Symptoms and causes of endometriosis disease Endometriosis (en-doe-me-tree-O-sis) is a disease that is usually painful when the same tissues and tissues that normally fill the inside of your uterus – the endometrium – grow outside your uterus. Endometriosis usually involves your ovaries, fallopian tubes, and tissues that line your waist. Generally, endometrial tissue can spread over the pelvic organs.
With endometriosis, endometrium-like tissues act like endometrial tissue – they thicken, shrink and bleed with each menstrual cycle. But because this tissue has no way out of your body, it gets stuck. When endometriosis infects the ovaries, cysts called endometriomas can form. Surrounding tissues can become irritated, eventually red tissue and adhesions – abnormal body tissue bands that can cause body tissues and organs to stick together.
Endometriosis can cause pain – sometimes severe – especially during menstruation. Reproductive problems can also develop. Fortunately, effective treatment is available.
Symptoms of Endometriosis
The main symptom of endometriosis is pelvic pain, which is often associated with menstrual periods. Although many experience fatigue during their menstrual cycle, those with endometriosis often describe menstrual pain as worse than normal. The pain may increase over time.
Common signs and symptoms of endometriosis include:
- Painful times (dysmenorrhea). Pelvic pain and cramping can start before and extend a few days into menstruation. You may also have low back pain in the abdomen and abdomen.
- The pain of having sex. Pain during or after sex is common with endometriosis.
- Pain with bowel movements or urination. You may have experienced these symptoms during menstruation.
Excessive bleeding. You may have difficult periods of menstruation or bleeding between periods (internal bleeding).
- Infertility. In some cases, endometriosis is found first in those seeking reproductive treatment.
- Other signs and symptoms. You may experience fatigue, diarrhea, constipation, constipation, or nausea, especially during menstruation.
The magnitude of your pain is not a reliable indicator of the severity of the condition. You may have mild endometriosis with severe pain, or you may have advanced endometriosis with little or no pain at all.
Endometriosis is sometimes mistaken for other conditions that can cause pelvic pain, such as pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) or ovarian cysts. It can be confused with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), a condition that causes constipation, constipation, and stomach cramps. IBS can be accompanied by endometriosis, which can complicate diagnosis.
When to see a doctor
See your doctor if you have any signs or symptoms that may indicate endometriosis.
Endometriosis can be a difficult condition to manage. Early diagnosis, a multidisciplinary medical team, and understanding your diagnosis can lead to better management of your symptoms.
Causes of Endometriosis
Although the exact cause of endometriosis is uncertain, existing explanations may include:
- Menstruation again. In menopause, menstrual blood containing endometrial cells flows back into the fallopian tubes into the pelvic cavity instead of leaving the body. These endometrial cells attach to the walls of the genitals and to the top of the genitals, where they grow and continue to thicken and bleed through each menstrual cycle.
- Transformation of peritoneal cells. In what is known as the “infiltration theory,” experts suggest that hormones or immune components promote the conversion of peritoneal cells – cells that line the inner side of your abdomen – into endometrial-like cells.
- Transformation of embryonic cells. Estrogen-like hormones can convert embryonic cells – cells in the early stages of growth – into endometrium-like cellular transplants.
- Surgical scarring. After surgery, such as a hysterectomy or C-section, endometrial cells may adhere to the surgical cut.
- Endometrium cell transport. The blood vessels or tissue fluid (lymphatic) system can move endometrial cells to other parts of the body.
- Disorders of the immune system. A problem with the immune system can make the body unable to see and destroy endometrial tissue that grows outside the uterus.
Several factors put you at greater risk for developing endometriosis, such as:
- Never give birth
- Starting your period at a young age
- The transition to menstruation when you are older
- Short menstrual cycles – for example, less than 27 days
- Difficult menstrual cycles lasting longer than seven days
- Having high levels of estrogen in your body or high levels of estrogen in your body are productive
Indication of a lower-body
- One or more relatives (mother, aunt, or sister) with endometriosis
- Any medical condition that prevents the normal passage of menstrual flow into the body
- Abnormal reproductive system
Endometriosis usually develops a few years after the onset of menstruation (menarche). The signs and symptoms of endometriosis can be temporarily improved during pregnancy and can be completely eliminated by menopause unless you take estrogen.
A major complication of endometriosis is birth defects. About one-third to one-half of women with endometriosis have a pregnancy problem.
For a pregnancy to occur, the egg must be removed from the uterus, passed through a neighboring tube, amplified by sperm, and attached to the uterine wall to begin growing. Endometriosis can block the tube and keep the egg and sperm from mixing. But this condition also appears to affect fertility in less direct ways, such as damage to the sperm or egg.
However, many with mild to moderate endometriosis can still get pregnant and manage the pregnancy to the end. Doctors sometimes advise those with endometriosis not to delay having children because the condition may worsen over time.
Ovarian cancer occurs at higher rates than expected in those with endometriosis. But the risk of lifelong ovarian cancer is low, to begin with. Some studies suggest that endometriosis increases the risk, but it is still very low. Although rare, another type of cancer – endometriosis – associated with adenocarcinoma – can develop later in life in those with endometriosis.