A pain 'worse than labour' for more than 20 years: Jodie opens up on her agony

That was the life for Lavington resident Jodie Greck, who was diagnosed with endometriosis in October, 2021.

Since she was 14, she found herself in agony whenever she had her period. She is now 39.

"I have gone to several doctors over the years in pain, just not knowing, crippling pain," she said.

"Like, I can't go to work and I'm in bed for three days. And I just said it was just part of being a woman and to just take Panadol.

"And it wasn't until I actually started doing IVF in 2021, and I told them about it, that Scott Giltrap from Albury IVF said we should look into my endometriosis.

March is national endometriosis awareness month and although Ms Greck thinks the condition is becoming more recognised, she still thinks there is more to be done.

"I didn't even know what endometriosis was until I was diagnosed," she said.

Endometriosis, or sometimes referred to as endo, can only be diagnosed through a laparoscopy, a keyhole surgery.

When having a laparoscopy, the endometrial tissue can be removed by it either being cut or burnt.

It is a condition where the same tissue that lines the uterus is found on places including the pelvis, the ovaries, the bowel and on the bladder.

During a cycle, the tissue thickens and breaks away due to hormones, which causes a period. If the tissue is on another organ or body part and not the uterus, it can cause some internal bleeding, scar tissue and can create painful periods. There may also be pain where the tissue is as it has nowhere to go.

The pain Ms Greck was going through as a teenager made her feel isolated.

"I definitely felt unheard. And also, at the time, I was being home-schooled, so I didn't really have anyone to kind of share stories with and compare," she said.

Some of her symptoms included heavy bleeding, major clotting, backache and stabbing in her stomach. Not knowing what the cause of her pain was, she just thought she was unlucky.

Now after three children, she said the pain she felt as a 14-year-old "was worse than labour."

She was also left to feel she wasn't listened to by previous medical professionals she had visited.

"I'd go to the doctor and I felt like they just thought I was making it up because I'm like, 'I'm in so much pain', And they're like, 'oh, well, the ultrasound hasn't found anything', she said.

"Now that I know you can only be diagnosed with a laparoscopy ... how do they not know as doctors to send a referral to get it looked at?"

Her diagnosis with stage four endometriosis also gave some closure as to why she has been battling infertility since 2021.

She also has to take the opioid Endone just to control her pain, a pain that she thought was normal and had to "suck it up."

She is returning to surgery in June to further treat the condition.

"To anyone that's experiencing severe pain, know that it's not normal and to go to your GP and ask for a referral to your gynecologist or someone that deals with endometriosis," she said.

Dr Scott Giltrap, medical director at Albury IVF has seen more patients present with endometriosis.

"We are seeing more patients with endometriosis and we're not sure whether because of their awareness they're presenting, or because it's increasing in frequency," he said.

"Certainly people are much more aware and historically, it's taken a very long time for people to get diagnosed. And the attitude towards teenagers in the past has been, well, that's your lot in life. Mum says, I had period pain, and you've got it and you just got to put up with it.

"Lots of people take that attitude, but people are becoming more aware now."

Dr Giltrap said that both government initiatives and social media are increasing awareness and encouraging patients to ask for a diagnosis.