Symptoms
Can endometriosis cause diarrhea?
The short answer
Yes, endometriosis can be associated with diarrhea, especially when it affects the intestines or inflammation affects the pelvic nerves and bowel. Many patients notice bowel symptoms around their period, but diarrhea is not specific to endometriosis.
Yes, endometriosis can be associated with diarrhea, especially when inflammation affects the pelvic nerves and bowel, or when endometriosis directly involves the intestines (often the rectum and sigmoid colon). Many patients notice bowel symptoms that fluctuate with their cycle, such as diarrhea around a period, cramping with bowel movements, bloating, and lower abdominal pain.
Diarrhea isn’t specific to endometriosis, though. IBS-like bowel sensitivity and inflammatory bowel diseases like Crohn’s or ulcerative colitis can cause very similar symptoms, and some people have more than one condition contributing to them. If diarrhea is part of a broader pattern (pelvic pain, painful periods, pain with sex, pain with bowel movements, or symptoms that track with your cycle), our team can help sort out what’s driving it and discuss next steps, including targeted imaging and, when appropriate, minimally invasive excision to diagnose and treat endometriosis.
Where to go from here
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Symptoms it can relate to
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Troubled by digestive symptoms?
Diarrhea and bowel pain can signal endometriosis affecting your intestines. Our specialists can help distinguish your symptoms and create a personalized plan for relief.
Questions people ask next
All symptoms questionsDoes diarrhea mean I have bowel endometriosis?
Not necessarily: diarrhea can occur with endometriosis due to hormone-driven changes in gut movement and pelvic inflammation, even without bowel wall involvement. Pain with bowel movements, rectal pain or pressure, bleeding or cycle-related flares raise more suspicion.
Can endometriosis cause diarrhea only during your period?
Yes, endometriosis can be associated with diarrhea that happens only during your period. Endometriosis-related inflammation can make period-driven bowel changes more intense, even when endometriosis is not growing into the bowel wall.
Is it IBS or endometriosis affecting my gut?
Endometriosis gut symptoms often flare around your period or ovulation with pelvic pain, while IBS symptoms are more likely to track with food triggers or stress. The two can overlap, so IBS-like symptoms do not rule out endometriosis.
Can endometriosis cause IBS-like symptoms without bowel lesions?
Yes, endometriosis can cause IBS-like symptoms even without visible bowel lesions on imaging or at surgery. Pelvic inflammation, heightened nerve sensitivity, hormone-driven changes, and pelvic floor muscle overactivity can all contribute to bowel symptoms.
Further reading
How Endometriosis Can Affect Your Bowel and Digestion
Learn how endometriosis affects bowel health and digestion. Discover symptoms, diagnosis challenges, and treatment options. Get informed today!
Bowel Endometriosis: Causes, Symptoms, and Treatment
Bowel endometriosis explained: locations, symptoms, causes, diagnosis and misdiagnosis, plus treatments from minimally invasive surgery to lifestyle changes.
Endometriosis or Inflammatory Bowel Disease? The Key Differences
How endometriosis and inflammatory bowel disease differ and overlap. Symptoms, diagnostic challenges, epidemiology, treatment risks, and research gaps.
