Health Care

ByShelley Ross

It’s not surprising for women to experience endometriosis with IBS (irritable bowel syndrome). Although each has its own notable characteristics, they are conditions that do have some common features.

So, it is important to identify the detailed symptoms both these conditions understand whether you have endometriosis, IBS or both.

The word irritable does not do justice to this digestive ailment. Infuriated or long-suffering seem like more appropriate adjectives for the bowel of someone with irritable bowel syndrome or IBS. Just reading a list of possible symptoms can start to make you feel a bit queasy.

You can have diarrhea or constipation, or the two can alternate and your stools can be hard and lumpy or soft and watery. For you, the call of nature can be abrupt — so abrupt that you just might not make it to the toilet in time. And even after you defecate, you may feel as though you haven’t eliminated fully. To top it all off, you may have abdominal pain, cramping and bloating. You can have one of these symptoms, a few of them or all of them. You may have them nonstop, frequently or every now and then.

Approximately 5 million Americans have IBS. The condition prompts approximately 3.5 million visits to a doctor’s office per year, with 20 to 50 % of all visits made to gastroenterologists. Interestingly, the condition is found in more women than men.

Taking the last factor into account, it is not surprising for women with endometriosis to experience IBS at the same time. In fact, studies reveal that women significantly show IBS symptoms during normal menstruation. With this, health experts say that reproductive hormones can definitely play a role in the development of endometriosis along with IBS.

Endometriosis and IBS may manifest with the same symptoms. There may even be the same level of pain. Endometriosis and IBS may have the following symptoms:

1. crampy abdominal pain

2. loss of appetite

3. severe piercing rectal pain

4. nausea (although this is not common)

5. increased gas

6. diarrhea

7. painful bowel movements

8. identifiable bloating

Most women also complain of constipation that seems to show a connection with the menstrual cycle. Rectal bleeding could also be a sign of both disorders.

Endometriosis is characterized by endometrial tissue that grows outside the uterus. This tissue resembles that of the endometrium, a thin lining found in the uterus. Development of endometriosis implants outside the uterus can be found anywhere in the body, including the intestines. This can minic the signs of IBS.

However, statistical reports show that up to 30% of women with endometriosis in the United States are affected with IBS as well.

So, to diagnose whether endometriosis with IBS is the cause of your problems, it is important to undergo some laboratory procedures to identify definite signs of both conditions. One of the best ways is to have a laparoscopy. With this, proper diagnosis can be made and treatment recommendations given.

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