What endometriosis can involve
Endometriosis is a condition where tissue similar to the lining of the womb grows elsewhere in the body, most often around the pelvis. It can cause severe period pain, pelvic pain at other times of the month, pain during or after sex, painful bowel or bladder symptoms, bloating, fatigue and difficulty getting pregnant.
It is common — around 1 in 10 women and people assigned female at birth — and yet diagnosis takes years, because the pain is so often dismissed as something to put up with. A month-by-month record of what actually happened is very hard to wave away.
On average it takes 9 years and 4 months from a first GP visit to get a diagnosis of endometriosis in the UK.