Welcome back to the Doctor Rich channel. Today, we’re going to talk about three CRAZY symptoms of endometriosis — that you’ve probably never heard of! In this video, get ready to see what these three unusual symptoms are, when and why they might present, and keep reading till the end so you can find out what you can do if you have any of these symptoms.
Don’t have time to read this post? Watch the video here instead!
Doctor Rich:
Number one: diarrhea — but only during your period.
So this is a sign of endometriosis in almost all circumstances. In fact, any symptom that only arises in and around your period has a likelihood to be related to endometriosis. Now, if you don’t know what endometriosis is, make sure you check out our primer video here.
Menstrual fluid and tissue will come out during your period every month. Sometimes, that tissue backs out through the tubes and implants in places inside the pelvis. These places can include the last part of your large bowel (called the sigmoid and rectum). When this disease implants on the rectal and the sigmoid tissue, it can cause a great deal of inflammation. This can cause stimulation and peristalsis within the small and large bowel that doesn’t allow the normal process of solid stool formation — and results in liquid stool (i.e., diarrhea) only occurring when these implants are being inflamed on your period.
Now, episodic or periodic diarrhea is often misdiagnosed as irritable bowel syndrome. But if the cyclicity (or the recurrence) syncs up exactly with your periods, IBS is much less likely, and you’re way more likely to have endometriosis of the bowel.
Number two (question by viewer U. F. Bénie): “What if I have hip pain at night during my period?”
That is a challenging one! It’s certainly a rare presentation of endometriosis, but it certainly could be explained by endometriosis infiltrating all the way through the peritoneum into the nerves and muscles (sciatic nerve, pudendal nerve, piriformis, and urogenital diaphragm). The disease itself can actually cause pain in the deep pelvis — or even hip. This type of endometriosis is extremely difficult to diagnose, extremely difficult to treat, and only the most specialized of endometriosis surgeons can successfully treat this condition.
Number three: Viewer Lil Neets asks about “severe pain in the bum.”
So patients with endometriosis can complain about a lightning (or a shocking or a stinging) pain in the rectum that can be associated with their periods — or just throughout their cycle. Now, this doesn’t necessarily have to be endometriosis. There can be muscle spasm issues and neuropathic pain, but if it’s correlated on your periods — there’s a likely cause that the endometriosis (for the same reason that the inflammation can cause diarrhea) can stimulate the nerve endings and give you the shocking pain in your rectum, anus, and your bum.
I want to thank Erin, U.F., and Lil for leaving their comments and sharing their stories!
But what do you do if you have these symptoms? Well, as I’ve mentioned, you really need to seek an opinion with a highly subspecialized endometriosis surgeon — as they are going to be the ones that will be able to manage, diagnose, and treat these rare but complicated types of endometriosis.
So please drop your comments and share your story or write your log in the comments section of this video.
