📷 OMG! The uterine clock is ticking. It’s that time of the month again when you want to stick to the corner of your bed with heavy menstrual cramps in your stomach. It is quite common for women to have painful menstrual cramps, but what if the cramps become increasingly more severe and unbearable day by day. It may be a sign of an underlying medical problem in the female pelvic organs and may affect the ability to have a beautiful baby.
Menstrual cramps, also known as dysmenorrhoea, are agonising, excruciating, and continuous pains in the lower abdomen. Dysmenorrhoea can be divided into two types – – Primary dysmenorrhoea causes mild to moderate pain, and – Secondary dysmenorrhoea leads to severe pain and is usually related to another medical condition that affects your fertility
Endometriosis is a common medical condition that causes painful periods. It occurs when endometrial tissue (lining of the womb) grows outside the uterus. This leads to hormone fluctuation, heavy bleeding, scarring tissue, and unbearable pain. If the cause behind your painful menstrual cramps is endometriosis, you might also be at risk of fertility problems. Most women ignore the symptoms and consider it normal, leaving it untreated for years.
Similar to endometriosis, the endometrium grows within the muscular wall of the uterus in Adenomyosis. While the exact cause of the disease remains unknown, it is believed to be caused due to fluctuations of progesterone, FSH, and oestrogen levels in a woman’s body. This condition causes lower abdominal pain, painful cramps, heavy periods, and bloating during menstruation and affects fertility in a few women.
Fibroids refer to abnormal muscular growth that develops in or on the woman’s uterus, cervix, and pelvic ligaments. While these tumours are typically benign and non-cancerous, sometimes they can be large and cause extreme abdominal pain and heavy bleeding during periods. Apart from the pain, fibroid also lowers fertility and raises the risk of miscarriage. However, few women may experience no signs and symptoms, and, hence, the medical condition may go unnoticed until they have an incidental finding in the scan.