Endometriosis Causes, Symptoms, Risk Factors & Complications

Endometriosis Month is observed every March across the world with the goal of raising awareness and emphasizing the symptoms of this debilitating illness that affects an estimated 176 million women worldwide.

In the United Kingdom, endometriosis is the most prevalent cause of infertility in women, affecting one in every ten women diagnosed with endometriosis. Because the typical diagnostic delay is up to seven and a half years, the event’s primary goal is to promote awareness of the symptoms.

What is Endometriosis?

Endometriosis (en-doe-me-tree-O-sis) is an often painful disorder in which tissue similar to the tissue that normally lines the inside of the uterus, The endometrium grows outside the uterus. Endometriosis most commonly involves the ovaries, fallopian tubes and the tissue lining the pelvis. Rarely, endometrial-like tissue may be found beyond the area where pelvic organs are located.

Endometriosis can cause pain, sometimes severe, especially during menstrual periods. Fertility problems also may develop. Fortunately, effective treatment of endometriosis is available.

Endometriosis Symptoms

The most common symptom of endometriosis is pelvic discomfort, which is frequently connected with menstrual cycles. Although many women suffer cramps throughout their menstrual cycles, individuals who have endometriosis often report significantly severe menstrual pain than usual. The severity of the pain may also worsen over time.

Common Signs & Symptoms of Endometriosis includes:

• Painful periods (dysmenorrhea). Pelvic pain and cramping may begin before and extend several days into a menstrual period.
• Experiencing lower back and abdominal pain.
• Pain during or after sexual intercourse is common with endometriosis.
• Pain with bowel movements or urination most likely during a menstrual period.
• Excessive bleeding by way of heavy menstrual periods or bleeding between periods (intermenstrual bleeding).
• Infertility, Sometimes, endometriosis is first diagnosed in those seeking treatment for infertility.
• Other signs and symptoms. You may experience fatigue, diarrhea, constipation, bloating, or nausea, especially during menstrual periods.

The severity of your pain may not be a reliable indicator of the extent of your condition. You could have mild endometriosis with severe pain, or you could have advanced endometriosis with little or no pain.

Endometriosis is sometimes confused with other illnesses that cause pelvic discomfort, such as pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) or ovarian cysts. It is sometimes mistaken for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), a disorder that causes diarrhea, constipation, and abdominal cramps. Endometriosis might be accompanied by IBS, complicating the diagnosis.

Causes of Endometriosis?

Although the precise origin of endometriosis is unknown, the following theories have been proposed to help diagnosis of endometriosis:

Retrograde menstruation.
In retrograde menstruation, menstrual blood containing endometrial cells flows back through the fallopian tubes and into the pelvic cavity instead of out of the body. These endometrial cells stick to the pelvic walls and surfaces of pelvic organs, where they grow and continue to thicken and bleed over the course of each menstrual cycle.

Transformation of peritoneal cells.
In what’s known as the “induction theory,” experts propose that hormones or immune factors promote transformation of peritoneal cells — cells that line the inner side of your abdomen — into endometrial-like cells.

Embryonic cell transformation.
Hormones such as estrogen may transform embryonic cells — cells in the earliest stages of development — into endometrial-like cell implants during puberty.

Surgical scar implantation.
After a surgery, such as a hysterectomy or C-section, endometrial cells may attach to a surgical incision.

Endometrial cell transport.
The blood vessels or tissue fluid (lymphatic) system may transport endometrial cells to other parts of the body.

Immune system disorder.
A problem with the immune system may make the body unable to recognize and destroy endometrial-like tissue that’s growing outside the uterus.

Risk Factors of Endometriosis:

Several factors can place women at greater risk of developing endometriosis, such as:

• Never giving birth
• Starting your period at an early age
• Going through menopause at an older age
• Short menstrual cycles — for instance, less than 27 days
• Heavy menstrual periods that last longer than seven days
• Having higher levels of estrogen in your body or a greater lifetime exposure to estrogen your body produces
• Low body mass index
• One or more relatives (mother, aunt or sister) with endometriosis
• Any medical condition that prevents the passage of blood from the body during menstrual periods
• Disorders of the reproductive tract

Endometriosis usually develops several years after the onset of menstruation (menarche). Signs and symptoms of endometriosis may temporarily improve with pregnancy and may go away completely with menopause, unless you’re taking estrogen, hence it will be adviced to do all possible to get cure for endometriosis.

Complications of Endometriosis:

Infertility

The main complication of endometriosis is impaired fertility. Approximately one-third to one-half of women with endometriosis have difficulty getting pregnant.

For pregnancy to occur, an egg must be released from an ovary, travel through the neighboring fallopian tube, become fertilized by a sperm cell and attach itself to the uterine wall to begin development. Endometriosis may obstruct the tube and keep the egg and sperm from uniting. But the condition also seems to affect fertility in less-direct ways, such as by damaging the sperm or egg.

Even so, many with mild to moderate endometriosis can still conceive and carry a pregnancy to term. Doctors sometimes advise those with endometriosis not to delay having children because the condition may worsen with time.

Cancer

Ovarian cancer does occur at higher than expected rates in those with endometriosis. But the overall lifetime risk of ovarian cancer is low to begin with. Some studies suggest that endometriosis increases that risk, but it’s still relatively low. Although rare, another type of cancer — endometriosis-associated adenocarcinoma — can develop later in life in those who have had endometriosis.

You can also get involved in the chat on twitter using the hashtag #EndometriosisAwarenessMonth