self, which is as destructive as anything, a real loss of who you are.'
These are all devastating issues, but they also offer an opportunity to make a fundamental shift in how you're dealing with your pain and your life. People need to learn to have realistic expectations. We think of our bodies as machines, and when they break down, we feel betrayed; we think everything is falling apart. That's not really the case. People are very resilient. For people in pain, the resilience needs to be about accepting what they've got and moving forward.
Being in chronic pain is like aging, Eventually we will all have to deal with a loss of functioning. Older people know they can't lift that hundred-pound sack, so they don't try; they get someone else to do the heavy lifting. Accepting that things have changed, recognizing limitations, and feeling okay about it is surely a better way to live." pg. 156
"Something I did not expect to see when I started treating patients with endo is their strength and determination. When I think of my patients, I often think of the lotus, a beautiful flower that can thrive in the dirtiest waters, bringing beauty out of the most awful circumstances. The flower represents regeneration, purity, and rebirth. Over the years, I have seen so many women take a horrible situation and turn it into an opportunity for growth and development.
Real healing comes with acceptance of the state of your body at that moment, with optimism that life can still be full. Real healing comes from changing your relationship to pain--from one filled with anger, hopelessness, anxiety, and despair to one full of gentleness, awareness, and compassion for yourself and your body." pg. 170
My pain has shifted and decreased a little this year, but it was so horrible last year and the year before that--mostly because I was in denial about it and every month, thought I could get better or it would go away on its own. And I didn't know how to deal with it and I would fight it, which only made it worse. Each cycle is a still little different than the previous one, so I never know what to expect in terms of the pain levels and length of time I'll be in pain. But it's been fairly consistent that I have pain on days 0-2 and days 8-14. I have vomited because of the pain during day 2.
Now I've learned more what to expect and I can block out the days when I know I'll be in the most pain so I can be home resting in bed. However, I want to be able to live a life with less pain and where I don't have to be confined to bed for any number of days. The way Dr. Cook explains the options for surgery is helpful too. I know he is a competent and careful doctor who will likely be able to help me if I do decide on surgery. Luckily he is only a 35 minute drive away. I know patients travel from all over to see be able to see him.
"Because endometriosis is so difficult to diagnose, endometriosis is not currently a sub-specialty, and so few general OB/GYN doctors know how to treat this disease properly, it can be hard to find effective, respectful medical care. But it's essential. You have to educate yourself about this frustrating disease and find the support to cope with it. You need a physician who won't make you think you're crazy for reporting severe pain symptoms for which he or she can't find a cause or cure. Your doctor should listen to you, treat you with respect, give you a thorough exam, clearly explain your medical and surgical options, and provide you with adequate pain relief. In addition, your physician should offer suggestions for improving your overall health and well-being through nutrition, exercise, and perhaps complementary therapies. Most important, your doctor should be an expert in the surgical techniques that remove endometriosis--the only way to rid yourself of this disease." pg. 2
"When the girl hears the message that the pain isn't serious or real, what she really is hearing is to distrust her senses, her body--and herself. Worse, it may affect her self-esteem, as she comes to believe that others don't think her devastating pain is worth their trouble." pg. 10
"Endometriosis can take away many, even most, aspects of a normal life. Mothers can't reliably meet the needs of their children. Women with jobs outside the home can't get to work and function at their highest capacity. Wives push through the pain to be intimate with their husbands, but eventually the pain becomes too intense. Being the loving, compassionate woman, mother, and partner that she truly is becomes more and more difficult. Feeling like a vibrant and desirable being is often a dim memory. The pain takes over her life, and the stress on family relationships is common and real." pg. 12
"One of the problems with endometriosis is that it is a silent and invisible disease. If you have rheumatoid arthritis, people around you see your gnarled hands and think, 'No wonder they hurt.' If you're in a cast or covered in bandages, people understand the grimace on your face. But with endo, the cause of the pain is hidden, so it is all too easy for people to blame the woman, not the disease--and for the woman to blame herself, against all reason, for not getting better. With this disease, the woman is effectively held prisoner and tortured by her own body in broad daylight, often with no one who fully understands her situation or who can effectively help her." pg. 12-13
"Since endometrial implants create their own estrogen, they can continue to grow even after a hysterectomy. What happens too often with hysterectomies is that the physician takes the uterus out and leaves the disease, believing that any remaining endo will 'melt away.' It will not just melt away. It must be cut out and removed from the body. In some patients, especially if they have severe pelvic congestion--adenomyosis--which is endometriosis that has invaded the muscle wall of the uterus, it may be appropriate to perform a hysterectomy to remove all the endometriosis." pg. 42
"If you have or suspect you have endometriosis, you will have to be proactive about your medical care. You should learn as much as you can about this disease, so that you can understand your treatment options. You may have to fight with your insurance provider; you may have to travel; you may have to pay more out of pocket than you expected. But you've got to make sure you get good care, and you can't give you until you do. No matter what any physician says to you, you have to trust yourself. It's your body, and you know when you're in pain and when you feel right." pg. 47
