What's endometriosis?

 Endometriosis is a disease where cells similar to those in the uterine lining begin growing outside the uterus, on other parts of the body. These cells still behave as if they are in the uterus, so when a monthly period comes around, these cells bleed. Since they’re in the wrong spot, with no exit point, the blood is stuck inside the body—which is incredibly painful.

On a very high level, endometriosis is essentially internal bleeding or monthly hemorrhaging. Do those words grab your attention more than “uterine-like cells in other places”? Good, because that’s what’s happening to people with endo.

Endometriosis, or endo for short, wreaks havoc on the body. Endo turns on an inflammatory response system, creates blood supplies, distorts muscles and takes over the body’s systems in a very sophisticated way. 

Symptoms of endometriosis include:

  • Painful periods
  • Pelvic pain
  • Abdominal pain
  • Constipation
  • Diarrhea
  • Pain with bowel movements
  • Urinary frequency and/or urgency
  • Bloating (search for #endobelly on Instagram to learn more)
  • Painful intercourse
  • Infertility or sub-fertility (difficulty getting pregnant)
  • Fatigue, low energy, malaise, brain fog
  • Painful ovluation
  • Heavy or irregular periods
  • Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS)
  • Lower back pain
  • Leg pain, especially tingling pain in the legs
Interestingly, endometriosis symptoms are not related to the severity of the condition. One woman with stage 1 endo might have all of the symptoms above, and another person with stage 4 endo might have no symptoms. ​

Mental Health Considerations

It’s worth noting that due to the chronic nature of endometriosis and its impacts on quality of life, women with endometriosis may experience:
  • Depression
  • Anxiety
  • Social withdrawal and isolation
  • Suicidal thoughts/attempts
  • Body image issues
  • PTSD
Endometriosis is a full body disease. Do not overlook mental and spiritual facets when creating your endometriosis treatment plan. 

How is endometriosis managed?

The is no cure for endometriosis, so if anyone is selling one, don’t buy it. That’s the bad news. 
The hard news is endometriosis symptoms can be managed, and somewhat held at bay, through a holistic, full-body treatment approach, but it takes a lot of work and money. 
It’s likely going to require some combination of:
  • Pain management – painkillers, hormonal birth control, CBD/THC, etc.
  • Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy
  • Diet – AIP diet, elimination diet, supplements, etc.  
  • Lifestyle – exercise, stress management, toxic-free product selections, clothing modifications, massage, acupuncture, talk therapy, etc. 
  • Excision Surgery

Please remember: endometriosis affects every person differently. Your treatment plan will require trial and error. Side effects should not be ignored. Prepare to do a lot of work until you find something that works for you. There are somewhat limited options available for endowarriors and many of them can lead to addiction. Please be careful. 

How is endometriosis diagnosed?

Unfortunately, the only way to get the official diagnosis of endometriosis is to undergo laparoscopic surgery and tissue pathology. There is not a blood test, ultrasound or other way to definitively diagnosis the condition.

That said, we can make some assumptions. 

My first gynecologist told me I likely had endo when I was 16. I didn't have surgery to confirm that until I was 31. In the meantime I was doing all the work and developing my treatment plan. If you think you have endo, you're next stop does not need to be the operating room. 

There's a short test you can take on the Resources page to determine if you have abnormally painful periods, a hallmark of endometriosis.