Signs of endometriosis

Endometriosis disease, if mild, sometimes has no symptoms or sometimes makes women extremely uncomfortable, especially during menstruation. It is also a cause of female infertility.

Endometriosis is defined as finding cells that are endometrial in nature, also affected by cyclical female hormones, but located in a location other than the uterus. The location of ectopic endometrial cells can be in the muscular layers of the uterine wall, in the lower part near the cervix, in the lumen of the fallopian tubes, or even on the surface of the ovary. In addition, there are a few cases where endometrial tissue is found on the surface of the abdominal organs.
Statistics have estimated that 1 in 10 women have signs of endometriosis and it is most common in women aged 40 to 50 years.

Normally, the lining of the uterus is usually thickest during the last days of the cycle. On the day a woman notices menstrual bleeding, the first day of a new cycle is marked. Menstruation will take place in an average of 3 to 5 days after that. At this time, the endometrium will become the thinnest. Under the influence of ovarian hormones, the endometrial layer will gradually increase, preparing favorable conditions for the egg to be fertilized and implanted. In the event that the egg is not fertilized, the thick and spongy endometrial layer will suddenly peel off, forming menstrual blood that is expelled and a new menstrual cycle begins.

Accordingly, in each woman's menstrual cycle, even if it is out of place, the cells still retain their nature as a normal endometrial layer, so they are still under the influence of ovarian hormones. Therefore, until the day of menstruation, the ectopic endometrial layer still peels off to form menstrual blood. However, this amount of menstrual blood is not expelled but becomes blocked again causing symptoms. Depending on the amount of ectopic tissue more or less, the location where it manifests in each woman with endometriosis will be different. However, up to a third of women do not have any symptoms, while for others, the signs of endometriosis can interfere with everyday life even if they are not. is menstruating. In such cases, the diagnosis of endometriosis was discovered incidentally when the patient was examined for other reasons, including delayed pregnancy.
The signs of endometriosis are noted as follows:
Heavy menstrual bleeding Always dysmenorrhea on menstrual days Heavy menstrual bleeding Pain during sex Sometimes irregular bleeding mid cycle Uterus dilatation and tenderness Pelvic pain Sensation of pressure on bladder and rectum Pain during bowel movements Persistent chronic anemia It is fortunate that most signs of The endometriosis mentioned above usually improves and disappears as a woman enters perimenopause and menopause. This is when a woman's estrogen levels naturally drop.

To date, the causes of endometriosis are not well defined. However, several hypotheses about this pathology have been put forward as follows:
Abnormal fetal development: Endometriosis may have formed before the formation of the uterus. This means that a female fetus is born with endometriosis but does not show symptoms until puberty. Inflammation: Inflammation that occurs in a woman's uterus can also cause the endometrium to proliferate out of place. Interventions in the uterus and appendages: Real, surgical procedures that invade the endometrium can also spread stray cells to another place. In addition, when a woman has the following risk factors, she is more likely to develop endometriosis:
Having multiple pregnancies. The structural changes of the uterus during pregnancy make adenomyosis more likely. Age. Although the condition can affect women of any age, most women diagnosed with endometriosis are between the ages of 40 and 50. Uterine surgery. Having had previous surgery on the uterus, including a cesarean section, significantly increases your risk of developing endometriosis.

Endometriosis can often be diagnosed by ultrasound in addition to a typical history with the symptoms described above. With the ultrasound probe, the doctor will examine the lining of the uterus and the structure of the muscular layers of the uterine wall as well as the structure of the appendages. In case there are abnormal structures and changes with the menstrual cycle, there is peeling phenomenon, the possibility of endometriosis is very high. In addition, other imaging modalities such as magnetic resonance imaging will be useful to examine areas that are vague or unclear under ultrasound.
Once the diagnosis is confirmed, without treatment endometriosis can remain the same, not progress further and the symptoms cannot be improved. However, treatment will not be necessary if a woman is completely asymptomatic, meaning endometriosis is an incidental finding. Besides, treatment is also not indicated when the woman is not planning to become pregnant or is about to go through menopause. That's when most women, if they have ever had signs of endometriosis, will see a significant gradual reduction compared to before.

In short, endometriosis is also a common gynecological disease. With the development of modern medicine, this disease is generally relatively simple to diagnose and intervene. To do so, women need to have knowledge to recognize early signs of endometriosis so that they can go to the doctor early to ensure long-term reproductive health for themselves.
In order to help customers detect and treat other gynecological diseases early, Vinmec International Hospital has a basic gynecological examination and screening package, helping customers detect early inflammatory diseases Easy, inexpensive treatment. Screening detects gynecological cancer (cervical cancer) early even when there are no symptoms.