bmj-case-reports

Endometriosis & the Appendix

| Bloomin' Uterus
Diagram of the appendix

Here I go again, once more intrigued by Endometriosis growing in odd places inside the body.  Today I’m going to focus on the appendix.  I’ve read that many Warriors have their appendix removed because physicians may confuse Endometriosis pain for the symptoms of appendicitis.  But on Tuesday an article hit my email about Endometriosis growing on the appendix…and I became obsessed.

Please remember: I don’t write this to scare you, or freak you out, or say that all of your right-sided abdominal pain is from Appendix Endo.  Take a deep breath – I like to document these things in case anyone would like to discuss it further with their healthcare providers so they may be aware during surgery.  Appendiceal Endometriosis is considered extremely rare and it is suspected that only 1-3% of all cases of Endometriosis involve the appendix.  But…knowledge is power.

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Endometriosis & The Bowel

| Bloomin' Uterus
Diagram of human bowels

As you may know, Endometriosis is not limited to just your reproductive bits & pieces.  It can implant, grow, and fester in many places; the bowel included.  But what does that mean? How do you know if it’s on your bowel?  Today’s blog will go into that…Read on, dear Reader…read on.  Word of warning : I will be using words like fart and poop! Why dance around the subject with flowery words when I feel like I’m a giggly 12-year-old girl?

It is estimated that between 5-15% (and some even doctors guess it’s actually between 3-34%) of women with Endometriosis suffer from Endo on their bowels.  Bowel Endometriosis may affect the colon, the rectum, the large intestine, the small intestine, the colon, or the sigmoid colon.  The implants may be physically located on the bowels, or even just located adjacent to them in areas like the Pouch of Douglas, uterosacral ligaments, or rectovaginal septum. The close proximity of the inflamed and irritated lesions may be enough to induce bowel Endometriosis symptoms.  And these symptoms may also be caused by adhesions pulling or twisting the bowels.

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Endometriosis & The Lungs

| Bloomin' Uterus
Graphic of human lungs

I’ve read bits and pieces here and there that Endometriosis can grow on or inside of your lungs.  An EndoSister had posted in one of the many Facebook support groups that I follow that she has Endo on her lungs, which causes her to cough up a lot of blood.  Others replied that they have it as well, but it leaves them in the hospital with collapsed lungs every month.  Which got my juices flowin’ to find the documented cases of Endometriosis on the lungs, how it was excised (if at all), etc.  Here goes!  This is NOT meant to scare you.  Just educate us all, including myself.

Endometriosis is usually found within the pelvic cavity, but has also been known to be found northward and latching onto the liver and diaphragm.  It has also been found on the membranes surrounding the lungs and heart.  Even rarer, it has been found on the brain, in the lymph nodes, and on the eyes.

Thoracic or Pulmonary Endometriosis is when Endometriosis implants/adhesions are found in your thoracic region, and can be found on your trachea, bronchi, diaphragm, lungs, or heart.  It was first medically documented in 1953.  Today, we focus on the lungs.

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