Endometriosis: What is it? A disease for which there is no treatment.

I was around fourteen when my painful periods began. I thought that wearing heat patches to school would help me get through the day. They did at times. But occasionally I found myself writhing in pain on the fold-out bed in the school office, and the receptionists there had no idea what to recommend because I had already had my appendix removed.
After experiencing discomfort for almost ten years, I was eventually diagnosed with endometriosis. Since then, my experience has taught me that the disease is still not well understood, that diagnosing it is difficult, and that treating it requires a lifetime of hardships.