Hello, advice from those with experience

[Floweryfields]

Hi there, first may I formally intro myself - I've been around for a couple of months and had the odd comment post here and there. I am single - not looking to have a baby or anything (until I find Mr. Right anyway) - to explain the reason for my being a member on these boards.....
I was doing some searches for endometriosis support and was directed here - I must say this is a great active little (actually seems rather large) community. So I've finally decided to post in the area I was here for to begin with...hope this isn't too long......

I've always had painful periods, days off school to begin with, agonising cramps, diahorrea, feeling faint, etc, etc. Around 19 the doc finally put me on the pill, WOW my life changed. Things were pretty good after that for a while, painfree (virtually) periods for a number of years.

Skip foward about 10 or so years, I developed a painful lump in my belly button - then it started to bleed and was really painful, finally I ralised it was bleeding around the time of my period - off to various docs till a surgeon finally removed it and sent it for tests...

The result was it was an area of endometriosis - so then off the the gyno - I should mention at this stage, even though I was around 30 - due to my christianity, I have not been sexually active and therefore have never needed to have smears, etc. So this was all new and terrifying too!!

The gyno was lovely and praised me for my stance (wished he had more patients like me so he had less problems to deal with) - the gyno sent me for US and it showed areas of endometriosis and a endometrioma on my right ovary (chocolate cyst). So I was instructed to take the pill for 3 months at a time with no break - as every time you bleed you bleed into the cyst and make it bigger. 3 months on one off.

Skip foward to the last 6 months - every time I take the break I just about die! When I have my period, things have become so much worse - now it is agony when I pee, poop and just about all the time for the first 2 or 3 days and sometimes even after the flow has stopped (sorry if TMI). I have done some searching and have found that the painful going to the loo is a sign of endo in these areas.

So to the point of this post...... I feel as the next avenue for investigation is a laproscope so that I can actually find out for certain what's in there! I want to be prepared for when God does send that man my way, I want to know how things are going to go when I want to have babies.

I don't feel ultrasounds will be any more use - especially since last time I had one, the girl was so shocked when I said I'd have the internal one but told her of my virginity, she had to get advice from her supervisor and clearly wasn't comfortable doing it, so I told her not to bother. (note the results said patient refused internal - not operator chickened out of doing internal!)

So I would appreciate advice from anyone who's been there and done that! What does the lap show, do they remove stuff while they are in there if they find anything, etc, etc.

Thanks in advance!