Understanding Endometriosis

March is Endometriosis Awareness Month, a topic that brings women, families, and medical communities together.

The Endometriosis Awareness movement began in 1993 when Mary Lou Ballweg and seven other women decided that endometriosis, and all the women around the world suffering from it, deserved to be recognized.

As with all health issues, the best way to learn about endometriosis is to talk about it. In honor of EAM, we’re taking a look at the disease that affects 1 in 10 women.

Get the Facts

Endometriosis is a painful condition found in women when tissue similar to the inner lining of the uterus (endometrial tissue) travels to areas outside of the uterus. Endometrial-like cells can migrate to the ovaries, fallopian tubes, rectum, and other places within the pelvic region. In some cases, it spreads to nonreproductive organs like your lungs or bladder.

The issue with these cells is that it acts like endometrial tissue would during a menstrual period by hardening, breaking down, and bleeding. But, unlike endometrial tissue, it has no exit path from your body and becomes trapped. This can cause scar tissue and adhesions to develop around the affected areas, as well as mild to severe pain.

Endometriosis is commonly mistaken for conditions like pelvic inflammatory disease, ovarian cysts, or irritable bowel syndrome, because of the similar areas of discomfort.

Symptoms

The exact cause of endometriosis has not been proven yet, but the risk factors include genetics, heavy menstrual periods, starting your period at a young age, and low body mass index.

The symptoms of endometriosis include:

• Painful Periods: Abnormal pain and cramping that lasts for several days and can be accompanied by lower back and abdominal pain.
• Pain with intercourse: Pain during or after sex.
• Pain using the restroom: Pain with urination or bowel movements, usually worsening during your period.
• Excessive bleeding: Heavy and prolonged periods or bleeding between periods.
• Infertility: It’s common for endometriosis to be diagnosed in those seeking treatment for infertility.
• Other signs: Diarrhea, constipation, nausea, bloating, or fatigue that worsens around your period.

Feel Better

Although endometriosis can be a difficult condition to manage, many women find relief from their symptoms with the help of their doctor.

If your endometriosis pain is prominent enough to hinder daily life, we urge you to make an appointment with your healthcare provider or visit Tulsa ER & Hospital for an evaluation. Our amazing staff of nurses and doctors are here for you and can help advise or administer proper treatment.

If you’re one of the 176 million women who have endometriosis, you can share your story and connect with others through the hashtags #EndometriosisAwarenessMonth and #EndoMarch on social media. You’re not alone, and March is your month.

Disclaimer: As a service to our readers, Tulsa ER & Hospital and Nutex Health state no content on this site, regardless of date, should ever be used as a substitute for direct medical advice from your doctor or other qualified clinicians.

Nutex Health, Inc supports you and your family’s health. You can depend on Tulsa ER & Hospital or any of our concierge-level, medical facilities to deliver the emergency care you deserve, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.