I recently had an MRI for suspected endometriosis. I’m in the UK and after the results came in my NHS gynae said that Id need to be referred to a specialist if I wanted a laparoscopy for treatment as previously planned due to the rectal involvement. I’m a little freaked as when I contacted the specialist endo centre it looks like a 6 month wait for consultation and up to 18 months for surgery from that appointment.

I’ve got ahold of my full MRI results and am going to see that specialist privately next month to see whether he thinks surgery is good idea etc but in the meantime if anyone has experience I’d love some help with some things as I feel quite in the dark right now:

• Anyone with mainly GI endo symptoms (pr bleeding, cyclical changes in bowel habits that are mainly focused around your period), did the Mirena coil achieve any relief for you? Similarly, if those are your main symptoms did they get worse in the initial months with the Mirena? I’ve had bad experiences with previous birth control and don’t want to jump out of the frying pan and into the fire. My GP (family Doctor) couldn’t answer queries on this, but during my super quick phone consultation with my gynae from diagnosis to treatment to call end in less than 15 min I hadn’t yet processed things enough to think of these.

• The only things mentioned in my call with gynae were the details at the end of the letter. When I got the paper copy of the results via subject access to forward to my private consultant I noticed the line about possible fibroid/adymenonosis or scarring early on. Anyone with medical experience - is this something I should query with gynaecology? Like if it is fibroid/adymenonosis does that make a difference treatment wise?

• Can anyone explain what tethering is in plain English please? 😅 I get adhesions but not clear on this.

If anything else appears significant from results I appreciate that too.

Just want to say thank you for being a wonderful source of support and experiences, I’ve been lurking here a lot over the past month and has really helped. It’s been a very long journey to get this far, ❤️ to you all