- Symptoms
It takes around seven to eight years on average for a woman to get diagnosed with endometriosis from the time she starts experiencing symptoms.
The most common symptoms are pains and menstrual irregularities. Such pains may occur in certain areas like the lower abdomen, lower back, pelvic or vagina and may occur during sexual intercourse or while defecating. The symptoms of endometriosis can be wide-ranging and are similar to those of many other conditions, so it is not always apparent straight away that it could be endometriosis that is causing your symptoms.
For this reason, it is extremely important that you share as much information as possible about your symptoms with your doctor. This will benefit your care and hopefully speed up diagnosis should you have endometriosis. So it all begins at requesting an appointment with your doctor.
- Appointment Expectation
The doctor will ask you to describe your symptoms and will ask you questions. The doctor may want to examine your abdomen, and possibly examine you internally (although you can refuse this if you want). Many women with endometriosis find internal examinations uncomfortable; if this is the reason you do not want one, tell the doctor.
You may want to feel ashamed or emotional when discussing these symptoms. This is normal but in actuality, there is no reason to feel ashamed or embarrassed about the situation. Please remember that the doctor will have seen it all before, many times – possibly even that same day.
- Process of diagnosis
At the moment, the only way to diagnose endometriosis is through an operation called a laparoscopy. Therefore, the doctor may not give a definite diagnosis. If they suspect you have endometriosis, your doctor may check you for infections which can mimic symptoms of endometriosis and/or arrange for you to have an ultrasound scan. They can prescribe painkillers to help and/or antispasmodic treatment if you have bowel symptoms and even start treatment with the pill or hormones.
There are some gynecologists who specialize in endometriosis, so your doctor can actually refer you to them. It is important that you have a good relationship with your doctor as the hospital specialist will often ask your doctor to continue prescribing or review the treatment that has been started.
- How to prepare for appointment with a specialist
You may have waited some time for this appointment so it is important to get the most from it. The information you have from your doctor will be invaluable for this consultation; remember to bring it with you, and to update it if necessary. You may have to make some difficult decisions about treatment, so it is important that you have a good relationship with your specialist and that you trust them. During the consultation, take notes if you can as it may be hard to remember everything. You might also want to take someone with you for support. You could ask that person to write everything down so that you can concentrate on what is being said. You need to ask questions as well as listen to the doctor. It is worth writing down your questions the night before your appointment. Get everything clear in your mind and do some research on the internet to know more.
Some questions you may want to ask include:
- What do you think is causing the symptoms?
- Will you want me to have a laparoscopy?
- Do you think my fertility is affected?
- How can I control my symptoms?
- What treatments do you suggest and why?
- Are there any other options that I need to consider?