"I don't want to sound anti-robot because I am not. I have and do use the robot in select appropriate cases. Quite frankly, it is fun to use and it is much more comfortable sitting at a console working in the 3D virtual world of robotic surgery than the standing, bending, and twisting required when doing traditional laparoscopy. Like many things in life, robotic surgery has its advantages: 3D view, increased magnification, 'wristed' instrument movement--and its disadvantages: delayed and restricted range of movement, inability to directly interact with the patient during surgery (important for adjusting the position of the uterus and bowel), lack of haptics (ability to feel touch including pressure or resistance), limitations in surgical tools and types of surgical energy, and more scars (lack of cosmesis). The robot is evolving and getting better all of the time. The current limitations will eventually be resolved with this evolution. Some type of computer and technologically assisted surgery will certainly become the standard type of surgery in the future. At this point in time, if a surgeon does not need the advantages of the robot, including help with spatial orientation, then the current disadvantages including cosmesis seem to preclude its adoption by the vast majority of endometriosis specialists. Perhaps I am an idealist, but I am compelled to do what I think is in my patients' best interest and treat them as I would want to be treated." pg. 115
"Few medical conditions are as painful as endometriosis. What starts as painful periods usually becomes more intense and prolonged over time. Patients describe the pain as knifelike, burning, tearing, hot, sharp, and even worse than childbirth. What originates as cyclic pain becomes chronic pain. Women with endometriosis can experience dizziness, nausea, headaches, diarrhea, constipation, gastrointestinal distress, fatigue, and a general achy feeling--a sense of being completely depleted and out of sorts.
For some women with endo, the pain becomes severe and chronic enough that they can't make plans, because they don't know whether they will be curled up in a ball on the bed that day, trying to breathe through stabbing pain. The ongoing pain and disruption to everyday life can lead to despair and hopelessness, and the fear that you will never feel like yourself again. You start feeling isolated and alone, with nothing but pain for a (sometimes constant) companion." pg. 121
"Endometriosis acts like menstrual tissue in that it builds up throughout the month and then sheds. The problem is, unlike menstrual issue, the endometriosis has nowhere to go. It stays in the body and causes inflammation throughout the pelvic region. The endometrial cells themselves release inflammatory chemicals (prostaglandins and histamines). All that inflammation irritates the pain receptors.
Organs stuck to one another with scar tissue may tug every time you move. When endometriosis starts eating into tissues or organs, the pain receptors in those areas will react. The pelvic region is full of inflamed blisters that hurt every time they rub against other tissue; when, like blisters popping, the endo ruptures, that sends out even more inflammatory chemicals, which further irritates the pain receptors. Repeated inflammation may make the pain receptors even more painful with time. The pain is often worst during menstruation, when hormone levels are changing, the endometriosis can be bleeding, and the tissues in the pelvis expand, which stretches and strains those pain receptors." pg. 124
"My patients have pain so severe, they need narcotic pain relief. It may be for only a couple days each month; it may be for chronic severe pain with breakthrough acute pain--that is, when it hurts all the time but sometimes hurts even more. Not all doctors, however, believe in using narcotic painkillers to treat what is known medically as 'chronic nonmalignant pain,' or long-term, severe pain not caused by cancer. These doctors are afraid their patients may abuse the pain meds. Some argue that over time, narcotics can actually make the pain worse, and that these patients will need more and more pain meds to get the same results. While this is a real concern, in my experience such patients are very rare exceptions. The overwhelming majority of patients do not want pain meds; they want relief from intense pain." pg. 132
"On top of that is the sense that you can't even count of yourself. 'Your body becomes your betrayer,' says Drucker. That resonates deeply with anyone; if you can't trust your body, you can't trust yourself. 'There's a tearing apart of an essential relationship to the self, which is as destructive as anything, a real loss of who you are.'
These are all devastating issues, but they also offer an opportunity to make a fundamental shift in how you're dealing with your pain and your life. People need to learn to have realistic expectations. We think of our bodies as machines, and when they break down, we feel betrayed; we think everything is falling apart. That's not really the case. People are very resilient. For people in pain, the resilience needs to be about accepting what they've got and moving forward.
Being in chronic pain is like aging, Eventually we will all have to deal with a loss of functioning. Older people know they can't lift that hundred-pound sack, so they don't try; they get someone else to do the heavy lifting. Accepting that things have changed, recognizing limitations, and feeling okay about it is surely a better way to live." pg. 156
"Something I did not expect to see when I started treating patients with endo is their strength and determination. When I think of my patients, I often think of the lotus, a beautiful flower that can thrive in the dirtiest waters, bringing beauty out of the most awful circumstances. The flower represents regeneration, purity, and rebirth. Over the years, I have seen so many women take a horrible situation and turn it into an opportunity for growth and development.
