Endometriosis is the presence of endometrial tissue, tissue that lines the inside of the uterus, in areas other than the uterus. Endometriosis is most often found in the pelvis near the uterus, but the gastrointestinal (GI) tract is the most common site for endometriosis. Ken Sinervo, M.D. of the Center for Endometriosis Care estimates that 10 to 15 percent of endometriosis sufferers have endometriosis in the GI tract. Symptoms of gastrointestinal endometriosis can mimic many other gastrointestinal diseases and may worsen during menstrual periods.
Abdominal Symptoms
Endometriosis can cause a number of abdominal symptoms, which depend on the exact location and the degree to which the endometrial implants have invaded the bowel. Small intestine lesions also cause different symptoms than those on the large intestine. Abdominal symptoms commonly associated with endometriosis include bloating, pain, cramping, nausea and vomiting. Bloating and cramping are often signs of endometriosis in the small intestine, according to David Redwine, M.D. Endometriosis occurs in the appendix in up to 20 percent of endometriosis cases, Sinervo states, and can cause lower right quadrant pain.
Bowel Symptoms
Endometriosis in the GI tract can disrupt normal bowel function. Symptoms vary according to location but include constipation, diarrhea, rectal pain during defecation and rectal bleeding that may occur. The rectum and recto-sigmoid junction, the area where the rectum and large intestine meet, are the most common locations of endometriosis in the GI tract, according to lead author Melih Paksoy, M.D. of Instanbul University in a 2005 article published in the "Mount Sinai Journal of Medicine." Painful bowel movements and pain when sitting and during sex can be a sign of endometriosis in the rectum, David Redwine explains. Diarrhea and constipation may alternate when endometriosis is found in the sigmoid colon, the part of the large intestine nearest the rectum.
Bowel Obstruction
The most serious problem associated with gastrointestinal endometriosis is bowel obstruction in the small intestine. If endometriosis develops on and around the small intestine, the movement of the small intestine can be restricted, and kinks and bends may develop. Symptoms of bowel obstruction include the inability to eat more than a small amount of food at a time, lower abdominal pain, bloating and vomiting. Bowel obstruction can result in perforation of the bowel and peritonitis of the abdominal cavity, Paksoy states. Bowel perforation can be a life-threatening complication.
