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Endometriosis affects one in ten women in Ireland - but its cause is still not known. There is no cure for the condition although the symptoms can be managed through treatment.

It is a painful, debilitating, illness which in some cases leads to infertility - yet a recent survey by the UK's National Endometriosis Society showed that over half the women who had endometriosis felt their GP had not taken their symptoms seriously.

Over 43 per cent of the women surveyed also said they visited their GP five times or more before being referred to a specialist.

But a revolutionary new treatment could end the misery of infertility for thousands of women.

An Edinburgh firm has designed a machine - currently on trial in several Scottish hospitals - which attacks damaged tissue without putting an otherwise healthy womb at risk.

Women without endometriosis shed the lining of their womb normally during menstruation.

But for women with the condition, cells from the lining of the womb - the endometrium - become attached to other areas of the pelvic cavity including the ovaries, bowel and bladder.

These cells then behave in the normal way they would during menstruation. But as this cell tissue breaks down, it cannot be expelled from the body and it spreads on the organs to form cysts filled with dark blood - the so-called chocolate cysts.

Symptoms of endometriosis include pain during periods, ovulation, bowel movements and during sex.

The condition can also lead to blockage of the fallopian tubes and infertility.

Diagnosis of endometriosis is made through laparoscopy - a minor operation in which a tiny camera is inserted into the pelvic area.

If the condition can be treated by using drugs, the patient is given medication to stop the production of certain hormones, enabling the body to dispose of the tissue.

If the condition is more serious, surgery may be necessary to remove the tissue or the reproductive organs.

But this depends on whether the sufferer still wants a family and the impact the symptoms have on the woman's life.

Eileen O'Connell is the chairwoman of the Endometriosis Association of Ireland and has suffered severe pain every month since she was a teenager.

"I began to feel excruciating pain when I started to menstruate and was told that the pain was all part of growing up," Eileen said.

"Later I was told that if I got pregnant, I would be alright but that's not actually the case. Women with endometriosis who get pregnant don't have the symptoms during the pregnancy because they are not menstruating. But when the baby is born, in many cases the symptoms reappear.

"During my period I got so ill that I'd miss two days a month at school and then later in life two days at work because of the pain I was in.

"I had to spend this time in bed and the doctor used to tell me to get up and take exercise.

"That really upset me because I couldn't move because of the pain and my energy levels were completely sapped.

"Pain just became part of my life. I was miserable and sick for one full week out of every 28 days which was the length of my cycle at that time."

When Eileen reached her early forties, her symptoms became increasingly severe.

"I began to bleed for a fortnight at a time and at that point my menstrual cycle was only 26 days," she explained.

"So every month I suffered from 14 days of misery meaning that half my life was taken up with this pain.

"I was admitted to hospital for a D&C but nothing showed up. I opted to have a hysterectomy anyway to try and alleviate the pain I was experiencing during periods.

During the hysterectomy operation, the doctors discovered that Eileen had severe endometriosis. One of her ovaries was also so badly affected by the condition that it had to be removed.

"Among the areas that were affected was my bowel as the endometriosis had penetrated the bowel wall.

"The tissue was forming chocolate cysts and bleeding with each cycle. The swelling was causing a tightening of the bowels."

Eileen had a balloon dilatation performed in her bowels and began taking the synthetic hormone progestogen, a copy of the progesterone which occurs naturally in the body.

She suffered some side effects which included weight gain of over a stone, greasy, thinning hair and a feeling of bloatedness - but felt she could cope with these because the condition was kept at bay and she was pain- free.

Then, after nine months, she was taken off the synthetic hormones.

"After three months with no medication the symptoms were as bad as ever," she said.

"I was put back on the tablets but this time the side effects were much worse. I suffered from severe mood swings and insomnia as well."

In desperation, Eileen decided to turn to natural healing to increase her body's own progesterone.

"I use a cream containing natural progesterone and I also go to acupuncture where I get treatment and a herbal medicine.

"For the first time, I feel that I have got the levels right to control my endometriosis.

"I spend about pounds 100 a month on medicine but I feel it is worth it to feel alright."

Eileen feels more doctors are beginning to take notice of endometriosis but she says there is still a long way to go.

"We are inundated with enquiries to the association every year," she said.

"The association is a voluntary charitable organisation and the members do the work from our own homes.

"Each case of endometriosis is different. There are different ways in which it manifests itself - the chocolate cysts can damage the organs to which they are attached and endometriosis can also cause organs which should be free flowing to stick together.

"It can also spread to strange parts of the body - there have been cases where endometriosis has spread to the eyes and even the lungs where people coughed up blood, or bled from the bellybutton each month.

"Endometriosis is not terminal but it is, quite literally, a pain in the butt."