Navigating Endometriosis Through Menopause: Understanding Changes and Management

For a disease that affects nearly a million Australian women at some point in their lives, endometriosis is a disease that goes largely unrecognised – until it starts impacting your life directly. This chronic condition causes tissue to grow outside of the uterine cavity, creating all kinds of chaos on a daily and long-term basis. Pain, fertility issues, health uncertainty – the list of impacts is long, and the treatment options are not as forthcoming as we need them to be. 

For some women with endometriosis, menopause can mark a change in their experience of its symptoms. However, as is often the case with this unpredictable life stage, there’s no certainty as to what to expect if you’re navigating endometriosis through menopause. At the Australian Menopause Centre, we work directly with each of our patients to understand their specific health needs and circumstances at every stage of their menopausal journey. 

This extends to understanding the changes menopause may bring to endometriosis. We’ve developed this overview of what it is you need to know about endometriosis during menopause, looking to support your understanding of the changes at foot and management options as you navigate this new life season (and its many surprises!).

 

How is endometriosis impacted by menopause?

Since so many of endometriosis’ symptoms can often disguise themselves as symptoms of an intense period, or other female health experiences, this is a disease that’s often difficult to receive a diagnosis for. Unfortunately, a lack of diagnosis can mean many women are suffering needlessly, unable to receive the necessary medical support required to reduce its impact on their pain levels and day-to-day experience.

Endometriosis is a chronic condition, with growths occurring outside of the uterine cavity. These lesions, which are also known as endometrial tissue, can start to grow on the ovaries, fallopian tubes, and other pelvic organs. This tissue is similar to the lining inside the uterus, and as a result, it mimics the behaviour of uterine tissue across each menstrual cycle – thickening before it breaks down and a bleed takes place. As this tissue is unable to exit the body, its presence then can result in all kinds of painful outcomes, including inflammation, cysts, scar tissue, and more.

For many women, these symptoms can look like pelvic pain, intensely painful periods, pain experienced during sex, pain alongside bowel movements, heavy bleeding, issues with infertility, tiredness, diarrhoea, constipation, and more. These symptoms can range in how severe they are, with endometriosis behaving differently from woman to woman. 

 

Are you struggling to navigate endometriosis during menopause? Contact our friendly, expert team today to learn about our personalised treatment pathways.

 

How does endometriosis present during menopause?

It makes sense that a change in the hormone that fuels endometrial tissue would result in less pain from endometriosis, right? While this is the case for some women, it’s unfortunately not a given that menopause will bring relief from endometriosis symptoms. 

As menopause brings a natural decline in the production of oestrogen levels, this can potentially result in less pain and a greater sense of wellbeing for women suffering from endometriosis. With menopause’s ongoing fluctuations, however, managing endometriosis can actually become even more challenging during its various stages. By knowing what to look out for and when you can arm yourself with a proactive approach to navigating the Venn diagram overlap between menopause and endometriosis.

At the Australian Menopause Centre, we find our clients often experience:

• Fluctuating symptoms during perimenopause. During this first stage of menopause, the rollercoaster of hormone levels can lead to ‘good’ and ‘bad’ days of endometriosis symptom severity. 
• Diminished symptoms after menopause. Once menopause has run its course, many women often find that their endometriosis symptoms do experience a reduction. However, pain can still be present, and residual disease impacts can still lead to ongoing challenges in their health management.
• Inconsistency in their overall experience. With so many changes taking place across menopause, it’s important to take a day-by-day approach to endometriosis management.
• Challenges in their emotional management and regulation. Simply put, many women with endometriosis are fatigued by navigating their complex health needs. This can create barriers to treatment, with a sense that there’s ‘no hope’ for them to find relief from its pain and disruption – even though that’s not the case.

 

Best-practice approaches for managing endometriosis

While it may not sound like there’s a lot of good news when it comes to the management of endometriosis, at the Australian Menopause Centre, we take a holistic, personalised approach to reducing endometrial pain during menopause. This means we’re not only addressing the physical challenges it brings, but also its emotional impact.

There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to managing this disease during the shifting seasons of menopause. However, it’s common for a management approach to involve:

• Medical treatments, including pain management support, hormonal therapies, and potentially surgical procedures to remove endometrial lesions
• Lifestyle changes that can support greater short-term and long-term wellbeing, including an anti-inflammatory diet, regular exercise, and proactive stress management techniques
• Complementary therapies, such as pelvic floor physiotherapy or targeted supplements
• Emotional support in the form of counselling or support groups

Since endometriosis’ impact can change multiple times throughout the course of menopause, we also follow a regular consultation schedule with our clients, making sure we’re optimising our approach to suit their shifting needs. 

Whether you’re new to the world of endometriosis care during menopause or are many years into the journey, it’s important to keep your standards high when it comes to your everyday quality of life. So many women are used to suffering in silence, particularly when it comes to endometriosis. With multiple support pathways and treatment options, however, it’s time to seek the help you need to achieve the highest quality of health and wellbeing throughout every stage of your menopausal journey. 

 

Conclusion

Endometriosis and menopause can certainly bring all kinds of challenges with them, but with an excellent healthcare team at your side and an empowered sense of wellbeing, they’re challenges that can be met head-on. Find the high-quality support you need for your health and wellbeing throughout menopause in the Australian Menopause Centre team. We’re here for you every step of the way.