What are the early symptoms of adenomyosis?

In life, many people are so busy with work that they neglect to pay attention to their own health, which causes various physical problems. However, many diseases have some early symptoms. If you understand the early symptoms of a disease, then the disease becomes less difficult to treat. There are many early symptoms of adenomyosis. The key lies in whether people can detect the disease and treat it in time. Let us take a look at the early symptoms of adenomyosis.

Causes

The cause of adenomyosis is still unknown. The current consensus is that because the uterus lacks a submucosal layer, the basal cells of the endometrium proliferate and invade the myometrium, accompanied by compensatory hypertrophy and hyperplasia of the surrounding myometrial cells, forming a lesion. There are four theories about the factors that cause proliferation and invasion of endometrial basal cells: ① related to genetics; ② uterine injury, such as curettage and cesarean section, which will increase the incidence of adenomyosis; ③ hyperestrogenemia and hyperprolactinemia; ④ viral infection; ⑤ reproductive tract obstruction, which increases the uterine cavity pressure during menstruation, causing endometriosis to spread to the myometrium of the uterus.

Clinical manifestations

In the past, adenomyosis mostly occurred in multiparous women over 40 years old, but in recent years it has shown a trend of gradually becoming younger, which may be related to the increase in surgeries such as cesarean sections and artificial abortions.

1. Symptoms

(1) Menstrual disorders (40%-50%) are mainly manifested by prolonged menstrual period and increased menstrual volume. Some patients may also experience spotting before and after menstruation. This is because the uterus increases in size, the area of ​​the endometrium increases, and the lesions within the uterine muscle wall affect the contraction of uterine muscle fibers. Severe cases may lead to anemia.

(2) Dysmenorrhea (25%) is characterized by secondary progressive dysmenorrhea. It often begins a week before menstruation and is relieved when the menstrual period ends. This is because during menstruation, the ectopic endometrium in the myometrium becomes congested, swollen, and bleeds under the influence of ovarian hormones. At the same time, it increases the blood volume in the myometrium blood vessels, causing the thick myometrium to expand and cause severe dysmenorrhea.

(3) Some patients have no obvious symptoms. About 35% of patients have no obvious symptoms.

2. Physical signs

Gynecological examination shows that the uterus is often uniformly enlarged and spherical, and adenomyoma may appear as hard nodules. The uterus is generally no larger than 12 weeks of pregnancy. As menstruation approaches, the uterus feels tender; during menstruation, the uterus enlarges, becomes softer, and the tenderness is more obvious than usual; after menstruation, the uterus shrinks. This periodic change in physical signs is one of the important bases for diagnosing this disease. The uterus is often adhered to the surrounding area, especially the rectum at the back, and has poor mobility. 15% to 40% of patients have concomitant endometriosis, and about half of the patients have concomitant uterine fibroids.

So we can see that there are still many early symptoms of adenomyosis. As long as we carefully discover it and then patiently receive treatment, any disease will not be scary to us. In addition, patients with adenomyosis should also pay special attention to their daily lives. They should avoid eating spicy, raw or cold foods. It is best to strictly follow a normal schedule. When it comes to dressing to keep warm, they should adjust their clothing at any time according to seasonal changes.