Adenomyosis Symptom Checker

Adenomyosis is a condition in which tissue similar to the lining of the uterus grows into the muscular wall of the uterus itself. Each cycle that tissue responds to hormones the way the uterine lining does, which can make the wall of the uterus thicken and the uterus become enlarged and tender. The result is often heavy or prolonged periods and severe menstrual cramps. It's a real, treatable medical condition — not something you're meant to simply endure. It's easy to confuse with two other conditions because their symptoms overlap: endometriosis, where similar tissue grows outside the uterus, and fibroids, which are benign muscle growths. Adenomyosis can also occur alongside either of them.

The two most recognizable are heavy or prolonged menstrual bleeding — soaking through protection, passing clots, or periods that last longer than usual — and severe menstrual cramps that often get worse over the years. Others include chronic pelvic pain (sometimes at times other than your period), a feeling of fullness, heaviness, or bloating low in the abdomen (a clinician may feel an enlarged, tender uterus on exam), and pain during or after sex. Some people have few or no symptoms. Adenomyosis is more often recognized in people in their 40s and in those who have given birth or had uterine surgery such as a C-section, though it can happen in other people too.

Not on its own. This checker reads a symptom pattern, and a match means the pattern is reasonable to discuss with a gynecologist — not that you have adenomyosis. These symptoms are common and have many possible causes. Adenomyosis is especially easy to confuse with fibroids and endometriosis: all three can cause heavy bleeding, cramps, and pelvic pain, and they often coexist. Only a clinician can work out which one fits, using your history, a pelvic exam, and imaging. So take a match as a good reason to raise it — and a negative result as reassuring on this check but never a way to rule adenomyosis out.

A gynecologist starts with your bleeding and pain history and a pelvic exam — a uterus that feels enlarged, globular, or tender can be a clue. From there, imaging does most of the work: a transvaginal ultrasound or, especially, an MRI can show the changes in the muscular wall of the uterus, and MRI is particularly useful for telling adenomyosis apart from fibroids. Historically, adenomyosis could only be confirmed for certain by examining the uterus under a microscope after a hysterectomy, which is why it was so often missed. Today, modern imaging lets clinicians recognize it without surgery — and there are treatment options well short of a hysterectomy. You don't need a confirmed diagnosis to start talking about relief for heavy bleeding and pain.

Soaking through a pad or tampon every hour for two or more hours in a row is a sign of very heavy bleeding that can cause dangerous blood loss and needs prompt care. So does bleeding with fainting, near-fainting, dizziness, or a racing heart. And sudden, severe pelvic pain — this checker is not for that either — can signal an emergency such as a twisted ovary (ovarian torsion) or, if pregnancy is possible, an ectopic pregnancy. If any of those apply, go to urgent care or an emergency room now, or call your local emergency number. This tool is for ongoing, cyclical symptoms — not for acute heavy bleeding or severe pain, which always warrant prompt in-person care.

Yes. This checker runs entirely in your browser. Your answers are read on your own device and are never sent to a server, saved, or shared — close the tab and they're gone. It's general educational information based on ACOG, the U.S. Office on Women's Health, and MedlinePlus patient guidance; it can't diagnose you, isn't a test, and doesn't replace an evaluation by a licensed clinician.