Endometriosis can cause serious pain and distress, but not every severe symptom should be assumed to be endometriosis.
Some symptoms need urgent medical attention because they may indicate infection, heavy bleeding, bowel or bladder problems, chest involvement, ovarian cyst complications, neurological issues or another emergency.
This article explains symptoms that should be assessed quickly.
Seek urgent help for severe sudden pain
Seek urgent medical help for sudden severe pelvic pain, sudden severe abdominal pain, pain with fainting, pain with vomiting, pain with fever, pain that feels different from usual symptoms, pain after a procedure or surgery, or pain with shoulder tip pain and collapse.
Sudden severe pain should not be ignored.
Seek urgent help for heavy bleeding
Seek urgent help if bleeding feels unsafe or there is soaking through period products very quickly, passing large clots with feeling unwell, dizziness, fainting, shortness of breath, chest pain, heart racing, severe weakness or signs of shock.
Heavy bleeding can have different causes and may need urgent assessment.
Seek urgent help for chest or breathing symptoms
Seek urgent medical help for chest pain, shortness of breath, coughing blood, sudden shoulder tip pain with breathing difficulty, symptoms of a collapsed lung, blue lips, severe breathlessness, or fainting with chest symptoms.
These symptoms should be treated as urgent, even if they happen around a period.
Seek urgent help for urinary symptoms
Seek urgent help for blood in the urine, fever with urinary symptoms, severe back or flank pain, vomiting with urinary symptoms, inability to pass urine, severe bladder pain or signs of kidney infection.
Urinary symptoms can have causes other than endometriosis and should be assessed properly.
Seek urgent help for bowel symptoms
Seek urgent help for heavy rectal bleeding, black stools, severe abdominal swelling with pain, inability to pass stool or wind with severe pain, vomiting with severe abdominal pain, fever, fainting or new loss of bowel control.
Bowel symptoms need prompt assessment if they are severe, sudden or concerning.
Seek urgent help for neurological symptoms
Seek urgent medical help for new leg weakness, foot drop, numbness around the genitals or saddle area, new loss of bladder or bowel control, difficulty walking, sudden severe back pain with neurological symptoms, confusion or collapse.
These symptoms may indicate nerve or spinal involvement or another urgent condition.
Seek medical advice for symptoms that are not urgent but still matter
Users should still book an appointment if they have pain that disrupts daily life, period pain that causes missed school or work, pelvic pain that keeps returning, bowel or bladder symptoms that flare with the cycle, pain during or after sex, fatigue that affects normal activities, heavy bleeding, bleeding between periods, difficulty getting pregnant, symptoms that are worsening, or symptoms that are being dismissed but still affecting life.
Users do not need to wait for an emergency to ask for help.
Use the Prepare for Appointment Tool
If symptoms are not urgent, users should use the Prepare for Appointment Tool before speaking with a healthcare professional.
The tool helps organise symptoms, timing, severity, cycle patterns, impact on daily life, questions, key concerns and what the user wants help with.
If symptoms are urgent, users should not wait to complete the tool. They should seek medical help immediately.
Final reminder
Users know their bodies. If something feels severe, sudden, unsafe or different from usual symptoms, they should seek medical help.
Endometriosis symptoms deserve care, but urgent symptoms should always be assessed promptly.