Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) vs. Endometriosis

There are many women who discover their IBS symptoms becoming bad to worse during their monthly period time. When this is seen, one can come to the inference that the problem comes from the reproductive organs and certainly not the bowel end. If you talk about Endometriosis, it can be called as a gynaecological ailment that is similar to IBS that can give symptoms like cramping and abdominal pain. Hence one can have any of the issue, which can get interchanged by the women; hence it is better to have the understanding of the two, which are discussed below:

Link between endometriosis and IBS

The fact is both of them are different to each other hence having a link in between the two is some link in between. Now, let’s understand the two to see if they are linked to each other. Endometriosis can be called as a condition wherein the endometrial tissues are seen growing over the body parts outside the uterus. Owing to this tissue (outside the uterus) it cannot be expelled out via the woman’s vagina during the time of period. This can inflame and lead to issues like cysts and adhesions. To make things bad, this tissue can be seen growing over the same hormones that can bring in this issue in the coming months. On the other side, IBS is a similar kind of condition found among women, which can be reported often when the women is seen having endometriosis. This draws some link in between the two.

Signs and symptoms of IBS vs. Endometriosis

• The women suffering from issues like the IBS are somewhat similar to the Endometriosis. Let’s check some of the symptoms of IBS as discussed in the following:
• You experience during the bowel movements
• You experience very much difficulty while having the bowel movement
• At times you can feel the severe amount of abdominal pain owing to the problem called endometriosis that can accompany with other symptoms like vomiting, diarrhoea and nausea.

While the women who are seen suffering from the issues of endometriosis can be reported with the following symptoms:

•         You can experience a strong abdominal pain and cramping, especially when you have your monthly period (dysmenorrhea), but more often you can find the pain lasting the entire cycle
•        You experience loads of pain during or after the sexual intercourse (dyspareunia)
•        For some women they may face the issue of infertility
•        One can even find issues like bladder difficulties

Difference between irritable bowel syndrome and endometriosis causes

Though both of these ailments can result to issues like cramping and abdominal pain, there can appear some vital differences in between the two disorders.  One of the research group has carried out a study for comparing the two ailments and found the difference between the two. The research study claimed that the women with IBS were more prone to report the condition than the ones with endometriosis patients. They face the following symptoms, which are very much different than the IBS.

•          Change in bowel habit including diarrhoea or constipation
•         Colicky pain
•         Nausea
•        Distension
•        Worsening of pain due to stress or food
•         Upper abdominal pain
•     When you talk about the other condition like endometriosis, the patient can experience the following symptoms:
•       These include bleeding found in between period
•         The increasing kind of pain owing to premenstrual phase of the menstrual cycles &
•        Tenderness found within the vagina

Diagnosing IBS and endometriosis pain

Once you experience the above symptoms, it is always better to report the same to your gynaecologist. These conditions can be easily diagnosed the best with the help of laparoscopy. Though most of the times the symptoms can be experienced much later after the advent of the problem. Therefore it is always better to be keen in discussing any changes in your gynaecological changes to the doctor.

Treatment for irritable bowel syndrome and endometriosis

Once these conditions are diagnosed, the doctor can start the treatment as per the intensity of the symptoms. It can be both the blend of consuming painkillers and hormone treatment options, which can depend upon the conditions. Many a times women do not report the conditions and avoid getting treated for the same. Surgery for these conditions is also one of the effective choice again depending upon the severity of the problem. These are often carried out via laparoscopic method and be can even carried out via the open surgery.