Women's Health Conditions
Everyone’s body is different, but we don’t always talk about this. This can make it hard to know whether what you are experiencing is normal or not, and it can feel embarrassing asking about it.
The reality is lots of people have conditions that mean they experience things like periods or sex differently. Just a few of these conditions that aren’t often talked about, but effect lots of people who are born as females are endometriosis, adenomyosis, PCOS, and vaginismus. We are here to help break down what these conditions are, and what you can do if you think you might have a condition like this.
Of people born as female:
Endometriosis
Endometriosis is a condition where the lining of the uterus begins to grow outside the uterus. This can be around the pelvis, ovaries, fallopian tubes, bladder, bowel, or sometimes somewhere else in the body.
It can cause pain in the pelvis, lower back and stomach. Many people with endometriosis experience really painful periods, and some have pain during or after sex. There are a range of other symptoms endometriosis can cause as well, like tiredness, bloating, and bowel problems. Different people might experience different symptoms with their endometriosis, which can make it hard to identify. Unfortunately, endometriosis can’t be cured, but it can be managed through things like contraception, surgery, or pain management.
You can read more about endometriosis, and the services family planning provide here.
Adenomyosis
Adenomyosis is a condition where cells similar to the ones that make up the lining of the uterus, also grow inside the muscle wall of the uterus. These cells continue to act in the same way as the uterus lining, which means throughout your cycle they will thicken, then break down and bleed. This can cause an enlarged uterus, heavy and painful periods, chronic pelvic pain, pain during sex, and other symptoms.
Depending on the study, adenomyosis is said to effect anywhere from 20-65% of people who are born as female, which means that while this condition is not often talked about and difficult to diagnose, it is actually extremely common.
Adenomyosis is often talked about alongside endometriosis. The difference between these two conditions is that with endometriosis, the uterus lining grows outside of the uterus, and with adenomyosis, the uterus lining grows within the muscle wall of the uterus. Some of the symptoms of these conditions can be the same, and some people may have both endometriosis and adenomyosis. Unfortunately, though, adenomyosis is often harder to diagnose.
You can read more about adenomyosis here.
PCOS
Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, or PCOS for short, is a condition that upsets your hormones, and causes small cysts form on the ovaries. PCOS can cause pain, acne, excess hair on the face or stomach, and can make it difficult to lose weight.
One of the other common symptoms of PCOS is irregular periods – this means your cycle might not be as regular as other peoples. A normal cycle is generally considered to be anywhere from 21-45 days, but this can depend on the person. Generally, a person with regular periods will have the same length of cycle each month though. Irregular periods can be overly frequent, or further apart than what is considered normal, or they can be completely random. They can also be really heavy, or really light.
You can read more about PCOS here.
Vaginismus
Vaginismus is a condition where the muscles surrounding the entrance to the vagina contract or spasm, making it impossible or painful to do things like use tampons or have sex. Unfortunately, there isn’t a lot of information out there about vaginismus, and not many people know about it, which makes it hard to identify.
There are two main types of vaginismus, primary and secondary. Primary vaginismus is where someone has always experienced this. Secondary vaginismus is where the person previously had no issues but has now begun experiencing them. Secondary vaginismus can sometimes be triggered by things like relationship issues, surgery, or trauma.
Vaginismus can be helped through things like counselling and physiotherapy. These can help to reduce anxiety and train the pelvic floor muscles.
If you aren’t sure if what you are experiencing is normal or not, the best thing to do is go and talk to a doctor. You can talk to your regular GP or go to Family Planning. Family planning are experts in sexual and reproductive health and offer free appointments to anyone under 23. You can find out more about booking an appointment with them here.
