Sometimes doctors can diagnose endometriosis just by seeing the growths. Surgery is the only way to be sure you have endometriosis. Laparoscopy is a type of surgery that doctors can use to look inside your pelvic area to see endometriosis tissue. Once you stop taking them, your pain may come back. But, these medicines work only as long as you take them. If your pain gets better with hormonal medicine, you probably have endometriosis.Gonadotropin (go-na-doh-TRO-pen) -releasing hormone (GnRH) agonists block the menstrual cycle and lower the amount of estrogen your body makes.Hormonal birth control can help lessen pelvic pain during your period.If your doctor does not find signs of an ovarian cyst during an ultrasound, he or she may prescribe medicine: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is another common imaging test that can make a picture of the inside of your body. Both kinds of ultrasound tests use sound waves to make pictures of your reproductive organs. The doctor or technician may insert a wand-shaped scanner into your vagina or move a scanner across your abdomen.

Your doctor may do an ultrasound to check for ovarian cysts from endometriosis. Smaller areas of endometriosis are harder to feel. During a pelvic exam, your doctor will feel for large cysts or scars behind your uterus. The doctor will talk to you about your symptoms and do or prescribe one or more of the following to find out if you have endometriosis: If you have symptoms of endometriosis, talk with your doctor. For instance, endometrial tissue has been found in abdominal scars. During a surgery to the abdominal area, such as a Cesarean (C-section) or hysterectomy, endometrial tissue could be picked up and moved by mistake. Research is looking at whether endometriosis is a problem with the body's hormone system. The hormone estrogen appears to promote endometriosis. Immune system disorders and certain cancers are more common in women with endometriosis.

A faulty immune system may fail to find and destroy endometrial tissue growing outside of the uterus. Because endometriosis runs in families, it may be inherited in the genes. Some of the tissue shed during the period flows through the fallopian tube into other areas of the body, such as the pelvis. Retrograde menstrual flow is the most likely cause of endometriosis. Researchers are studying possible causes: No one knows for sure what causes this disease.

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