When Ami Robertson was 16, she started having severe pelvic pain. For years, doctors told her the pain was probably just irritable bowel syndrome. She started to wonder if it was all in her head.
"I spent years being told my pain was something else entirely," she said. "I started to doubt myself, wondering if it was all in my head."
It wasn't until she was 23 that Ami finally got answers—not through invasive surgery, but through a simple saliva test. The results gave her something she'd never had before: proof she could show her doctor.
"For the first time, I was believed, and I could finally get the help I needed," Ami said. "Today my quality of life is night and day compared to before."
Ami is one of thousands of women in the UK who may soon skip the years-long wait for an endometriosis diagnosis. Two new rapid tests—EndoSure and Endotest—can now detect the condition in days instead of the average nine years it usually takes.
Endometriosis is a painful condition where cells similar to those in the womb grow in other parts of the body. It affects roughly one in ten women of reproductive age in the UK. Until now, diagnosing it required a small operation called a laparoscopy, where a camera is inserted through a tiny cut in the abdomen while the patient is under anesthesia.
The new tests are non-invasive, meaning no surgery is needed. The Endotest looks for tiny biological markers called microRNAs in a saliva sample, which can show whether endometriosis is likely present. The EndoSure test takes just 45 minutes—it measures electrical signals in the gut using small sensor pads placed on the abdomen after the patient has fasted.
The UK's national health system, called the NHS, has approved funding for both tests while researchers collect more data on how well they work.
Simran Chavda, 15, started experiencing severe pelvic pain at 13. Repeated doctor visits couldn't find the cause. Her mother, Dr. Sharan Uppal, a family doctor herself, said the test finally gave them the evidence they needed to push for a proper diagnosis of widespread endometriosis.
"The test itself was easy, it wasn't painful at all—just drinking water and being monitored," Simran said. "I'm already starting to feel better after my surgery. I know I'm not going to be in pain all the time, and that means everything."
Dr. Gail Busby, a gynecologist at Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, called the new tests "a game-changer." She said they give doctors answers much sooner, without surgery, so patients can start treatment faster.
"An earlier diagnosis doesn't just change one person's life—it frees up appointments and surgical slots for everyone waiting for care," she explained.
That delay Dr. Busby mentioned is significant. For Ebony Dowdell from Southampton, it took eight years to get diagnosed. The 20-year-old had periods lasting up to four months before she finally received treatment earlier this year.
"Having a diagnosis makes you feel human," Ebony said. "A quicker diagnosis system would make a huge difference to people, and younger people would be getting diagnosed earlier too."
With these new tests now available through the NHS, thousands of women like Ami, Simran, and Ebony may finally get the answers they need—without the years of waiting, and without surgery.