A woman who left a concert soaked in blood because of her heavy periods was denied a diagnosis for more than 10 years.
Linda Hardaker, 42, knew she was suffering with the same condition her mum, aunt and cousins had been for years when she first went to the doctor about her mood swings and painful periods, aged just 15.
But the mum-of-four's concerns were constantly dismissed as a heavy periods, even when at 17 she was leaving a concert with her "pants literally saturated with blood".
The florist, from West Derby, finally received a diagnosis for endometriosis at 27, after being rushed to Liverpool Women's Hospital.
She had collapsed and was in unbearable pain from a "stabbing, twisting pain" in her abdomen, the Liverpool Echo reports.
Speaking about the problems around getting a diagnosis, Linda said: "You start to doubt yourself. You start to think, 'Is this all in my head?
"Have I just got a really low pain threshold? Is this normal? Are these normal periods? Is this normal period pain? Am I just exaggerating? Am I just a wimp?' And obviously that affects your mental health."
On average it takes seven years from the start of symptoms for people to be diagnosed with endometriosis.
The incurable condition - which affection one in 10 women - sees tissue similar to the lining of the womb growing elsewhere in the body, as far away as someone's lungs.
It can cause debilitating pains during periods, when the lining sheds and the blood has nowhere to go like it would in the womb.
Linda explained how the pains went away while she was on the contraceptive pill and during pregnancy, but "came back with a vengeance".
She added how she received life-changing treatment from Manou Kaur, a consultant at the Liverpool Women's Hospital, which gave her her life back.
Manou gave Linda a full hysterectomy, removing her womb and cervix - using a robotic assisted surgery.
"I felt amazing after my surgery," Linda said.
"Compared to my c-sections, where I was awake and felt groggy, this was so different. Following my recovery, I went swimming for the first time and found that I could stretch my body and elongate my torso.
"Everything felt so stuck together before. I'm still finding new things I wasn't able to do before the surgery. I feel so lucky. It's made such a difference to the family."
The Derby mum also diagnosed with premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD), which had left her anxious and "unable to cope" at times.
Linda explained she was "dumbfounded" that it took until she was 41 for this to be diagnosed.
She said: "My struggles with my mental health and PMDD symptoms completely coincided with my cycle, and now it's lifted.
"I wish I recognised it sooner and went on medication, because I feel like I missed out on opportunities with being either riddled with anxiety or feeling sad.
"At points, I turned up to the doctors sobbing and received depression medication. Nobody told me it could coincide with my cycle."
