{"id":16193,"date":"2018-08-31T11:26:29","date_gmt":"2018-08-31T07:26:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/?p=16193"},"modified":"2018-08-31T11:26:29","modified_gmt":"2018-08-31T07:26:29","slug":"i-have-painful-periods-could-it-be-endometriosis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/i-have-painful-periods-could-it-be-endometriosis\/","title":{"rendered":"I have painful periods, could it be endometriosis?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/span>\"\"<\/span><\/p>\n

Endometriosis can cause a number of severe symptoms, including period pain. But painful periods alone aren’t a surefire indicator of endometriosis. Here’s what else to look out for<\/span><\/h4>\n

<\/p>\n

Nine in ten young women\u00a0experience the cramping or stabbing of period pain just before their monthly bleed or as it starts.<\/span><\/p>\n

Period pain (also called dysmenorrhoea) can be divided into two main types \u2013 primary or secondary dysmenorrhoea \u2013 depending on whether there\u2019s an underlying problem.<\/span><\/p>\n

Primary dysmenorrhoea occurs in women with normal pelvic anatomy. It\u2019s due, at least in part, to changes in hormone-like compounds called prostaglandins. Too much of a prostaglandin called PGF2a\u00a0causes the uterus to contract.<\/span><\/p>\n

Secondary dysmenorrhoea is period pain that is caused by underlying pelvic problem and the\u00a0most common cause\u00a0is endometriosis. Endometriosis occurs when tissue similar to the lining of the uterus (the endometrium) is found outside the uterus.<\/span><\/p>\n

Period pain is common<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n

Endometriosis can cause a number of severe symptoms, including period pain. But painful periods alone, even if they are bad, aren\u2019t a surefire indicator of endometriosis.<\/span><\/p>\n

Of the\u00a090% of young women in Australia\u00a0who experience period pain,\u00a0most will have symptoms\u00a0suggestive of primary, rather than secondary, dysmenorrhoea.<\/span><\/p>\n

The exact number of women with endometriosis is still unclear but\u00a0estimates suggest between 5%\u00a0and\u00a010%\u00a0of reproductive-aged women have endometriosis.<\/span><\/p>\n

So, most young women with period pain are likely to have primary dysmenorrhoea rather than endometriosis.<\/span><\/p>\n

When does it start?<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n

Primary dysmenorrhoea usually starts within the first three years after the first period and\u00a0tends to get less severe with age.<\/span><\/p>\n

Some women with endometriosis have pain that starts with or soon after their first period, while some women with endoemtriosis have relatively \u201cnormal\u201d periods and their pain\u00a0gets much worse after 18.<\/span><\/p>\n

Period pain<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n

Women tend to describe period pain from primary dysmenorrhoea as \u201ccramping\u201d, but it\u2019s different for each woman. It can also feel stabbing or sharp; women with endometriosis use similar descriptions.<\/span><\/p>\n

Pain from primary dysmenorrhoea can range from\u00a0very mild to quite severe, while moderate to severe period pain is one of the most common symptoms women with endometriosis experience,\u00a0regardless of their age.<\/span><\/p>\n

Pain outside the period<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

One type of pain that isn\u2019t common in primary dysmenorrhoea is \u201cnon-cyclical\u201d or \u201cacyclical\u201d pelvic pain: pain below your belly button that occurs on a regular basis when you are not having your period. It might not be every day but commonly at least a couple of times per week.<\/span><\/p>\n

Non-cyclical pelvic pain is very common in women with endometriosis,\u00a0especially among young women\u00a0but isn\u2019t commonly associated with primary dysmenorrhoea.<\/span><\/p>\n

Bowel and bladder pain or dysfunction<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Bowel and bladder pain are common symptoms of endometriosis, and symptoms can\u00a0vary greatly. Some women report bowel and\/or bladder pain during their period, while others experience the pain outside of their period.<\/span><\/p>\n

More than half of women with endometriosis urinate more often and many experience pain with urination on a regular basis.<\/span><\/p>\n

Bowel changes can mimic symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome, including more or less frequent bowel movements, and harder stools or diarrhoea.<\/span><\/p>\n

Painful sex<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Women with endometriosis are\u00a0nine times more likely\u00a0to experience painful sex (dyspareunia) than women without endometriosis. This is usually described as \u201cdeep dyspareunia\u201d \u2013 pain occurring high in the vagina and usually associated with thrusting.<\/span><\/p>\n

Many women also experience\u00a0burning pain after intercourse, which can last for hours or days.<\/span><\/p>\n

Managing primary dysmenorrhoea<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatories (such as\u00a0ibuprofen) and the\u00a0oral contraceptive pill\u00a0are common treatments for primary dysmenorrhea and can be very effective when taken correctly.<\/span><\/p>\n

There is also evidence\u00a0heat\u00a0and other physical activities such as\u00a0yoga and stretching\u00a0can reduce primary dysmenorrhoea symptoms.<\/span><\/p>\n

So do I have endometriosis?<\/span>
\nIf your period pain is mild and occurs just prior to or during your period, and it doesn\u2019t cause you to miss work or school, then your risk of endometriosis is low. But it\u2019s important to note not all women with endometriosis will have symptoms. In asymptomatic women, endometriosis is often only diagnosed when they encounter fertility issues.<\/span><\/p>\n

Women with endometriosis are more likely to exhibit the symptoms detailed above, but having one or all of these symptoms is not definitive for a diagnosis of endometriosis. The formal diagnosis of endometriosis is made using laparoscopy, where a small camera is inserted into the pelvic\/abdominal cavity looking for endometriosis lesions.<\/span><\/p>\n

There are other causes for some or all of these symptoms, including\u00a0adenomyosis\u00a0(where cells grow in the muscle of the uterus),\u00a0uterine fibroids\u00a0(non-cancerous growths in the wall of the uterus),\u00a0vulvodynia(vulvar pain which doesn\u2019t have a clear cause) and\u00a0irritable bowel syndrome\u00a0(which affects the functioning of the bowel).<\/span><\/p>\n

When do I need to speak to my doctor?<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n

If you have any of the following, it\u2019s worth getting in touch with your doctor:<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  • regular non-cyclical pelvic pain, pain during sex, or pain related to your bladder or bowel motions<\/span><\/li>\n
  • period pain that\u00a0doesn\u2019t respond well\u00a0to ibuprofen or the pill, and you\u2019re still in enough pain to prevent you from going to work or school<\/span><\/li>\n
  • sudden onset of severe period pain, or a significant worsening, after the age of 18<\/span><\/li>\n
  • changes in your cycle, such as bleeding more than normal or at unusual times<\/span><\/li>\n
  • symptoms that interfere with your ability to do normal things like go to school or work<\/span><\/li>\n
  • pain or other symptoms, plus a mum or sister who has endometriosis (research suggests you are\u00a0at higher risk\u00a0of having endometriosis yourself).<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Or, if you just feel like there is something wrong, go and speak to your GP or gynaecologist. They will be able to discuss options for further investigations and treatment.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Mike Armour<\/strong><\/span>
    \n<\/span>Post-doctoral research fellow, <\/span>
    \nWestern Sydney University<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Endometriosis can cause a number of severe symptoms, including period pain. But painful periods alone aren’t a surefire indicator of endometriosis. Here’s what else to look out for<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16197,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[8348],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16193","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-conversation"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Pain-2.jpg?fit=1216%2C600&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8QzSF-4db","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16193","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16193"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16193\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16197"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16193"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16193"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16193"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}