Stage I (minimal). You have a few small lesions but no scar tissue.
Stage II (mild). There are more lesions but no scar tissue. Less than 2 inches of your abdomen are involved.
Stage III (moderate). The lesions may be deep. You may have endometriomas and scar tissue around your ovaries or fallopian tubes.
Stage IV (severe). There are many lesions and maybe large cysts in your ovaries. You may have scar tissue around your ovaries and fallopian tubes or between your uterus and the lower part of your intestines.
The stages don’t take pain or symptoms into account. For example, stage I endometriosis can cause severe pain, but a woman who has stage IV could have no symptoms at all.
Questions For Your Doctor
If you’ve been diagnosed with endometriosis, you might want to ask things like:
- Why is endometriosis painful?
- What can I do to control my endometriosis symptoms?
- Do I need medication? How does it work?
- What are the side effects of medication for endometriosis?
- Will endometriosis affect my sex life?
- How do birth control pills affect endometriosis?
- If I’m having trouble getting pregnant, could fertility treatments help? What about surgery?
- Can surgery stop my symptoms?
- What might happen if I do nothing? Can endometriosis go away without drugs or surgery?
- Will it last my whole life?
- Should I consider joining a clinical trial?
- How often do I need to see a doctor?