Although endometriosis is a  long-term condition that can have a significant impact on your life, there are treatments that can help to ease the pain and discomfort.

What are the symptoms of endometriosis?

The symptoms of endometriosis can vary between individuals. Some women are affected significantly, whereas others might not have any noticeable symptoms.

The main symptoms of endometriosis are:

• pain in your lower stomach or back (pelvic pain) – this pain is usually worse during periods
• period pain that impacts your everyday life
• pain during or after sex
• pain when urinating or pooing
• feeling sick, constipation, diarrhoea during your period
• difficulty getting pregnant
• heavy periods

Endometriosis can have a big impact on their life and may sometimes lead to feelings of depression.

When should you see your doctor about endometriosis symptoms?

We recommend seeing a GP if you have a few of the symptoms listed above, especially if they’re having a big impact on your life. It may help to write down a diary with your symptoms to show your doctor when they occur. Endometriosis UK has a pain and symptoms diary (PDF, 238kb) that we recommend using.

Why is it so hard to diagnose endometriosis?

It can be difficult to diagnose endometriosis because the symptoms can vary considerably, and many other conditions can cause similar symptoms. Your doctor will ask you about your symptoms, and may ask to examine your tummy and vagina. They may recommend treatments such as strong pain relief if they think you have endometriosis.

If these do not help, they might refer you to a specialist called a gynaecologist for some further tests, such as an ultrasound scan or laparoscopy. A laparoscopy is where a surgeon passes a thin tube through a small cut in your tummy so they can see any patches of endometriosis tissue. This is the only way to be certain you have endometriosis.

Treatments for endometriosis

Unfortunately there is no cure for endometriosis (research is still ongoing), but there are treatments that can help ease the symptoms.

Treatments include:

• painkillers (ibuprofen, paracetamol and codeine)
• the contraceptive pill
•  an intrauterine system (IUS), and medicines called gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (GnRH) analogues
• surgery to cut away patches of endometriosis tissue
• an operation to remove part or all of the organs affected by endometriosis

Get your prescriptions delivered for free with RXLive

RXLive Pharmacy are an award-winning online pharmacy that allow you to get your prescriptions delivered completely free, all you have to do is sign-up to the service here – it takes less than 1 minute! Once you have been approved as an RXLive patient, you can use the online ordering platform to order your prescription with just a few clicks.  Then, you can sit back and relax, our dedicated pharmacy team will prepare your order and have your medication sent out within 48 hours. RXLive also have dedicated pharmacists ready to chat at all times.

Please note, RXLive is growing exceptionally fast as a result of the Coronavirus (COVID-19).  We are dispensing and dispatching medicine, but our team is very busy so please bear with us. It may take up to 48 hours longer for your medicine to arrive. Please only contact us if your query is urgent during this time. Due to some stock shortages, we are shipping orders even if an item is missing, you will get an owing note and receive any items out of stock once it arrives.