No endometriosis in ultrasound

[Akendo]

My ultrasound came back normal. Only a trace of fluid in pouch of douglas. The symptoms suggest endo. Is it likely to be endo although the ultrasound was normal? I guess it's not advanced when you can't See it in ultrasound ?

[Hidden]

It depends on the severity of the endo and also who was doing the scan. I had an ultrasound in general radiology in july 2015 (pre diagnosis) that showed a couple of tiny cysts and fluid in the right fallopian tube. Report was sent to my GP saying nothing suspicious, endo wasn't mentioned. I was then diagnosed with very severe endo in jan 2016 during a diagnostic laparoscopy. I then had another ultrasound carried out in July this year at a bsge endo clinic by an endo specialist that found very extensive endo, with 4 lesions that were 2-3 cm in size.

Generally nothing smaller than 1cm will show on ultrasound, and unless the scan is carried out by an endo specialist with a high resolution machine, they won't see endo so a normal scan does not rule it out.

[Akendo in reply to Hidden]

Thanks for the answer. It's so hard to know what's the right decision. I will try visanne for 3 months but if it doesn't work i will have to undergo a laparoscopy. Hopefully I will find a treatment that works 😊 Do you have any experiences with visanne?

[Hidden]

My ultrasound in 2015 showed no trace of endo and a cyst in my left ovary which my gynae dissmissed as being functional. Six months later my hysterectomy showed stage 4 endo, severe adhesions and my womb, tube and left ovary were stuck to my ureter, left pelvic wall and sigmoid colon. The cyst was an endometrioma. Please do not rely on so called clear ultrasounds. I would have the fluid in your pouch of Douglas investigated further. Don't be fobbed off,

[Adele-84]

My ultrasound internal and external showed nothing early 2015. My lap Nov 2015 discovered and removed widespread Endometriosis stage 3. Don't let them fob you off based on ultrasound, my surgeon said they shouldn't have wasted my time on ultrasound based on my symptoms it was an obvious endometriosis case. By then it had taken about 10 years for someone to take me seriously!

[blplett]

Unfortunately endo does not show up on the ultrasound. The ultrasound uses waves that vibrate off of fluid, which is why they pick up cysts. Endo itself isn't fluid based, but it can create cysts. So unless they see a cyst, they won't say endo. The only way to know for sure and treat it is to do a laproscopy. Ask your GP for a referral to a specialist. Just had my first lap 3 days ago. Not too bad, I recommend getting it done! Quit suffering!

[Joeytheroo]

One of my us scans was done by a really top radiologist - she was teaching a student. It was fascinating! She told me that they are realising they can see much more endo on a scan than they thought (beyond endometriomas - endo cysts which should be more straightforward to identify). They're comparing MRI scans and us scans abd realising how to see more endo on a scan. But obvs that depends on skill of radiologist and she said it was still developing. So as a rule, no it's not a way to diagnose. Although it was def worth doing for me - I had a large endometrioma on my ovary that was easily spottable by a normal radiologist and which needed obvious and immediate treatment so I skipped months / years of being fobbed off like so many women are. On lap I had lots more endo elsewhere so no a clear US isn't a negative of Endo. Good luck x

[tiredBFmum in reply to Joeytheroo]

i know this post is a year ago but I was wondering where you saw the top radiologist please? i'm scared of surgery (due to prev DVT etc) so would really like the best diagnostic ultrasound if possible. thanks

[Joeytheroo in reply to tiredBFmum]

It was total luck- it was a normal appt at my local hospital (st Thomas, London) and possibly because she was teaching, or just because she happened to be on that day, I got her. I can’t remember her name I’m afraid but she was one of the consultants. I was offered an MRI before the lap to see if they could identify any other issues, but we decided not to bother. The endometrioma was very obvious/undoubtably on the normal scam and as it was so large I definitely needed the lap to remove it so decided they could just do the best thing and have a good look once in there to check for other endo. The lap itself was fine - I felt sore after for a few days and needed to stay in overnight because I couldn’t wee for a while but my version (removing endometrioma and some patches of endo) was straight forward. I know a lot of women have many more complications than me which is much more significant but worth discussing the risks/options with your consultant. And definitely at a BSGE centre where they specialise in endo. Good luck x

[Starry]

I understand ultrasound generally used more for spotting ovary cysts and eliminating other issues. other endo types and areas are difficult to see on it.MRI is slightly better but laparoscopy is the "gold standard" diagnostic for Endo.

[Akendo]

Thank you for sharing your experiences

[GrittyReads in reply to Akendo]

The transvaginal us (internal) can see more than the 'over the tummy' us, and can be used for diagnosing, and 'yes' as someone has said, it does depend on the skill of the radiologist, and the machine used. I had a 'major hospital' one done a day or so ago (tho' not for Endo) , and it was hugely more detailed than the ones I've had in the past few years at our little local clinic. As for size, the radiologist told me I had several fibroids, the 'largest' only 6mm - whereas in the past only one was noticed ... so small things can be noted - but I imagine tissue type and density makes a difference - only my opinion ...