Endometriosis is where endometrial tissue, which is normally found only in the lining of the womb, develops outside the uterus and attaches itself to ligaments and organs in the abdominal cavity. As the condition progresses its symptoms include pain, bleeding, inflammation, adhesions and infertility.
Researchers say they have now found evidence that women with endometriosis are at higher risk of having migraines. Researchers studied 133 women with endometriosis and a control group of 166 women and found double the number of women in the endometriosis group had migraines compared with the controls.It was also observed that migraine severity was similar in women with and without endometriosis and was not related to the severity of the endometriosis. The difference was the age of migraine onset was lower in the endometriosis group, 16.4 years vs. 21.9.
Specialists say all gynecologists should ask their endometriosis patients if they suffer headaches, and if the answer is yes, they should be referred to a neurologist because they feel that when endometriosis and migraine exist together each exerts a significant and independent negative effect on a woman's quality of life and the associated symptoms of migraine can be greatly reduced with adequate diagnosis and treatment.
