Consequences and symptoms of endometriosis

Nowadays, many women suffer from endometriosis, which has a serious impact on the female reproductive system. Therefore, many women who pursue a healthy quality of life want to understand the consequences and symptoms of endometriosis in order to prevent this disease from threatening their lives. In order for you to understand it as soon as possible, please see the answer below.

(1) Dysmenorrhea: It is a common and prominent symptom, mostly secondary, that is, it starts from the occurrence of endometriosis. Patients complain that they did not have pain during menstruation in the past, but dysmenorrhea began to occur at a certain period. It can occur before, during, and after menstruation. Some people have severe and unbearable dysmenorrhea and need to rest in bed or take pain medication. The pain often worsens with the menstrual cycle. As estrogen levels continue to rise, the ectopic endometrium proliferates and swells. If affected by progesterone, it will bleed, irritate local tissues, and cause pain. If it is endogenous endometriosis, it can cause uterine muscle contraction, and dysmenorrhea is bound to be more obvious. In cases where there is no bleeding from ectopic tissue, dysmenorrhea may be caused by vascular congestion. After menstruation, the ectopic endometrium gradually shrinks and dysmenorrhea disappears. In addition, in pelvic endometriosis, many inflammatory processes can be identified, most likely localized with active peritoneal lesions, producing prostaglandins, kinins, and other peptides that cause pain or tenderness.

However, the degree of pain often does not reflect the extent of disease detected by laparoscopy. Clinically, about 25% of women have significant endometriosis but do not experience dysmenorrhea. A woman's psychological condition can also affect pain perception.

(ii) Excessive menstruation: In endometriosis, the menstrual volume often increases and the menstrual period is prolonged. It may be caused by an increase in endometrium, but is often accompanied by ovarian dysfunction.

(III) Infertility: Patients with endometriosis often suffer from infertility. According to reports from Tianjin and Shanghai, primary infertility accounts for 41.5% to 43.3%, and secondary infertility accounts for 46.6% to 47.3%. The causal relationship between infertility and endometriosis is still controversial. Pelvic endometriosis can often cause adhesions around the fallopian tubes, affecting the pickup of oocytes or causing obstruction of the lumen. Or infertility may be caused by ovarian diseases affecting the normal ovulation. However, some people believe that long-term infertility and no menstrual cessation may lead to the chance of endometriosis; once pregnancy occurs, the ectopic endometrium is suppressed and atrophies.

(IV) Pain during sexual intercourse: Endometriosis occurs in the rectouterine fossa and vaginal rectal septum, causing the surrounding tissues to swell and affecting sexual life, with the discomfort becoming more severe before menstruation.

(V) Heavy and bloated stools: This usually occurs before or after menstruation. The patient feels unbearable pain when stool passes through the rectum, but does not have this feeling at other times. This is a typical symptom of endometriosis in the rectouterine fossa and near the rectum. Occasionally, the ectopic endometrium reaches deep into the rectal mucosa, causing rectal bleeding during menstruation. Endometriotic lesions that form strictures around the rectum cause symptoms of tenesmus and obstruction, similar to cancer.

(6) Bladder symptoms: They are more common in patients with endometriosis extending to the bladder, with symptoms of periodic frequent urination and painful urination. When the bladder mucosa is invaded, periodic hematuria may occur.

The consequences and symptoms of endometriosis are introduced in detail above. This disease has many symptoms, such as heavy menstruation, infertility, pain during sexual intercourse, etc. Therefore, women with this disease should never ignore the harm caused by this disease to their bodies. They should get checked and treated as soon as possible to recover as soon as possible.