Real healing comes with acceptance of the state of your body at that moment, with optimism that life can still be full. Real healing comes from changing your relationship to pain--from one filled with anger, hopelessness, anxiety, and despair to one full of gentleness, awareness, and compassion for yourself and your body." pg. 170
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 18, 2012
If you're currently struggling with endometriosis (endo) and no doctor can give you an answer, read this book! I finally feel like there is hope for this disease and it's one of the greatest feelings in the world. Don't take "there is nothing you can do" as an answer because there is something you can do about it and it's to find a specialist who knows how to treat and in the best case scenario, to cure endo. Read this book even if you know someone who is struggling with endo because it will help you clarify and understand what she is actually going through.
July 16, 2025
This is an excellent overview of the many reasons a woman might have pelvic pain. The author, Andrew S. Cook, MD, FACOG, gives good explanations to understand the complexities. I had not known that endometriosis is developed from parts of the uterine lining making their way back up the canal during menses! Also, I didn't know the difficulty of finding and removing ovaries and that many who've had their ovaries removed might still have "ovary remnants" left behind. I didn't understand the difficulty of removing endometriosis, because it looks like skin, and that it grows back if it is not totally removed, at a faster speed than initial growth; like cancer, but not cancerous. It's fascinating to learn about the body.
This doctor has much experience with many women over many years, and it's written in a way it is readable. Although it was published in 2012, and I'm sure there are advances since then, this is an excellent primer.
This doctor has much experience with many women over many years, and it's written in a way it is readable. Although it was published in 2012, and I'm sure there are advances since then, this is an excellent primer.
December 6, 2018
This book was so informative and encouraging! I am amazed at the compassion Dr Cook writes with, when I first started reading this I could hardly get through it without crying because it felt like the first time someone understood me and what I live with and confirmed it's not all in my head. I am one month post surgery with Dr Cook and while I still have recovering to do I have felt better mentally than I have in years! I am excited to see how I feel as I continue to heal. I also love that Dr Cook understands the holistic side of medicine and isn't just pushing pharmaceuticals, although I believe both have their place. I love being able to do as much naturally as possible. Highly recommend this book to anyone with endometriosis or anyone who has a loved one dealing with this disease!
June 5, 2018
Excellent information in this book. It gave me so much hope that I could find help for my severe endometriosis. After reading this book I traveled to CA from my home, then in PA, to have surgery with Dr. Cook. It took several years of working towards health with diet & lifestyle, but I since got pregnant completely naturally & now have a sweet little girl.I highly recommend this book and the doctor who wrote it if you are struggling with endometriosis.
September 27, 2020
Great reference guide to help endo patients find doctors that are both understanding and offering proper treatment. As well as what endo is and other possible diseases that may go along with it. This is written in aa way the patient can understand, not full of medical jargon.
June 14, 2021
This is a thorough, highly researched book.
Not only is endo given a knowledgeable and in-depth examination in this book, but other possible reasons for pelvic pain are also given, for a comprehensive idea of *why* the patient might still be hurting.
Honestly this book is a game changer.
Not only is endo given a knowledgeable and in-depth examination in this book, but other possible reasons for pelvic pain are also given, for a comprehensive idea of *why* the patient might still be hurting.
Honestly this book is a game changer.
November 9, 2018
Excellent resource to understand Endometriosis better!
July 15, 2019
More info on endometriosis, procedures and tips in finding the best dr/care that women can along with tips for partner support. Good source of info!
October 29, 2012
Clearly written to both validate and educate the endometriosis patient, who is often misdiagnosed, misunderstood, and left feeling hopeless in her quest for a good life. Education for spouses , friends, families, and medical professionals. All can help the Endo patient navigate from a life of pain to renewed health. Learn about Dr Cook's successful treatment of this complex and debilitating disease. Read this, talk about it, and help improve a woman's life !
August 9, 2013
This is a phenomenal book. Being recently diagnosed with this horrible disease, I gained hope and knowledge after reading this. I am also getting a free phone consultation with Dr Cook himself. Please read this book if you are struggling to understand what endometriosis is and how it's effecting you.
October 16, 2012
Best book on the subject by world-renowned surgeon who is really making a difference and helping women get out of pain who have suffered through treatment after treatment, surgery after surgery with no results. Dr. Cook is awesome. Check out his website for more info at http://www.vitalhealth.com.
January 18, 2014
Excellent book on the subject. Must reading for anyone suffering pelvic pain.
May 21, 2016
I did not find this book especially helpful. While it did explain some things that I found useful, it was very repetitive. I hope others find it more helpful than I have.
August 13, 2016
I loved this book. Had a lot of good information. It's a great resource for those suffering with endometriosis.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews