Endometriosis symptom check · symptom guide
Pelvic pain between periods
Pain that arrives when you are not bleeding is often the thing that makes people doubt themselves, because "period pain" is supposed to stay with the period. Pelvic pain lasting six months or more, with or without a cycle, is what clinicians call chronic pelvic pain. People after a hysterectomy, on continuous hormones or in menopause can have it with no period at all.
Not a diagnosis. This page explains one symptom group that published guidance says should prompt a clinician to consider endometriosis. No symptom, score or checklist can tell you whether you have it; only a clinician can assess you. If pain is severe or sudden, seek medical help.
What the guidelines say
NICE NG73 lists chronic pelvic pain as its first reason to suspect endometriosis. ACOG describes long-term pelvic pain, including pain in the lower back and abdomen, as a common symptom, and the Office on Women's Health notes that pain can occur at any time, not only during menstruation. Pain with no period to blame it on is still a symptom the guideline covers.
How to describe it at an appointment
- How many days a month you have pelvic pain when you are not bleeding.
- Whether it has a rhythm (worse mid-cycle, worse in the week before) or none.
- Where it sits and whether it moves: pelvis, lower back, one side, into the legs.
- How long this has been the case, in months or years.
- If you do not have periods: say so, and say why, so the pain is not filed under "cycle".
What to track before you go
A daily pain score across whole months. Wrenly works with or without a period and shows a symptom-only rhythm when there is no bleed to anchor to, so between-period pain is recorded as what it is instead of being lost.
Check your whole pattern
This symptom is one of 14 questions in the free endometriosis symptom self-check. It scores your answers against the six NICE symptom groups and ends in a one-page prep sheet you can print for your doctor. Nothing you enter leaves your browser.
Frequently asked questions
Can I have endometriosis pain without a period?
Yes. The guideline lists chronic pelvic pain on its own, separate from period-related pain. People after a hysterectomy, on continuous hormonal treatment or after menopause can have pelvic pain that a clinician should still consider in the light of endometriosis. Only a clinician can assess the cause.
What counts as chronic pelvic pain?
Pelvic pain that has gone on for six months or longer. It can be constant or come and go, and it does not have to follow a cycle.
Is pelvic pain between periods always endometriosis?
No. Bowel, bladder, muscular and other gynaecological causes exist. It is one of the symptom groups that should prompt a work-up, which is a reason to be assessed, not a diagnosis.
Sources
- NICE guideline NG73, Endometriosis: diagnosis and management, section 1.3 (when to suspect endometriosis). nice.org.uk/guidance/ng73
- American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, Endometriosis patient FAQ. acog.org
- NIH Office on Women's Health, Endometriosis. womenshealth.gov
Wrenly paraphrases these in its own words. It does not reproduce any licensed questionnaire and is not a medical device.
Keep the record in Wrenly
Log pain, bleeding, energy and mood in a tap, paint where it hurts on a body map, and bring a dated symptom PDF to your appointment. Free, private, no account; Wrenly+ adds the doctor PDF and patterns. Not a medical device.