A young woman has shared she was misdiagnosed for 17 years before being told she had endometriosis.
Michaela McKenna, 33, was given the devastating news she may have just six months to have a baby due to the chronic condition and its severe effects.
A Ryanair cabin crew member, Michaela explained she was finally able to understand what was happening to her after she bled for 36 whole days straight.
Affecting around one in every ten, the condition is common but often difficult to diagnose, and causes growths similar to the lining of the womb to grow elsewhere in the body.
READ MORE - What time is Nicola Sturgeon's covid update and what she is expected to announce
Frequently causing agonising pain, Michaela's first symptoms of the condition began an astonishing 17 years before she was given the official diagnosis.
Having a signifiant impact on her life, the 33-year-old had been taken to A&E in the past with her severe symptoms. Speaking to the Liverpool Echo, Michaela shared one frightening trip to hospital saw her have a a "massive" blood clot "pouring like a tap" and thought she was dying.
She said she was sent home with painkillers.
Similar to others with the same condition, she was told she just had a "bad period", and tried different options to ease her symptoms.
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.
"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."
