People with endometriosis can have different symptoms. The severity of symptoms is often related to the location of endometriosis in the body. It’s common for symptoms to progress over time.
On this page, you’ll learn more about common symptoms of endometriosis and what may increase the likelihood of developing the condition.
Common symptoms of endometriosis
Causes of endometriosis
Can you prevent endometriosis?
Endometriosis and other health conditions
Pain is a common symptom of endometriosis. It can include:
With endometriosis, you may experience other symptoms, such as:
Use this handy guide to note which symptoms are affecting you and how much. Take it with you when you visit your doctor.
Most women with endometriosis experience the same menopausal symptoms as women without endometriosis. But some women with endometriosis may have increased pelvic pain in the lead-up to menopause.
In most cases, endometriosis symptoms will improve after menopause.
It’s rare, but sometimes endometriosis can return with the use of menopausal hormone therapy (MHT).
Some women who have endometriosis also have persistent pelvic pain (PPP). PPP is pain in your pelvis that’s felt most days and lasts for more than 6 months. If you have PPP, we have lots of information to help you understand the problem and manage your pain.
If your endometriosis symptoms stop you from doing day-to-day activities, for example, work, study or exercise, see your doctor. It’s also a good idea to see your doctor if your symptoms are getting worse or making you feel anxious or depressed.
We don’t know the exact cause of endometriosis, but some factors may increase the likelihood of developing it.
When you have a period, blood flows out of your vagina. But it can also flow backwards along your fallopian tubes into your pelvis. In 90% of women, the blood, which contains endometrial cells, is absorbed or broken down. But for some women, endometrial tissue grows outside the uterus, which can cause a range of symptoms.
One study has shown that women who have a close relative, such as a mother or sister, with endometriosis are 7 to 10 times more likely to develop the condition.
If your immune system doesn’t stop the growth of endometrial tissue outside your uterus, you can develop endometriosis.
Endometriosis can’t be prevented, but some factors may reduce your risk of developing the condition. For example:
The risk of endometriosis developing may also decrease with each pregnancy. This might be due to an increase in the progesterone hormone in the body during pregnancy.
Endometriosis can affect different people in different ways. While pelvic pain is the most common symptom, women with endometriosis have a higher risk of other pain conditions, such as migraine. Back, bladder and bowel pain are also common in women with endometriosis.
Women with endometriosis also have an increased risk of health conditions such as uterine fibroids and adenomyosis.
Uterine fibroids are non-cancerous tumours that grow into the wall of the uterus.
Adenomyosis is a condition where tissue that normally lines the uterus grows into the muscle wall of the uterus.
Research suggests that women with endometriosis have an increased risk of:
This content has been reviewed by a group of medical subject matter experts, in accordance with Jean Hailes policy.
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