A taboo-breaking marketer from Bradford has urged more women to talk about an excruciating condition known as endometriosis.

It took almost two years for Leanne Bates to get a diagnosis and treatment for her painful stomach cramps and sickness.

“I was in agony,” Leanne told the Telegraph & Argus.

“I knew my body and I knew something wasn't right.”

Endometriosis sees tissue similar to the lining of the womb grow in other places, such as the ovaries and fallopian tubes.

Symptoms can include pain in your lower tummy or back, period pain that stops you living a normal life, pain during or after sex, pain when peeing or pooing during your period, feeling sick, bowel issues such as constipation and diarrhoea, heavy periods and  difficulties getting pregnant.

It can affect women and transgender people of any age but currently can only be treated, instead of cured.

By sharing her experience, Leanne hopes more women to will come forward to their GP or a loved one - without shame or stopping until a diagnosis is reached.

Leanne’s symptoms first began in August 2020, when her jog around Eccleshill was tainted by debilitating stomach cramps two kilometres in.

It was so agonising that she stopped at the side of the road until the pain passed.

The pain started happening every month during the week before her period arrived.

After a GP questioned if she was simply experiencing extreme period pains or pregnancy, Leanne underwent blood tests, blood pressure testing and an external abdominal exam.

When a prescription of Buscopan, used to relieve IBS symptoms, failed to work, Leanne was referred for an ultrasound.

This was the moment when endometriosis was first mentioned, as the sonographer suggested it could be on her bowel.

“I felt like somebody was really listening and taking me seriously,” Leanne said.

Facing a long waiting list due to the NHS backlog, Leanne was forced to use private healthcare provided by her employer.

Further scans showing previously unnoticed black splodges saw Leanne officially diagnosed four months later via a laparoscopy.

The surgeon removed endometriosis from in front of Leanne’s uterus, the left and right side of her bladder, and the side walls of her pelvis underneath each ovary.

Bradford Telegraph and Argus: Leanne Bates after surgery, pictured. Picture: UGCLeanne Bates after surgery, pictured. Picture: UGC (Image: UGC)

The surgeon also discovered Adenomyosis - when tissue that normally lines the uterus grows into the muscular wall of the uterus - in her womb’s muscle lining.

Doctors suggested her symptoms had possibly been hidden for years by the use of a birth control pill, Microgynon, taken until her mid 20s.

Leanne is waiting to find out whether the Adenomyosis can ever be removed.

In a message to anyone experiencing symptoms, Leanne said: “Keep going. It's so frustrating being made to feel like you're exaggerating or it's just something you have to put up with.

“Keep a diary of your symptoms and periods so you have as much evidence as possible.

“It's barely spoken about, and needs to be normalised.

“How many women are living in pain but putting it down to periods and hormones, or because they're struggling to get a doctor's appointment?”

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