What are Endometriosis Symptoms at the Start?
Endometriosis refers to an often painful disorder, in this disorder, tissues present inside the uterus (the endometrium) start to grow outside the uterus. Commonly Endometriosis occurs on the ovaries, fallopian tubes, and the tissue lining your pelvis.
In this medical condition, the endometrial-like tissue acts completely as an actual endometrial tissue would. This endometrial-like tissue develops, thickens, and then breaks down and bleeds with every subsequent Menstrual cycle. But as these tissues are developed outside the uterus, the blood formed has no way to exit your body, so it gets trapped. This trapped blood can cause irritation to the surrounding tissues, which may eventually develop scar tissues. If Endometriosis occurs in the ovaries, it can lead to the formation of cysts called endometriomas.
No wonder, endometriosis can cause pain, extreme pain sometimes, especially during periods. It can even lead to serious fertility problems, but luckily there are effective medical procedures available to cure this condition.
What are common Endometriosis Symptoms?
Written below are the common endometriosis symptoms or signs.
- Pelvic Pain: Pelvic Pain is the primary symptom of endometriosis, it is often associated with menstrual periods. Women with endometriosis typically describe menstrual pain far worse than usual. This pain also may continuously increase over time.
- Painful Periods (dysmenorrhea)
- Pain with Intercourse: Those with endometriosis often suffers from pain during or after sex.
- Pain associated with bowel movements or urination
People should note that the severity of your pain is not a reliable indicator of the extent of your condition. You can have a mild condition with extreme pain or You can have a severe endometriosis condition with little or no pain at all.
- Excessive bleeding: Occasional heavy bleeding or intermenstrual bleeding is common for individuals suffering from endometriosis.
- Infertility: Endometriosis can cause infertility in some women. For many women, who do not show any symptoms, endometriosis is only diagnosed when the women seek treatment for infertility.
- Other Symptoms and signs: Fatigue, constipation, diarrhea, nausea, or bloating, especially during menstrual periods are other symptoms of endometriosis.
Endometriosis can easily be confused with other conditions which also cause pelvic pain, such as ovarian cysts or pelvic inflammatory disease (PID). Sometimes endometriosis can accompany other conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), which can complicate the diagnosis.
Diagnosis for Endometriosis
To diagnose conditions such as Endometriosis, which can cause pelvic pain, your doctor will require you to describe your symptoms, with the location of symptoms of your pain and the duration/timing of the symptoms.
Common tests to perform diagnosis for endometriosis include:
- Pelvic exam
In a pelvic exam, your doctor may manually feel (palpate) areas in your pelvis region to search for abnormalities. These abnormalities include scars behind your uterus or cysts on your reproductive organs.
- Ultrasound
In Ultrasound, the doctors use high-frequency sound waves to create a map of the inside of your body. A device called a transducer is used to take this test. This device is either pressed against your abdomen or inserted into your vagina to take the ultrasound images.
- Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI):
MRI is like Ultrasound, but in the MRI scan magnetic field and radio waves are used instead of sound waves. MRI is used to get a detailed map of the organs and tissues present inside the body. Doctors use it to plan surgical treatments.
- Laparoscopy
In some cases, doctors may choose surgery to identify the presence of endometriosis in the body. The surgeon may insert a viewing instrument called a laparoscope through a small incision made near your navel. This instrument looks for signs of endometriosis tissues present outside the uterus.
If you ever feel or observe any of the symptoms of endometriosis or any kind of pain, consult your doctor. Do not delay and get yourself checked up right away to diagnose the problem in the start and get the right treatment.