Symptoms of Endometriosis
It is estimated that between 2 and 10% of the women within the general population have endometriosis and that up to 50% of the infertile women have endometriosis.
The most common symptom of endometriosis is severe pain before and during menstruation (periods). The pain is more severe than “normal” period cramps and it not relieved with basic pain medication. The pain can last for days. It is important to realise that to experience extreme pain with your period is not “normal”. If you have missed a family or social event due to pain, endometriosis should be considered.
Definition
Endometriosis is defined as the presence of endometrial-like tissue outside the uterus (Kennedy et al., 2005). Endometriosis triggers a chronic inflammatory reaction resulting in pain and adhesions.
Adhesions
Adhesions develop when scar tissue attaches separate structures or organs together. The activity and the complaints due to endometriosis may vary during the woman’s menstrual cycle as hormone levels fluctuate. Consequently, symptoms may be worse at certain times in the cycle, particularly just prior to and during the woman’s menstrual period. While some women with endometriosis experience severe pelvic pain, others have no symptoms at all or regard their symptoms as simply being ‘ordinary menstrual pain’.
The classical symptoms of endometriosis are:
- Dysmenorrhea or painful menstruation (pain in or around periods)
- Nonmenstrual pelvic pain or pain occurring when a woman is not menstruating. (pain at other times of the month)
- Dyspareunia or painful intercourse (painful sexual activity, pain after sex)
- Infertility
- Fatigue
- Cyclical intestinal complaints: periodic bloating, diarrhoea or constipation worse at the time of period
- Cyclical dyschezia, painful or difficult defecation (bowel movements) worse at the time of period
- Cyclical dysuria, painful urination, worse at the time of period
- Cyclical hematuria, or the presence of blood in the urine, worse at the time of period
- Cyclical rectal bleeding, worse at the time of period
- Cyclical shoulder pain, worse at time of period
- Any other cyclical symptom associated with period
Cyclical Symptoms
Cyclical symptoms are symptoms that develop a few days before a woman’s menstruation and disappear a few days after her menstruation has stopped, or symptoms that occur only during the menstruation. The symptoms reappear the next month, following the woman’s menstrual cycle.
Some symptoms are frequently reported by women with endometriosis, however, it is unclear whether these symptoms are actually caused by endometriosis. Some of these symptoms may be indicative of other diseases or be side effects of treatment, but some may also be related to endometriosis (although these were not yet examined in clinical studies).
These symptoms include:
- Weight Gain
- Heavy Menstrual Bleeding
- Migraine
- Vaginism
- Nausea
- Weight Gain
- Fungal Infections
- Insomnia
- Cardiac Arrhythmia
- (Lower) Back Pain
- Radiating pain
- Pain during ovulation
If you experience these symptoms, please also mention these to your doctor.
- Bellelis, P., Jr, J. A., Podgaec, S., Gonzales, M., Baracat, E. C., & Abrão, M. S. (2010). Aspectos epidemiológicos e clínicos da endometriose pélvica: Uma série de casos. Revista Da Associação Médica Brasileira,56(4), 467-471. doi:10.1590/s0104-42302010000400022
- Bernardi, M., Lazzeri, L., Perelli, F., Reis, F. M., & Petraglia, F. (2017). Dysmenorrhea and related disorders. F1000Research,6, 1645. doi:10.12688/f1000research.11682.1
- Davis, G., Thillet, E., & Lindemann, J. (1993). Clinical characteristics of adolescent endometriosis. Journal of Adolescent Health,14(5), 362-368. doi:10.1016/s1054-139x(08)80008-0
- Lemaire, G. S. (2004). More Than Just Menstrual Cramps: Symptoms and Uncertainty Among Women With Endometriosis. Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic & Neonatal Nursing,33(1), 71-79. doi:10.1177/0884217503261085
- Luscombe, G. M., Markham, R., Judio, M., Grigoriu, A., & Fraser, I. S. (2009). Abdominal Bloating: An Under-recognized Endometriosis Symptom. Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Canada,31(12), 1159-1171. doi:10.1016/s1701-2163(16)34377-8
- Sinaii, N., Plumb, K., Cotton, L., Lambert, A., Kennedy, S., Zondervan, K., & Stratton, P. (2008). Differences in characteristics among 1,000 women with endometriosis based on extent of disease. Fertility and Sterility,89(3), 538-545. doi:10.1016/j.fertnstert.2007.03.069
- Characteristics and symptoms in 3895 women diagnosed with endometriosis in an Australian genetic epidemiological study. (2005). European Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Reproductive Biology,123. doi:10.1016/s0301-2115(05)80207-6