Endometriosis: Facts and Diagnosis

Endometriosis is a painful gynecological condition where the uterine tissue grows outside the uterus. Patricia Geraghty, MSN, WHNP, discusses diagnosis criteria and common symptoms associated with endometriosis.

Transcript

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Endometriosis is a gynecological condition where the very specialized cells that line the uterus

00:06

are located distantly. They may be in the tubes. They may be around the ovaries.

00:13

They may even be more distant in the abdominal cavity. Since the hormones are everywhere in the system,

00:19

these endometrial implants then respond to the hormones every month, grow, and bleed.

00:26

The parts of the body where the endometrial implants are located are not designed to be exposed to blood.

00:32

The implant bleeding causes pain and can eventually lead to scar tissue and adhesion,

00:38

or structures that should slide easily past each other become fixed. And that can then lead to more pain.

00:46

So the symptoms include painful menstrual periods, menstrual, gastrointestinal, or urinary pain, loose stools

00:55

or painful stools with your periods, pain with sexual activities, heavy menstrual periods,

01:02

and sometimes infertility. Symptoms are variable from one woman to another. Some women have almost no symptoms.

01:10

And others, the symptoms, the pain, is so severe they have trouble carrying out daily living.

01:17

The degree or the extent of the implants also doesn't necessarily match the severity of the pain

01:23

or how heavy the periods are. [UPBEAT MUSIC]