Mens Health Blog. Medical Blog » Women’s Health

THE SYMPTOMS OF PMS

admin — Sat, 07 May 2011 11:41:36 +0000

There are so many symptoms associated with PMS that diagnosing the condition is not always easy. Some medical textbooks list up to 150 symptoms that have been associated with the condition and many of the symptoms of PMS are also found in other illnesses.

Headache, insomnia, feeling ‘low’, irritability, and sugar cravings are not only felt by women with PMS. Men, children and women without PMS may all experience these symptoms.

The key definition of PMS, now accepted by most doctors, is that symptoms occur only in the two weeks before a period and that there are absolutely no symptoms for at least seven days after a period has started.

Symptoms tend to fall into two categories: physical and psychological. Given the huge number and range of symptoms associated with PMS, it is not surprising that it is sometimes confused with other conditions. Indeed some conditions, such as depression, may be masked because a woman also has PMS or mistakes her symptoms of diary. No good practitioner would diagnose PMS until a monthly pattern to the symptoms has been established.

Doctors are also reluctant to treat PMS unless the symptoms are severe enough to significantly alter a woman’s lifestyle. Many women who experience irritability, or fatigue, or who gain weight before a period will not be diagnosed as having PMS because these symptoms are regarded as normal.

However, that does not mean you have to stand by and do nothing. There is plenty you can do to ease these problems .

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HYSTERECTOMY FOR ENDOMETRIOSIS: PRO”Hysterectomy Was a Good Choice for Me”.

admin — Sat, 12 Mar 2011 11:10:10 +0000

This story is an ironic one. Thirty-two years old at the time, a mother of three children, and a career woman, Annette believed that a hysterectomy would end the pain of endometriosis and she insisted on surgery, although her doctor did not think it was in order at all. As Annette tells it, her story goes this way:
“I was diagnosed as having endometriosis six years ago, right after the birth of my third child,” she said, “ft finally cleared up the mystery of all the pain I’d been having for years. Then an ovarian cyst ruptured and I had to have emergency surgery. At the same time, I had my uterus suspended and some nerves cut.
“Instead of getting better, things got worse. I had an enlarged uterus and unbelievable pain and heavy bleeding,” she continued. “I felt so bad, I couldn’t have sex, i was barely a mother to my children, and life was hardly livable. I went to two doctors who both said hysterectomy was the only answer. That bothered me a lot. A hysterectomy at twenty-nine years of age? This sounded drastic to me.
“Then I went to another doctor who I heard was opposed to hysterectomy. He put me on Danocrine and 1 took it on and off for three years. It helped somewhat, but the drug made me feel depressed and I still had pain in the one remaining ovary. Then I started to hemorrhage. I wanted a hysterectomy, to be free of the cramps, pain, and bleeding. My doctor wouldn’t do it, so I went back to the first doctor, and he did it a week later.
“I felt about a hundred times better the day after surgery,” Annette said. “And I believe I had no real choice about whether or not to have a hysterectomy, even if one doctor was against it. 1 was in severe pain for years and disabled by bleeding. Keeping my uterus seemed less critical to me than ending these problems—they were just ruining my life. I still have one ovary, so my hormone levels arc normal. Most of all, I feel I wasted time when my husband and children saw me debilitated and in pain for years.
“I think this kind of surgery is a personal matter, I am usually happy about my decision to have a hysterectomy, but there are moments when I am ambivalent about it I have come to understand that this ambivalence is normal. There are times when I feel sad knowing I could never have another child. There are times when f fear that there could be a chance that my remaining ovary will be destroyed by endometriosis and will have to be removed. Then I remember how much pain I was in every day and I know I did the right thing for me.”
Although she worries about endometriosis spreading to this organ, Annette is generally optimistic. She is attuned to the possible symptoms resulting from hysterectomy that might affect her, such as weight gain and diminished sex drive, but thus far, she has not experienced these reactions. (In fact, since she is finally free of persistent pain, she feels an increased sex drive.) One factor in her favor is a functioning ovary that is supplying enough estrogen and progesterone for her needs. Annette is lucky. Her hysterectomy did not put her into a traumatic state of sudden and premature menopause, and she is feeling healthy.
These cases are dissimilar, but both women were suffering from symptoms of endometriosis that were difficult to live with, was hysterectomy really the answer for Annette and Penny? The indicators for hysterectomy in cases of endometriosis are:
• when Danocrine or other hormonal therapies do not work and the woman is suffering from debilitating pain
• when a woman does not respond to laser surgery or conservative surgery
• when more than one endometriosis specialist evaluates the case and reels a hysterectomy will help
Even then, it may or may not be the answer. As I have stated, hysterectomy should be the last resort, and ideally done at an age when a woman has completed childbearing and is closer to natural menopause.
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SYMPTOMS OF ENDOMETRIOSIS: DYSMENORRHOEA AND DYSPAREUNIA

