'Doctors need to get it out of their heads that it's just period pain'

JENNI HAS BATTLED FOR YEARS TO GET MORE SUPPORT FOR WOMEN WHO SUFFER FROM ENDOMETRIOSIS

- By LAUREN MONAGHAN Local democracy reporter

THE Nottinghamshire leader of the UK’s main endometriosis charity says she has been “fighting” to be listened to by professionals for years.

Jenni Johnson, 38, from Sutton-in-Ashfield, is group support leader of the Nottinghamshire arm of Endometriosis UK and has struggled with the condition for around 20 years.

But it was only diagnosed during an IVF scan a decade after her symptoms first appeared and following numerous visits to doctors.

Endometriosis is a long-term condition affecting one in 10 UK women, where tissue similar to that found in the lining of the womb grows in other parts of the body, such as on the ovaries, fallopian tubes and the lining of the pelvis. In rare cases, it can be found outside the pelvis, such as in the chest and can affect the bladder and bowel.

People with the condition often have severe menstrual pain, heavy or irregular bleeding and pain in the stomach and lower back. It can also lead to fertility issues. A 2024 Endometriosis UK report found the average time it takes for the condition to be diagnosed after the first GP visit is just under nine years.

Jenni had a hysterectomy when she was 32 to help manage the pain and problems she endured from the condition but she now fears there is tissue on another organ as she is experiencing similar pain to before.