Prior to diagnosis, Abbie experienced a decade of heavy periods and Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD), a hormonal condition which can cause debilitating low moods, brain fog and fatigue.<\/p>\n
In 2023, she was forced to use a catheter. After seven months of “no answers”, endometriosis was finally discovered through surgery.<\/p>\n
“If I hadn’t gone into urinary retention, I probably wouldn’t have a diagnosis at this point in time,” she says.<\/p>\n
Despite the condition’s prevalence, many women can wait years until they have it officially confirmed.<\/p>\n
This week The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) released draft guidance<\/a> recommending new tests be made available on the NHS, aiming to provide quicker diagnosis.<\/p>\n The two non-invasive tests will be offered by GPs in England and Wales during a three-year trial period<\/a>, while evidence is gathered on the success of the roll-out.<\/p>\n Endotest is a spit test that looks for genetic material, and Endosure measures electrical signals in the gut using sensor pads on the abdomen.<\/p>\n The tests are not absolute proof of endometriosis but can provide an indication that may result in referral to specialist services.<\/p>\n However, not every GP will have access immediately and use must be overseen by a healthcare professional with expertise in endometriosis diagnosis and management.<\/p>\n Abbie admits she has “mixed views” on the tests, with her concerns including a current lack of understanding of endometriosis in order to identify it the first place.<\/p>\n “For those seven months that I spent with a catheter, no-one suspected I could have endometriosis, so I wouldn’t have been referred for any of these tests,” she says.<\/p>\n Abbie is treasurer of peer group Menstrual Health Support, and says the consensus among members is the tests were a “side-step” rather than a step forward.<\/p>\n Her other concern is tackling long waiting times for further action once initial results come back, she says, suggesting an increase in specialists was needed.<\/p>\n Leeds has a dedicated endometriosis centre which she describes as “incredible”, but other areas do not, meaning service provision is not evenly spread.<\/p>\n However “it is nice to know that something is being done”, she adds.<\/p>\n ‘Endo warriors’<\/p>\n Abbie’s concern on infrastructure is shared by Helen Brewster, charity executive at Hey Endo!.<\/p>\n The charitable incorporated organisation (CIO) provides a support network for people living with gynaecological conditions, and opened its first centre<\/a> in Hull last year.<\/p>\n The 34-year-old describes her own diagnosis of endometriosis and adenomyosis as “a long road”.<\/p>\n “It’s good getting people listened to, getting them the referral to where they need to be,” she says.<\/p>\n “We’ve been crying out for a long time that there needs to be something, anything at all. My query there is how long are they going to be stuck in the system?”<\/p>\n The tests being widely available is “fantastic news” she explains, as long as provisions for a potential increase in a demand for services is also addressed.<\/p>\n Helen adds that despite “archaic notions” still being attached to endometriosis, a greater awareness is a positive to both diagnosed and undiagnosed people.<\/p>\n “As an endo warrior myself, I feel seen and I feel heard and I’m starting to feel supported by the country that I live in.<\/p>\n “Finally I don’t feel like I have to hide away anymore and I know that there are a lot of other warriors out there that do feel the same way.”<\/p>\n More on this story<\/p>\n The possibility of reducing endometriosis diagnosis times would be “absolutely huge”, says Dr Sarah Jarvis.<\/p>\n Speaking to BBC Radio Sheffield<\/a>, the GP explained while the tests cannot offer “an absolute diagnosis”, they could provide an indication that informs next steps.<\/p>\n “Hopefully we’ll be able to order [the tests] and then the results can tell us whether we need to fast-track that patient into secondary care, into specialist care.”<\/p>\n According to the GP, because symptoms are often non-specific and varied, patients can mistakenly be diagnosed with other conditions first.<\/p>\n Dr Sarah Jarvis said reducing endometriosis diagnosis times would be “absolutely huge” [BBC]<\/p>\n “Women may never have known what was causing [their symptoms] and therefore could never get the right treatment unless they had the diagnosis,” she said.<\/p>\n “Women suffer completely needlessly in pain and really debilitated. It can have a huge impact on your life.<\/p>\n “You may spend years being told you’ve got irritable bowel syndrome, which is a very debilitating condition, but the treatments for it are completely different.”<\/p>\n Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds<\/a>, catch up with the latest episode of Look North<\/a>.<\/p>\n Related Internet Links<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"“With endometriosis, most people end up minimising their pain, gaslighting themselves so they don’t reach out for help,”…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":766938,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[281273,49,48,19605,210619,84,112909],"class_list":["post-798026","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-abbie-filer","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-endometriosis","tag-endometriosis-diagnosis","tag-health","tag-heavy-periods"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/798026","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=798026"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/798026\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/766938"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=798026"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=798026"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=798026"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/bbc_us_articles_995\/8d0ef6ab941d7b2c3bf850bc38f4f7d3.jpeg\"\/)
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