Endometriosis is a chronic inflammatory gynaecological condition; commonly associated with debilitating pelvic pain and infertility, affecting more than 10% of women within reproductive age, and taking up to 12 years to diagnose (Shigesi et al., 2019). Endometriosis is characterised by endometrial tissue (that lines the uterus) growing and spreading within the pelvic cavity including ovaries; however, occasionally it can be found on the bowel, bladder, appendix, and ligaments; in rarer cases even the lungs, brain or heart tissue (Bennett, Slywotzky, Cantera, & Hecht, 2010).
These endometrial deposits respond to cyclic hormonal changes, bleeding into surrounding tissues and structures leading to pain and inflammation, scar tissue formation, and adhesions of adjacent ligaments and organs causing positional distortions, impacting fertility (Foti et al., 2018). Symptoms may include heavy periods; mild to severe pain before and during periods; ovulation, bladder, bowel, back, leg or intercourse pain; chronic fatigue and mood changes; and irritable bowel symptoms (Davidson, 2014).
Endometriosis can also be asymptomatic, meaning, the disease may not exhibit any symptoms in some individuals. However, in many cases endometriosis is discovered during laparoscopic surgery to investigate causes for infertility. Endometriosis can really impact many areas of life including relationships, careers, and social life due to pain, discomfort, fatigue and mood changes; reducing overall quality of life. It is very important to seek help and support managing endometriosis symptoms, and often a multi-modality approach involving complementary and main stream approaches such as counselling, acupuncture, nutrition, physiotherapy and more. Sometimes it can be as simple as dietary changes to reduce inflammation and pain, while other times a combination of therapies work best.
If you are stuck and confused about what you need to do to navigate through this condition, please reach out. You don't have to do it all alone.
Bec xx
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