Can endometriosis symptoms start during pregnancy?
I had surgery for severe endometriosis several years ago, after being really sick for a few years. (Yes, this pregnancy was a complete, but wonderful, surprise 10 years after major surgery) Endo is miserable, and I wish you all the best! Only a doctor can tell you for certain, but from what I know, I really don’t think it can start during pregnancy. Endometriosis occurs when uterine tissue (endometrium) implants itself outside the uterus: on your ovaries, tubes, bowel, bladder…anywhere it shouldn’t be. This happens when some of the uterine lining backs up through the tubes instead of exiting the body during your menstrual cycle. (lovely, isn’t it?!) During your period, these implants cramp and bleed – just like the tissue inside your uterus. When you’re pregnant, your uterus isn’t shedding its lining, so it’s unlikely (though not impossible) that uterine tissue is entering your abdominal cavity through the fallopian tubes. Also, during pregnancy your body makes a lot of the pregnancy
Well, It could be that you’ve had Endo all along but weren’t aware of it b/c pregnancy is actually “good” for Endo and keeps symptoms at bay. Now that you’re not pregnant any more, it could be that the Endo is rearing its ugly head. Ultrasounds really aren’t the best way to determine Endo. In fact, most insurance companies won’t agree to an Endo diagnosis if it was “only” done with an ultrasound. The only way to know 100% for sure if you have Endo is through a laproscopy. I never knew I had Endo until I was having problems with TTC after a miscarriage at 20 weeks about 2 1/2 years ago. I have a healthy 9 year old little boy. When we would have sex, I would have spotting right afterward. I always had extremely heavy periods (flooding through a super plus tampon in 30 minutes, etc), but I just thought that everyone had them like that. They did my lap in June of 07 and found Stage 2 Endo. I was totally surprised but it also helped explain a lot! I did a series of Lupron shots for 6 months
