A nurse from Oldham has issued a desperate plea to doctors to understand endometriosis better after medics dismissed her suffering.

Lucy Bower has suffered from endometriosis, which affects one in 10 women of childbearing age, since her early teens.

It means the 24-year-old has suffered from near-constant bleeding and, despite the condition reaching the glands near her kidneys, she said she had been met with a brick wall from medical professionals who dismissed her agony as a "heavy period".

The condition is caused when tissue similar to the lining of the womb adheres to other parts of the body, including the fallopian tubes, yet it can take up to seven years to receive a diagnosis.

In Lucy's case, doctors actually removed her appendix in a bid to cure her abdominal pain but she has gone on to encounter a haemorrhage and numerous hospital infections, though remarkably has been able to give birth.

However, she said the doctors she encountered were not endometriosis specialists and that her management consisted "almost solely of pain relief" while waiting for a diagnosis.

Lucy said: "My life has been littered with hospital attendances.

"I would be treated in A&E and receive strong painkillers before being sent up to the ward for 'pain management' which consisted of a junior doctor reviewing me and prescribing another medication which inevitably would not work.

"I just felt nobody took me seriously or listened to my concerns.

"That is the position for a lot of women with endometriosis."

The young woman also said while the diagnosis is not a "magic label that makes things better", she said it is crucial to obtain and can make all the difference.

The nurse has since joined forces with the local Chadderton charity, Endometriosis Awareness North, to raise awareness and educate people on the shattering physical and mental health effects "endo" sufferers face.

In research, the charity found three-quarters of those admitted to the charity said they felt "desperate" with 11 per cent saying they were experiencing dark thoughts.

Charity founder, Dr Anita Sharma, added: "Our small charity has spent its first few months surveying and meeting clinicians and medics and has discovered a frighteningly high level of ignorance with some believing patients merely have back or menstrual pain.

"If this were a condition that resulted in men enduring agony, time lost from work, plans cancelled constantly and people constantly questioning your pain, I am sure treatment would be better and even a cure forthcoming.

"But here is another example of women being treated like second-class citizens."

The GP, who is also from Oldham, said she is "pleased" Lucy has joined forces with the charity.

She added: "The fact she is a nurse means there will be somebody on the front line, battling for women with endometriosis and countering the prejudice against those with the condition.

Lucy said: "I am not able to engage in activities a typical 24-year-old would, however, I now have people on my side and I am determined to do my bit to help other women in my position."Â