It’s not OK or normal to have severe period pain that affects your daily life. If you think you have endometriosis, see your doctor as soon as possible, as early diagnosis and treatment can reduce the severity of the condition.
Most women have good long-term outcomes when they have an early referral to a women’s health clinic and receive care from a medical team with specialist training in endometriosis. For example, doctors, gynaecologists, surgeons with advanced laparoscopy skills and pelvic floor physiotherapists.
Treatment may include pain-relief medicines, hormone therapy, non-hormone treatments, non-drug treatments, surgery and combined treatments.
Ask your doctor or specialists about the best treatments for you.
A thorough review of your symptoms, medical history and test results will improve your chances of an early diagnosis.
Endometriosis can be diagnosed in different ways:
- Laparoscopy – Keyhole surgery (via the abdomen) performed under general anaesthetic. A laparoscopy is the only way to confirm that endometrial tissue is present.
- Ultrasound – Doctors with expert training can use ultrasound to make a ‘working diagnosis’ of endometriosis. Depending on the findings, you may or may not require surgery.
- Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) – In the future, MRI might be used to help diagnose endometriosis. This may be a good option for people who can’t access specialist ultrasound scans or who want to avoid surgery.