admin — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 05:09:38 +0000

Dysmenorrhoea

Dysmenorrhoea means painful periods. It is the most common symptom of endometriosis. In a recent survey of women with endometriosis by the Endometriosis Association, 81% of the women had experienced dysmenorrhoea.

According to medical textbooks there are two types of dysmenorrhoea: primary and secondary.

Primary dysmenorrhoea is said to be the ‘cramping’ type of dysmenorrhoea that typically affects teenagers. It usually begins a year or two after the onset of menstruation and tends to lessen by the age of 25, or after childbirth. The pain usually begins with the menstrual flow and lasts for only one or two days. It is often accompanied by nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, dizziness and fainting. This type of dysmenorrhoea is generally believed by the medical profession to have no relationship to endometriosis.

Secondary dysmenorrhoea is the ‘grinding’ or ‘boring’ type of menstrual pain which is usually due to an underlying condition of the reproductive organs. According to the medical profession it typically appears in women who are in their 20s and 30s. This is the type of dysmenorrhoea that is generally believed to be associated with conditions such as pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), fibroids and endometriosis.

The pain of dysmenorrhoea due to endometriosis may be mild, moderate or severe and may be described as constant, deep inside, sharp, stabbing, knife-like, nagging, aching, burning, throbbing, dull, boring or cramping. It may be located in the centre or on one or both sides of the abdomen. The pain may radiate into the vulva, pubic bone, lower back, rectum, buttocks, groin or thighs. It may be more severe when using the bowels or passing urine, and may be accompanied by nausea, vomiting, and diarrhoea and/or constipation.

The pain may begin one to several days before the start of the period, gradually becoming more severe, particularly once the menstrual flow begins. The pain may last for the first one to two days or continue throughout the entire period. Usually the pain is most severe on the first or second day. It has been reported that the pain worsens and peaks at the end of the period although this pattern is not common.

It is not known precisely what causes the dysmenorrhoea associated with endometriosis but it is probably due to several reasons. One is that the bleeding from the endometrial implants causes irritation to the surrounding tissues. Another possibility is that the pressure resulting from the swelling of the implants and cysts causes pain in the immediate area in much the same way that a boil causes pain. It is also possible that the release by the endometrial implants of chemicals known as prostaglandins causes pain. Irritation to neighboring organs, such as the bowel or bladder, by the implants of endometriosis can also lead to pain in those organs.

Dyspareunia

Dyspareunia means painful sexual intercourse. It is another common, but often unacknowledged, symptom of endometriosis. In the survey conducted by the Endometriosis Association nearly half (48%) of the women with endometriosis had experienced dyspareunia.

Dyspareunia often causes much heartache for women with endometriosis and it can have devastating effects on their self-esteem and their sexual relationships.

Dyspareunia due to endometriosis may be felt during or after intercourse and may be so severe as to make intercourse impossible. The pain maybe described as sharp, stabbing, jabbing, or a deep aching. Intercourse may always cause pain or only when intercourse occurs at certain times of the month – for example, during menstruation or at ovulation. The pain may be felt only during deep penetration but it may also be felt during any form of intercourse, particularly if the uterus is rigidly fixed by adhesions in a retroverted position.

Dyspareunia is usually associated with endometriosis in the Pouch of Douglas, the utero-sacral ligaments and the rectovaginal septum. It may also be associated with cysts or implants on the ovaries, vagina or cervix.

If the endometriosis is located in the Pouch of Douglas, the utero-sacral ligaments or the recto-vaginal septum the pain may be due to stretching or jarring of the endometriosis on those tissues.

If cysts are located on the ovary the pain may be due to compression of those cysts, particularly if the ovary is rigidly held in position by adhesions. In addition, penetration may cause some implants to bleed slightly and this may cause pain for some time after intercourse.

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