Endometriosis is a painful condition which involves patches of endometrial cells being found outside the womb in areas such as the bowel or ligaments surrounding the womb. When a woman reaches the time in a month when she experiences menstrual bleeding these patches also bleed. With nowhere to go and no means to flow away this blood sometimes forms cysts. In rare cases these patches of endometriosis have been found in the lungs.

By the time I was finally diagnosed with endometriosis I had been having symptoms for about seven years. Reading the information leaflet given to me by the hospital, I read that this is usually the case. Endometriosis is not seen on an ultrasound scan or during a smear. What normally happens is a long protracted set of events that can leave the sufferer feeling depressed and misunderstood for a long time. If you have symptoms of:-

Painful sexual intercourse.

Heavy menstrual bleeding.

Excessive period pain and cramping.

Difficulty conceiving.

Pelvic pain.

And more.

-then you could have endometriosis. The first step in getting the right diagnosis and then treatment is seeing you doctor. In England this would be your General Practitioner. Try to give your doctor a clear picture of your symptoms. If it helps make a note of these symptoms before consulting your doctor. Many of us feel intimidated and nervous when attending a doctor's surgery and end up giving vague symptoms. The doctor will also go by the SIGNS. This is what he observes about you.

From all of this the doctor will hopefully get a clear picture of your health problems, be able to make a diagnosis and suggest a course of treatment. However even if the doctor suspects that you have endometriosis he will not be able to say with 100% certainty that you have until you have undergone a laparoscopic investigation. This may mean waiting a little while for a referral to be sent to the hospital. I then found that I had to meet with a junior doctor to be examined. Having just returned from a holiday abroad I was tanned and looked well. So much so that the junior doctor as good as told me that there could be nothing wrong with me as I looked so fit. Well he was wrong and so my advice is do not let someone tell you that you do not have endometriosis until they are 100% sure.

I had to have an internal examination at this consultation, which was painful at the time. I was referred for an investigative laparoscopy and the endometriosis was found. The Gynaecological surgeon looks at your womb and the nearby area to see if there are any signs of endometriosis and any adhesions. These can only be seen by the naked eye and at present this is the only accurate way to make a diagnosis of endometriosis.

A few years down the road I also had some bowel problems and had to have a colonoscopy. This procedure was nowhere near as bad as I thought it would be. It was necessary as endometriosis patches are found outside of the womb and in areas such as the bowel.

This article has not been researched but has been taken from my personal experiences. I know that treatments and diagnosing techniques are changing all the time. However I would say that basically in order to get an accurate diagnosis a laparoscopy will be needed. I actually had a further laparoscopy and a microwave ablation. Many sufferers find that the laparoscopy will need to be repeated as endometriosis often returns, sooner or later, after treatment. Good luck. It is not an easy condition but there are many treatments these days and one will be right for you.

Learn more about this author, Ethel Smith.
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