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Some women with
endometriosis have no signs and symptoms at all, and the disease
is discovered only during an unrelated operation, such as a
tubal ligation.
Endometriosis can be mild, moderate or severe, and it tends to get worse
over time without treatment.
Pain is one of the most common symptoms of endometriosis.
Some women describe the pain as sharp and burning.
Usually the pain is in the abdomen, lower back, and pelvis.
Even pelvic examination by a doctor can be
painful.
The severity of pain a woman feels does not depend on how much endometriosis
she has and it isn't necessarily a reliable indicator of the extent of the
endometriosis. .
Some women have no pain at all, even though their disease affects large areas
with more severe scarring.
Other women with endometriosis have severe pain even though they have only a
few small growths with mild endometriosis .
Causes of endometriosis pain
- Pain with endometriosis depends partly
on where the implants of endometrial tissue is located.
Deeper implants and implants in areas with many
pain-sensing nerves may be more likely to produce pain.
- The implants may produce substances that circulate in
the bloodstream and cause pain.
- Pain also can be resulted
when endometriosis implants form scars.
-
Recent research also finds that misplaced endometrial tissue
may develop its own nerve supply to communicate with the brain;
that may be one reason for the condition's severe pain.
Symptoms of endometriosis include:
- Very painful periods
(dysmenorrhea)
Some cramping during your period is normal.
But women with
endometriosis typically describe menstrual pain that's far worse
than usual.
Pelvic pain and cramping may begin
before and extend several days into your period.
The pain intensity can change from month to
month, and vary greatly among women.
Some women
experience progressive worsening of symptoms, while
others can have resolution of pain without treatment.
During menstrual periods bowel movements and/or urination is
usually painful.
- Pain at other times.
You may experience
- pelvic pain during ovulation,
- a sharp
pain deep in the pelvis during or after intercourse,
- pain during
bowel movements or urination.
- chronic
pain in the lower back and pelvis
- Pain in the pelvic region with exercise
- Painful pelvic examinations
- Infertility (not being able to get pregnant)
Endometriosis can be one of the reasons for
infertility in otherwise healthy couples.
In fact, 35-50 % of women with the condition have
endometriosis have difficulty getting pregnant.
Even mild endometriosis can result in infertility.
It is first diagnosed in some women who are
seeking treatment for infertility.
When
laparoscopic examinations are performed for infertility
evaluations, endometrial implants can be found in some
of these patients, many of these women may not have painful
symptoms of endometriosis.
Endometriosis inflammation and scarring in these
patients can cause distortion of the female reproductive
organs (such as obstruction of the fallopian tubes),
resulting in infertility.
However, the severity of the
disease is not necessarily directly related to the
degree of infertility.
Infertility is affected by
multiple factors aside from endometriosis.
It appears
that total inability to conceive is only rarely a direct
result of endometriosis.
- Excessive bleeding.
You may experience
- occasional heavy periods (menorrhagia),
- long periods
- bleeding/spotting between periods (menometrorrhagia).
- Gastrointestinal problems
Women with endometriosis may also have
diarrhea, constipation, or bloating,
especially during their periods.
Endometriosis is sometimes mistaken for other conditions that
can cause pelvic pain, such as
- pelvic inflammatory disease (PID)
- ovarian cysts.
It may be confused with irritable bowel
syndrome (IBS), a condition that causes
- Diarrhea and painful bowel movements, especially during
menstruation
- Constipation
- Intestinal pain
- Abdominal tenderness
- Severe cramping
IBS also can accompany
endometriosis, which can further complicate the diagnosis.
- Fatigue
- Very rarely
- chest pain or coughing
blood due to endometriosis in the lungs,
- headache and/or seizures due to endometriosis in the
brain.
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