What is Endometriosis?

I am writing this post as I am sitting here with my belly feeling bloated, distended, hard and round. In the world of endometriosis, this symptom is known as endo belly. It is just one of the many symptoms that I experience from having endometriosis.

So, what is endometriosis? By definition, endometriosis is a disorder in which tissue similar to the tissue that forms the lining of your uterus grows outside of your uterine cavity. Basically these tissue adhesions form outside the uterus and adhere to other parts of your internal organs and cause irritation, scar tissue, severe pain, bloating and fertility problems. It can be especially painful when you are on your menstrual period.

From my experience, endometriosis is something that I didn’t know existed and when I found out, I had difficulty understanding it. It is a disease that is “invisible”, so many people won’t even understand it. It is something that can literally put you out of commission and cancel any plans you have for the day.

You or your doctor may suspect that you have endometriosis if you have any symptoms I listed above, or the doctor may discover adhesions during an image exam and suspect endometriosis. The only way to confirm for sure if you have endometriosis is through a laparoscopy, which is a type of surgery that doctors can use to look inside your pelvic area to see endometriosis tissue. This laparoscopic surgery is the only way to be sure you have endometriosis.

There is no cure for this disease, but there ways to manage it and reduce the symptoms. I want to start a series on what I’ve been doing to reduce my symptoms and just share what I’ve been through in hopes of helping someone else who has just discovered they have endometriosis. There are plenty of articles about this disease, but to hear about personal experiences helped me and I’ve learned through other’s trials and triumphs. So I want to share as well.

This is just an intro to endometriosis, but I plan to share more about this disease and how I am learning to live with it. Do you know anyone who has endometriosis, or is this your first time hearing about this disease?