Before i had my laparoscopy, i was told i might have endometriosis or a chronic case of pelvic inflammatory disease. how are these different?

PID vs Endo: Pid is a sexually transmitted disease that causes pain with menses and with intercourse, may block the tubes and cause infertility similar to what endometriosis(which is not infectious in origin)will do in the pelvis.

Only 1 is infectious: Pelvic inflammatory disease is infection that can cause pain, scarring and "adhesions" from the pus which is collected bacteria and white blood cells. Treatment requires antibiotics to kill the bacteria. Even after the infection is gone however, scar tissue may remain. Endometriosis is misplaced tissue from the lining of the uterus, that settles elsewhere and bleeds at the time of the period.

Very different: If you had laparoscopy, you should now know what was causing your pain. Pid is infectious disease whereas endometriosis is not. Endometriosis and pid can easily be distinguished at laparoscopy. Chronic pid is actually not that common but the sequelae of acute pid is much more common which presents as adhesions.