When most people think of endometriosis, they think of the type that happens to impair fertility. This type is usually in the reproductive system. What many don’t know is that some of these women also have intestinal endometriosis.

This is when endometriosis implants grow on the outside, and sometimes on the inside, of the bowel. In many cases, these women might be diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome or another related condition, when they in fact have wide spread problems with endometriosis. In some cases, this can even be found as high as the small intestine.

If a woman is told that she has IBS, and she also has endometriosis, she may be getting the wrong diagnosis. If the IBS-like symptoms (bloating, gas, cramps, diarrhea) seem to only happen when a women is having her period, the IBS diagnosis might be wrong. There may also be bleeding from the rectum, during a woman’s cycle, and that is another sign that the endometriosis might be in the intestines as well as in the reproductive system. Along with those signs, there may be long periods of painful constipation.

Because this problem does mimic IBS, it can be hard to diagnosis. Only a smaller percentage of women with reproductive endometriosis will have it, so it is often not the first thing a physician will think of when a women mentions her symptoms.

IBS is known to flare up when a woman has her period, so that helps lead to the wrong diagnosis. There are times when ultrasound will not show intestinal endometriosis, so many doctors will miss it. It will become more obvious that the IBS diagnosis is not right when blockage of the intestines occurs or when the growth becomes so pronounced that it can finally be found.

Most women with intestinal endometriosis will not have to worry about blockage occurring, but it can happen. Only about one percent will ever have that problem. With or without blockage, this is quite a trying condition for anyone who has it and can be quite hard to live with before the proper diagnosis can be made.

Quite often there is intense pain around the time of menstruation that can leave women feeling incapacitated. The bloating, cramps, and pain are quite pronounced, but it is not just contained to the reproductive area. Once the proper diagnosis can be made, there are many things that can be done to treat it.

Treatment can include pain medications, and hormone therapy. A laparoscopy may be performed with this type of endometriosis, just as it is with reproductive-related endometriosis.  This is a simple surgery that will find and remove the growth (for biopsy), and it can sometimes be done through the belly button to minimize incision and recovery time.

Though treatment will offer some relief, and a patient may feel good for many years, intestinal endometriosis is likely to recur again. When this happens, hormone therapy and a laparoscopy will probably be needed again. In the unlikely case of a bowel obstruction, that obstruction must be removed immediately so the bowels can resume normal function.

Don’t forget to sign up for the free endometriosis newsletter that uncovers effective ways to help women combat endometriosis symptoms at Treating Your Endometriosis. You’ll also find more about the difference between intestinal endometriosis and endometriosis that effects the reproductive organs.