A woman was diagnosed with an incurable chronic pain condition after bleeding for 36 days.
Ryanair cabin crew member Michaela McKenna, 33, said: "I was tired, I was anaemic, I was emotional. It was terrible, and no one was listening. I was diagnosing myself."
Michaela, from Speke, has endometriosis, a condition affecting one in 10 people assigned female at birth, which occurs when tissue similar to the lining of the womb grows elsewhere in the body, causing pain and heavy bleeding during periods.
It took 17 years from her first symptoms to be diagnosed with the condition that takes an average of seven years to diagnose.
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In the intervening years, Michaela was sometimes rushed into A&E, including once when she had a "massive" blood clot "pouring like a tap" and thought she was dying.
She said she was sent home with painkillers.
Like many people with endometriosis and other reproductive health concerns, she was told she just had a "bad period".
Michaela told the ECHO: "I was a teenager, so I thought they know better than me, they're a doctor. Because I'd known no different, I thought that was normal."
For years she trusted doctors' medical opinion, tried the contraceptive pill and implant - which are used to treat the symptoms of endometriosis - and suffered their side effects.
But she knew something was wrong.
Eight months before the 36-day bleed, Michaela was taken to hospital with a cyst, which can be caused in the ovaries by endometriosis.
She asked doctors if she had endometriosis because she had "every symptom", including fatigue, migraines and brain fog.
Other symptoms are pelvic pain, period pain, and pain during sex, urination and defecation.
Michaela had also never been pregnant despite trying for a baby for years, which can be caused by the condition.
Despite this, she said doctors refused to send her for a laparoscopy - a keyhole surgery and the most common way to diagnose and remove endometriosis - after scans of the cyst showed no signs of the condition.
A consultant at Liverpool Women's Hospital eventually booked Michaela in for a hysteroscopy, which uses a narrow telescope with a light and camera to examine the inside of the womb.
But the arrival of the coronavirus pandemic meant she was left waiting in "agony" for a year.
Michaeala said: "No one ever diagnosed me, and I was telling them what's wrong with me. They were like 'No, you haven't, you're just one of those girls with a bad period'.
"And that pain is something else. It's like someone running me over and setting me on fire"
It felt like "the world off her shoulders" when she got a new consultant who had endometriosis herself.
Understanding Michaela's struggle for help, they agreed to a laparoscopy in April 2021, which confirmed the 33-year-old has the condition, which had spread to her liver, bowel and bladder.
She was told she would need to get pregnant within six months to a year so she could reap the benefits of the surgery that removed some of the endometriosis tissue around her womb and ovaries.
Michaela told the ECHO: "I was crying. I didn't know what to do, and everyone was pressuring me to do it. I was just like, 'No, I'm not doing it'.
"I didn't want to rush. It's something that you don't rush."
She added: "It's not how you plan your life. You don't grow up thinking that's how it's going to be."
Although there is no cure for endometriosis, the diagnosis means Michaela at least understands her body more and knows to avoid things like red meat and dairy, which can increase the risk of the condition.
Like she first learnt about the condition from a colleague talking about it, two of Michaela's friends were diagnosed with it since she spoke out about her experience.
She thanks her consultant at Liverpool Women's Hospital for getting her to the point she's at now.
Michaela said: "I'm lucky to have her. I know it's annoying it took me so long, but I'm glad in a way that I've got her.
"She's given me what no one else could ever give me - a chance to have IVF."
Emma Cox, CEO of Endometriosis UK, said: "We hear a lot of stories from those with endometriosis who were told as a teenager that having excruciating pelvic pain and periods was 'just part of being a woman' and to put up with it, that they were being overdramatic, that the pain was all in their head, or their level of pain not believed.
"As awareness and understanding of endometriosis grows, we hope comments like these can be consigned to history – while many may experience period pain at some point, chronic pelvic pain and period pains that interfere way of everyday life are different and should not be seen as normal.
"Awareness is increasing thanks to the dedication of thousands of Endometriosis UK’s supporters and campaigners. But it’s not increasing fast enough.
"During Endometriosis Action Month, we're urging those experiencing symptoms of endometriosis to take action and contact their doctor, so they can get the support and treatment they need."
