When Painful Periods Are a Sign of Endometriosis

Up to 90% of menstruating women have painful periods, so how do you know if you’re just one of the millions of ladies with “normal” aches and cramps or have a condition that warrants more attention?

While discomfort is common, you should never have to grit your teeth and bear intense pain. Painful periods can indicate several conditions, including endometriosis. 

Our Georgia-based Nile Women’s Health Care team explains the potential causes of painful periods and when they might indicate endometriosis.

Why do periods hurt?

Dysmenorrhea, the medical term for painful periods, is characterized by severe cramps and aches that can interfere with your daily activities. 

Primary dysmenorrhea, the most common type, usually starts soon after you begin menstruating. It’s linked to natural hormone-like substances called prostaglandins that trigger uterine contractions. 

Secondary dysmenorrhea, on the other hand, often develops later and is typically caused by reproductive system disorders.

Several factors contribute to painful periods:

• Hormonal imbalances
• Stress 
• Poor diet
• Lack of exercise 
• Fibroids 
• Ovarian abscess
• Twisted ovaries (ovarian torsion)
• Adenomyosis
• Intrauterine device (IUD) problems, like bladder perforation
• Pelvic inflammatory disease 
• Endometriosis

If your period pain is so severe that it affects your ability to perform daily tasks, it might be time to dig deeper. 

Our women’s healthcare experts can tell you whether your symptoms indicate a more serious condition, such as endometriosis. 

Could it be endometriosis?

Endometriosis occurs when tissue similar to the lining inside your uterus starts to grow outside it. It can be very painful, especially during menstruation, but how do you know if endometriosis is behind your painful periods? It helps to note the nature of the pain and the accompanying symptoms.

Endometriosis typically involves pelvic pain that starts before your period and extends beyond it, pain during intercourse, and pain with bowel movements or urination. You might experience heavy periods or bleeding between periods. Also, watch for:

• Lower back pain
• Diarrhea
• Fatigue

If these symptoms sound familiar, call us.

Diagnosing endometriosis can be tricky, so don’t try to do it alone. Many of the symptoms overlap with other conditions, so we use pelvic exams, ultrasounds, or laparoscopies to be sure. 

How we treat endometriosis

If we diagnose endometriosis, we plan your treatment based on your age, the severity of your symptoms, how long you’ve been experiencing them, and whether you plan to get pregnant.

Our Nile Women’s Health Care team offers several options, including:

1. Pain relievers: For mild symptoms, over-the-counter pain medications, such as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), can offer relief by reducing inflammation and managing pain. We typically recommend these as a first step when symptoms don’t significantly affect daily life.
2. Hormonal therapies: By reducing or eliminating menstruation, hormonal treatments, such as birth control pills, hormonal IUDs, and gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonists, slow endometrial tissue growth. We recommend these options if you’re not immediately planning to become pregnant.
3. Fertility treatments: If you have endometriosis and are struggling to conceive, we may suggest fertility treatments such as in vitro fertilization (IVF). 
4. Conservative surgery: If hormonal treatments don’t work or you’re trying to preserve your fertility, we can use minimally invasive surgical options to remove endometrial growths while keeping your reproductive organs intact. 
5. Hysterectomy: In severe cases where other treatments have failed and childbearing isn’t a concern, we may recommend a hysterectomy using robotic surgery. 

Don’t live with painful periods. Call Nile Women’s Health Care in Roswell or Johns Creek, Georgia, and determine why your periods hurt, whether it’s endometriosis, and what to do about it.