What is endometriosis and how would I know I have it?

Tissue similar to the womb lining grows where it should not, inflaming and scarring with each cycle. The signature is pain: periods that derail life, deep pain with sex, painful bowel movements during periods, and sometimes fertility struggles.

Diagnosis averages seven years late worldwide, largely because severe period pain gets normalized. Pain that fails simple treatment is a flag, not a personality trait.

Ultrasound can miss it; specialists and sometimes laparoscopy make the call. Treatments from hormonal suppression to excision surgery genuinely improve life, which is why pursuing the diagnosis matters.