Surgeries no lasting cure for condition

According to Endometriosis New Zealand, laparoscopic surgery is the only definitive way to diagnose endometriosis. The surgery also aims to remove endometriosis tissue, cysts or adhesions.

However, Lockhorst said the pain returned one and a half years after surgery as the endometriosis grew back.

She had a second surgery in May 2022. Her most recent surgery was in December last year.

Lockhorst is now taking a progestogen pill and has a Merina — a T-shaped plastic frame inserted into the uterus carrying a contraceptive hormone — to “try and slow down the growth” of the endometriosis.

She said endometriosis had taken away “a lot of my quality of life”, including missing family functions, and the condition was “unpredictable”.

For example, she was well enough to do a powerlifting competition last year and was in pain two months later.

“You grieve what your body can do.”

Another symptom was fatigue: “If I don’t have one nap a day, I’m exhausted”.

Lockhorst had most recently been working in kiwifruit orchards but resigned due to another health scare relating to her thyroid.

She volunteered at the Rotorua Hospice shop and was looking to “redirect” her life.

Lockhorst said she had always wanted to help people and was considering support work or healthcare assistance.

“I’ve had amazing surgeons [and] nurses and I want to give back.”

Endometriosis New Zealand chief executive Tanya Cooke said an early diagnosis could be “life-changing” as it meant people could treat and manage the condition.

“For those living with symptoms of endometriosis without the access to care they may need, there may be a significant reduction in their quality of life.”

Cooke said there was a “pressing need” for enhanced research on endometriosis as it was a “very complex and poorly understood condition” in New Zealand and around the world.