Endometriosis is the second most common gynaecological condition in the UK, affecting around 1.5 million women. But how much do you know about it? Find out by taking our true or false quiz.

Endometriosis is just a heavy period

☐ True ☐ False 2

People with endometriosis can find it difficult to fall pregnant ☐ True ☐ False 3

It can take a long time to be diagnosed

☐ True ☐ False 4 The cause is unknown ☐ True ☐ False 5 There is no treatment available

☐ True ☐ False

1. FALSE Endometriosis is not a heavy period.

It’s a condition where tissue, similar to the lining of the womb, starts to grow in other places like the ovaries or fallopian tubes.

It’s a lifelong condition that can affect women of any age after hitting puberty.

2. TRUE Struggling to conceive is just one of the symptoms of endometriosis – along with very heavy periods and bad period pain, pain in your lower tummy or back, pain during or after sex and feeling sick during your period, too.

For women with more severe symptoms, it can lead to feelings of depression.

3. TRUE On average, it takes around eight years from the onset of symptoms to get a diagnosis.

This is because the symptoms of endometriosis are very similar to other common conditions. The only definitive way to diagnose it is by laparoscopy.

4. TRUE The cause of endometriosis is unknown, and it’s likely to be a combination of several; different factors.

These include genetics, a problem with the immune system, endometrium cells spreading through the body or retrograde menstruation, where some of the womb lining flows up through the fallopian tubes, rather than leaving the body as a period as it should.

5. FALSE There’s no cure, but treatments can help ease the symptoms.

Women can undergo surgery to cut away patches of endometriosis, or to remove part or all of the affected organs – such as a hysterectomy.

Pain can be managed with painkillers such as ibuprofen and paracetamol, and hormone medicines and contraceptives may help, too.