DistantNews
Support us
🇷🇸 Serbia /Health & Science

Endometriosis is not just a gynecological problem: Science confirms the mysterious symptoms of a disease that affects the whole body

From N1 Serbia · () Serbian

Translated from Serbian and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

In-depth Documents & data Context piece
  • Research indicates that endometriosis can affect organs throughout the body and produce a wide range of symptoms beyond reproductive problems.
  • A study using nearly 40,000 medical records found broader patterns of symptoms and health conditions among women diagnosed with endometriosis.
  • Researchers are identifying molecular signals in blood and saliva that could eventually support earlier diagnosis and a wider range of treatments.

For Julie Nash, endometriosis began with menstrual pain so severe that she vomited and spent hours in bed. More than a decade later, the 40-year-old Texas real-estate agent received a diagnosis, but the disease had brought a much wider collection of symptoms: extreme fatigue, constipation, constant urination, abdominal burning, and pain in her hips, leg, and lower back.

I lived on the couch, doing only the bare minimum for my children, ready to give up on life.

· Julie NashShe described the effect of years of severe endometriosis symptoms.

Nash told National Geographic that for years she “lived on the couch, doing only the bare minimum for my children, ready to give up on life.” Birth-control pills helped when taken continuously, but her symptoms only receded after extensive surgery last year. Her doctor removed lesions from her pelvis, parts of her large intestine, back muscles, stomach nerves, and other areas.

“I didn’t realize all those other problems were a result of endometriosis,” Nash said. Megan Wasson, a gynecological surgeon at Mayo Clinic in Phoenix, said doctors and patients too often treat endometriosis as a reproductive disease, focusing on it mainly when someone wants to become pregnant. In surgery, she has removed endometrial lesions from the lungs, intestines, spleen, and the pericardial sac around the heart.

I didn’t realize all those other problems were a result of endometriosis.

· Julie NashShe said she had not understood that her wider symptoms were linked to the disease.

“The inflammatory process that is endometriosis really can affect every single organ system,” Wasson said. “It can cause a whole host of symptoms that can significantly affect quality of life and make life very difficult for people.”

The inflammatory process that is endometriosis really can affect every single organ system.

· Megan WassonThe Mayo Clinic surgeon described the disease’s potential effects beyond reproductive organs.

Recent studies have reinforced patients’ experiences by documenting a long list of symptoms and associated health conditions. Researchers have also found an increasing number of molecular signals in blood and saliva. A University of California, San Francisco study compared anonymous electronic health records from almost 40,000 patients across six university health systems with records from women of similar ages without endometriosis. Women with the condition more often had heavy periods, ovarian cysts, infertility, and other gynecological problems.

It can cause a whole host of symptoms that can significantly affect quality of life and make life very difficult for people.

· Megan WassonShe explained the impact of endometriosis on patients’ daily lives.
About this summary

Originally published by N1 Serbia in Serbian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

More Stories

From Our Blog