What Are Menstrual Disorders?
This term covers a range of problems linked to your cycle, including very painful periods and pelvic pain that lingers beyond your period. Endometriosis and fibroids are two of the most common causes of painful periods and heavy bleeding. If heavy or irregular bleeding is your main concern, the page on abnormal uterine bleeding covers that in more detail.
What Is Endometriosis?
Endometriosis happens when tissue similar to the lining of the uterus grows outside it, commonly on the ovaries and the lining of the pelvis. This tissue responds to monthly hormones, leading to inflammation and scarring. Symptoms vary widely and may include:
- Period pain that does not settle with over-the-counter pain relief
- Pain during or after sex
- Pain with bowel movements or urination, especially during your period
- Difficulty falling pregnant
- Ongoing tiredness
Ultrasound can show some forms of endometriosis, such as cysts on the ovaries. A laparoscopy is the only way to confirm the diagnosis with certainty, but many women start treatment based on their symptoms alone.
What Are Fibroids?
Fibroids are non-cancerous growths in the muscle of the uterus. They are very common, and many women never know they have them. Depending on their size and position, fibroids can cause heavy periods or a feeling of pressure that sends you to the bathroom more often. Some can affect fertility. A pelvic ultrasound is usually enough to find them and map their size.
How Are These Conditions Managed?
Management depends on your symptoms and whether you plan to fall pregnant. For endometriosis, hormonal treatment can calm the cycle and ease pain, while laparoscopic surgery can remove endometriosis tissue when symptoms persist, or fertility is affected.
Fibroids that cause no problems may simply be monitored. Troublesome fibroids can be treated to reduce bleeding, or removed through a myomectomy, which keeps the uterus in place. Both are described under gynaecological surgery.
Pelvic pain does not always have a gynaecological cause, so further tests or a referral may be suggested.
Could These Conditions Affect Your Fertility?
They can, although many women with these conditions conceive without help. If you are hoping to fall pregnant, a fertility assessment alongside treatment for your symptoms may be worth discussing. To talk through what you have been experiencing, make an appointment.