It's really sad that some teenagers are told that they are 'too young to have endometriosis'. They don't get the help they need and suffer a lot of period pain.
Doctors used to think that endometriosis was an uncommon problem of women in their 30s and 40s. We now know that's not true. Endometriosis in teenagers is common, but it can be difficult to see at a laparoscopy and almost never shows on an ultrasound.
Some period pain with periods on the first day of a period can be normal, but if you have any of the following problems, you could have endometriosis:
* Period pain that lasts more than 1-2 days each month
* Period pain that doesn't get better on the contraceptive pill
* Period pain that doesn't get much better on period pain medications like diclofenac, ibuprofen, mefenamic acid or naproxen.
If you have bad periods, the teen website at endometriosis new zealand has teenagers just like you. Check out www.me.school.nz
Best wishes,
Dr Susan Evans
Friday, October 16, 2009
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Bladder Troubles
Many women with endometriosis also have bladder troubles. These can start even after all the endometriosis has been removed. The sort of troubles they have include:
1. Frequency (going to the toilet a lot)
2. Urgency (needing to rush to the toilet)
3. Nocturia (getting up at night to go to the toilet)
It's also common to have pain with intercourse because the bladder is painful and pressing on it during intercourse causes pain.
Some women have times when their bladder is especially bad and they think they have a urine infection. If the urine is collected, often there is no infection found. Just a bit of blood in the urine.
This problem if often due to a condition called Interstitial Cystitis. If you have this problem, there is lots that can be done. We would love to hear your story.
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