Tell us a little bit about that, like the lack of diagnosis, the poor diagnosis for this condition.

condition.I think the problem is the only way to, um, diagnose endometriosis is through surgery.

There are no non-invasive surgical procedures.

If you've seen the news recently, they're bringing out tests or trialing tests that apparently can diagnose it, but they can't diagnose endometriosis alone.

They're not 100%, so you have to go under the knife to get a diagnosis.

And understandably, medical professionals don't necessarily want to put you through an operation.

I totally get that.

So in your opinion, what, what do you think kind of needs to change first? Is it, is it sort of the research funding? Is it the training? Is it the individual responses from the doctors? What would be the first kind of step for you in an ideal world?

So How old were you when that was happening? And when did you first sort of learn, OK, maybe this isn't normal and maybe I need to get things looked

at? So I was in my early teens.

I think I was about 13, 14 when I had my first period.

Sex education occurred the year after, which was really, really helpful.

I was in a lot of pain I was bleeding through my school uniform on a regular basis and because I did that I also bled onto chairs which ended up with me being bullied horrendously because of that and I just felt really really unwell and I didn't know what to do about it and I was looking at other people having periods and coping fine.

And I just wasn't, you know, and I'd have to take the week of my period off school and the school wouldn't necessarily understand because in their minds, it was just a period.

I needed to get on with it.

want to be changed for women's health?

I wonder what your reaction was when you heard about these new tests.

So I'm really, really thrilled, uh, that people are talking about endometriosis, and that there seems to be movement.

However, I am skeptical because I think that even if you have these tests, they're not designed to be a single diagnosis.

So even if you get it, it doesn't change anything.

I mean, it doesn't mean you're going to get seen quicker.

You're still gonna end up on the same referral list, and you're still gonna wait.

And I think also that could psychologically really affect you, knowing that you may have this disease, and you're literally sitting there waiting, you know, f- and knowing that your body is being damaged, that it may be growing.

Um, just finally, um, how are you doing now?

Humoring you

...

this procedure.

Yeah, humoring me.

And I'm afraid I lost my temper and I said, "Well, actually, if you looked at my medical, medical history, you would see that endometriosis has been seen my last sever- my, my, my last procedures, and I just, I really don't appreciate you talking to me like that." And then she went very quiet when the surgeon came back to me with the iPad with the images showing me the endo.

Um, but I've been made to feel like I'm completely wasting people's time.

I've gone to A&E.

Yeah