Endometriosis and Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome - Is There a Connection‪?‬ This EndoLife

Okay today I want to now talk about something a little more unusual, and that’s Ehlers-Danlos syndrome and its possible connection to endometriosis.
 Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome is a group of 13 conditions which all affect connective tissue (collagen) in the body. Most are rare, but one type called hypermobility EDS is common.
 Because the intestines are made from soft tissue, EDS affects digestion and often causes IBS symptoms. It is a major risk factor for developing SIBO, because it slows down motility. If you have EDS and SIBO, you will be chronic - but you can still live well! And we’ll get to that in the bonus lesson with Dr Allison Siebecker.
 And just to hammer this point home about the connection between EDS and IBS, one study of 228 IBS patients found 48% also had EDS.
Now the reason why I want to bring EDS to your attention is because I am seeing it more and more in my clients with both endometriosis and SIBO.
Despite these statistics, to my knowledge, most experts do not consider EDS and endometriosis to be significantly connected. At present, it is thought that most of the period pain and menstrual problems of those with EDS is not caused by endometriosis, but EDS itself. 
However, I have spoken to multiple health care practitioners who do see a connection and see the two conditions together in patients, and because EDS can cause gut problems and SIBO, I think it’s worth raising here.  
So, here’s an overview of what we know so far…
 Current estimation is 6-23% of patients with EDS also have endometriosis. More research is being done into the connection at present.

32-77% of those with EDS have vulvodynia and or pain with sex.

33-75% have heavy menstrual bleeding. 

73-93% have painful periods.

And here are some of the main symptoms of EDS, though there are many and they are often far reaching. You do` not have to have them all to have EDS:
·Joint pain/full body pain

Hypermobility (can be very subtle)

Stretchy skin

Soft, velvety skin

Bruise easily

Dislocations of joints

Chronic fatigue

Dental crowding 

And I wanted to include some signs or clues of EDS as well…
Unusual symptoms that seem random, so people with EDS often feel like they have lots of symptoms and never really feel well.

Family has hypermobility - again, this can be very subtle. They might have no idea.

Tight muscles and stiffness - because your joints are unstable, the muscles overcompensate and are often stiff and tight to try and create some stability in the body.

Allergies - and this is because MCAS is now being identified as a co-condition of EDS. MCAS is when the mast cells which release histamine are overly sensitive and easily triggered, resulting in a higher amount of histamine being released on a daily basis. Mast Cell Activation Syndrome still isn’t widely acknowledged by conventional medicine, but many functional and naturopathic doctors are leading the way with this. MCAS is now showing up in the research as being a likely co-condition of EDS, as part of a trio with another condition call PoTS, which stands for Postural Tachycardia syndrome.

Low blood pressure and/or dizziness - because EDS often comes with something called dysautonomia

Racing heart or palpitations - due to a type of dysautonomia which I mentioned earlier, called PoTs

IBS - because of how EDS affects the gut

So, following on from that, I just wanted to provide a bit more education around dysautonomia in case you have the signs.  Dysautonomia is a group of conditions that affect the autonomic nervous system, which control involuntary functions of the body.
 Postural Tachycardia syndrome or PoTs is one of these conditions and is part of a trio of EDS-MCAS-PoTs I mentioned earlier, and it affects blood flow and blood pressure in the body, so that too little blood is getting to the heart and the heart rate increases when going from sitting/lying down to stand