Could I have endometriosis? (easy read)

It is not always easy to find out if you have endometriosis.

The symptoms of endometriosis can be different for different people. This means that endometriosis is sometimes mistaken for other diseases.

Your doctor might want to do some medical tests to help find out if you have endometriosis. The first tests your doctor will do will be to check different parts of your body.

Your doctor can do some of these tests while you are awake so you will not need a general anaesthetic.

General anaesthetic

A medicine that a doctor gives you to put you to sleep so that you don’t feel any pain

These tests will not always be able to tell if you definitely have endometriosis.

The only way to know for sure if you have endometriosis is to have an operation. You will go to the hospital for this operation and will have a general anaesthetic.

Endometriosis is a complicated disease and it can happen in different places in the body. This makes it hard to diagnose.

Diagnose

Means to check your body and symptoms and and say whether you have a condition.

If you think you might have endometriosis it can help to keep a diary of your symptoms to show your doctor.