If you think you might have endometriosis, you’re not alone. In the United States, approximately 11 percent of people with uteruses between ages 15 and 44 have been diagnosed with endometriosis, according to the Office on Women’s Health….CONTINUE READING
For many people, it’s painful and potentially disabling, forcing them to miss work, school, and other activities. Other people might experience what’s called “silent endometriosis” symptoms.
Endometriosis is a condition that occurs when the same tissue that lines the uterus grows outside the uterus itself. It can extend to pelvic organs, ovaries, the lining of the abdominal cavity and beyond.
“We don’t know exactly what causes it, but the theory is that menstrual blood, which goes out through the cervix, may be going through the fallopian tubes into the pelvic cavity instead,” said Dr. Jacquelyn Stone, MD, OB/GYN at Maven Clinic.
Standard endometriosis can cause intense menstrual cramps
(called dysmenorrhea), pain during sex, fatigue, excessive bleeding, pressure and more, but silent endometriosis is harder to recognize and can even be asymptomatic.
In fact, researchers found in a 2011 study published by Fertility and Sterility that a full 11 percent of surveyed women had the condition but were never diagnosed
with it. In the absence of noticeable symptoms, doctors have called the condition asymptomatic endometriosis or silent endometriosis — something that’s every bit as severe as its more vocal counterpart.
Often, this type of endometriosis is not diagnosed until it’s found during surgeries for other conditions, but if you know what to look for, you might be able to help your doctor spot it much sooner. Ahead are four subtle signs of silent endometriosis.
A version of this article was originally published in March 2018….CONTINUE READING