Anyone with a similar symptom profile - only moderate bleeding, but extreme fatigue?

Question

Excuse my ignorance, I’m new to all this. I’m getting scheduled for a laparoscopy as my gyno suspects I have endometriosis, given that adenomyosis was “possibly” found on a CT scan. However, my periods have never struck me as far from the average, apart from their length. I do have some other symptoms I’m wondering could be related to endo, though. Has anyone had a similar experience?

Periods: Days 1-2 I have bad cramping, but I can somewhat knock it back with two advil. Sometimes the pain radiates to my hips and tailbone. Feels like a dull knife twirling around my uterus. I’d love to lay in bed all day but usually tough it out for work. Heavy bleeding, but not so heavy that I have to change pads or tampons more than 2-3 times per day. By day 3, pain is almost or entirely gone and bleeding is much less. Continue bleeding less and less each day for 10 days total.

Other symptoms:

Extreme chronic fatigue and brain fog. So bad I’ve had to take medical leave from work. This is constant regardless of my period.

Low ferritin but not anemia. Received an iron infusion 5 weeks ago with no symptom improvement yet.

Near-constant GI upset, currently just diagnosed as IBS. Worse during first few days of period.

Joint pain and burning at night in my ankles, feet, sometimes knees.

Migraines 1-3 times per month. I haven’t noticed them occurring more often during my period.

Mostly I’m wondering about the fatigue and brain fog. I’m at my wits end trying to figure out what is causing it. But I feel like I don’t bleed enough for the endo to be the cause. Could it be? Could it be causing my joint pain and GI issues as well? Grateful for any insight. ❤️

Posted Aug 22, 2025, 11:58 PM UTC

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