LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Endometriosis: Pain
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Endometriosis is a chronic disease that is difficult to diagnose and treat. Without treatment, endometriosis gets progressively worse in 65 - 80% of patients. Even with treatment, endometriosis continues to advance in 20% of patients. Cysts and implants may grow and spread to other parts of the pelvis, and in very severe cases, to the urinary or intestinal tracts. Eventually adhesions may form. These are dense, web-like structures of scar tissue that can attach to nearby organs and cause pain, infertility, and intestinal obstruction.
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Endometriosis is a disease that has emotional consequences for woman. The pain can debilitate some woman by affecting work and other relationships and disrupting normal activities. Sexual intercourse can be painful; some woman lose interest in sex to avoid the discomfort. In addition, the hormonal treatments for endometriosis can affect sexuality and be emotionally difficult. The side effects of these medications, some of which mimic menopause, can cause depression and inhibit sexual desire in some woman. The understanding and support of a partner, family, and friends are important to any woman with endometriosis.
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Endometriosis sometimes causes symptoms that seem to be unrelated to the disease, such as difficult bowel movements, painful urination, and shortness of breath. If the colon or stomach is involved, bowel movements may be difficult and painful. There may ... be blood in the stool. Likewise, endometrial tissue in the urinary tract can cause blood in the urine or pain while urinating. In the lungs, endometriosis can cause coughing, shortness of breath, and chest pain. Tissue can grow on abdominal scars and cause tenderness and swelling.
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Endometriosis can cause pain during intercourse, a condition known as dyspareunia. The thrusting motion can produce pain in an ovary bound by scar tissue to the top of the vagina, or in a tender nodule of endometriosis on one of the uterosacral ligaments, which hold the uterus in place. Anchored near the top of the vagina, the uterosacral ligaments attach the lowermost portion of the uterus and cervix to the sacrum, the triangular bone at the base of the spine. Dyspareunia may ... result from tender endometrial implants in the base of the pelvis near the top of the vagina.
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Endometriosis, or endo, occurs when the uterine lining (the endometrium) is found outside of the uterus. The misplaced tissue results in lesions that act in much the same fashion as the endometrium located in the uterus. During the menstrual cycle, misplaced tissue thickens and then sheds as it would in the uterus. However, because the blood has no way of leaving the body, it causes internal bleeding and inflammation. This leads to pain, scar tissue, bowel problems and infertility.
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Endometriosis is sometimes mistaken for other conditions that can cause pelvic pain, such as pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) or ovarian cysts. It may be confused with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), a condition that causes bouts of diarrhea, constipation and abdominal cramping. IBS can accompany endometriosis, which can complicate the diagnosis.
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