Endometriosis is a common health problem in women. It gets its name from the word endometrium, the tissue that lines the uterus (womb). In women with this problem, tissue that looks and acts like the lining of the uterus grows outside of the uterus in other areas. These areas can be called growths, tumors, implants, lesions, or nodules.
Most endometriosis is found:
- on or under the ovaries
- behind the uterus
- on the tissues that hold the uterus in place
- on the bowels or bladder
What are the symptoms of endometriosis?
Pain is one of the most common symptoms of endometriosis. Usually the pain is in the abdomen, lower back, and pelvis. The amount of pain a woman feels does not depend on how much endometriosis she has. Some women have no pain, even though their disease affects large areas. Other women with endometriosis have severe pain even though they have only a few small growths. Symptoms of endometriosis include:
- Very painful menstrual cramps
- Pain with periods that gets worse over time
- Chronic pain in the lower back and pelvis
- Pain during or after sex
- Intestinal pain
- Painful bowel movements or painful urination during menstrual periods
- Heavy and/or long menstrual periods
- Spotting or bleeding between periods
- Infertility (not being able to get pregnant)
- Fatigue
Women with endometriosis may also have gastrointestinal problems such as diarrhea, constipation, or bloating, especially during their periods.
Who usually gets endometriosis?
About five million women in the United States have endometriosis. This makes it one of the most common health problems for women.
In general, women with endometriosis:
- get their monthly period
- are 27-years-old on average
- have symptoms for two to five years before finding out they have the disease
Women who have gone through menopause (when a woman stops having her period) rarely still have symptoms.
What can raise my chances of getting endometriosis?
You are more likely to develop endometriosis if you:
- began getting your period at an early age
- have heavy periods
- have periods that last more than seven days
- have a short monthly cycle (27 days or less)
- have a close relative (mother, aunt, sister) with endometriosis
Why do patches of endometriosis cause pain and health problems?
Growths of endometriosis are almost always benign or not cancerous, but still can cause many problems. To see why, it helps to understand a woman's monthly cycle. Every month, hormones cause the lining of a woman's uterus to build up with tissue and blood vessels. If a woman does not get pregnant, the uterus sheds this tissue and blood. It comes out of the body through the vagina as her menstrual period.
Patches of endometriosis also respond to a woman's monthly cycle. Each month the growths add extra tissue and blood, but there is no place for the built-up tissue and blood to exit the body. For this reason, growths tend to get bigger and the symptoms of endometriosis often get worse over time.
Tissue and blood that is shed into the body can cause inflammation, scar tissue, and pain. As the misplaced tissue grows, it can cover or grow into the ovaries and block the fallopian tubes. This can make it hard for women with endometriosis to get pregnant. The growths can also cause problems in the intestines and bladder.
next post: continuation of "What is Endometriosis?"
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