Endometriosis symptoms
Endometriosis can be symptomatic and asymptomatic. Moreover, symptoms do not correlate with the endometriosis stage. There are patients that suffer from both endometriosis and adenomyosis and symptoms can overlap. The main symptom of endometriosis is pain that varies in intensity from patient to patient. Symptoms include dysmenorrhea, dyspareunia, dysuria, and dyschezia, and of course, pelvic pain and infertility.
Some of the most common symptoms are:
- Pain before, during and after menstruation
- Pain during ovulation
- Pelvic pain
- Pain during intercourse
- Bloating
- Pain when urinating
- Painful stool movements
- Diarrhoea, constipation, blood in stool
- Leg and back pain
- Chest or shoulder pain
Endometriosis diagnosis
The diagnosis of endometriosis can be hard to make if the doctor does not have knowledge of endometriosis. On average it takes between 8-10 years until a patient with endometriosis is diagnosed. The delay in diagnosis is caused by several factors such as the lack of knowledge in both healthcare professionals and the general public. Moreover, endometriosis pain is considered to be normal menstrual pain.
The diagnosis of endometriosis can be obtained:
- based on the anamnesis and gynecological examination
- based on imaging examinations such as ultrasound and MRI for endometriosis;
- after laparoscopy and pathological examination
Not all forms of endometriosis are visible by imaging, and that the lack of clinical signs does not exclude the diagnosis of endometriosis. It is also important that both ultrasound/gynecological consultation and MRI to be performed by experienced specialists in endometriosis.