How to Diagnose Endometriosis

With endometriosis, the tissue that lines the uterus grows outside of the uterus in what is often described as a spider webbing between other organs. A combination of symptoms and medical history may point to an endometriosis diagnosis.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Things You’ll Need:

• Gynecologist, endocrinologist or other doctor

Diagnose Endometriosis in Women

1. Be honest with your doctor about every symptom that you have, no matter how small or embarrassing it may seem. Since a laparoscopy and biopsy is invasive, your doctor will usually diagnose endometriosis after looking closely at your symptoms and ruling out other conditions.
2. Make note of where you feel pain and how intense it is. Your doctor will need this information before she can diagnose the condition. Pain often occurs during urination, during and after sex, after eating, during menstruation and during ovulation.
3. Look for other symptoms, such as pain in the lower back, diarrhea, irregular menstrual bleeding and fatigue. Be sure to let your doctor know about any of these symptoms.
4. Fill out the sample first-time consultation form from Endometriosis.org (see Resources below). This form outlines the questions your physician may ask you to prepare a diagnosis. If you think you will forget any of your symptoms when you get to the doctor's office, bring the completed form with you.
5. Consider having a laparoscopy to confirm your doctor's diagnosis. The surgeon will look for characteristic visual signs of the disease and take a biopsy. The procedure is quite invasive and can be expensive, so many doctors will make a diagnosis without the laparoscopy. You may choose to go through with the procedure for your own peace of mind or as a second opinion.
6. Expect to have an ultrasound, which may show large endometrial growths. This test can rule out ovarian cancer and cysts, which can also cause pelvic pain.

Tips & Warnings

• Endometriosis is often diagnosed after a hysterectomy, implying that there is a relation to uterine and ovarian cancer, although it is unknown which one may cause the other.
• There is no non-invasive simple test for endometriosis. Only a laparoscopy and biopsy can diagnose the disease. With unskilled surgeons, the results may still be a false negative.
• Endometriosis causes a great deal of pain, especially during menstruation and after sex.
• Endometriosis is often misdiagnosed as other conditions that have similar symptoms. If you suspect that you have endometriosis, you should bring it up with your doctor.

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