Endometriosis: 'I was told the pain was in my head'

An endometriosis sufferer has said her reproductive organs are so damaged by a three-year delay for surgery, it has affected her ability to have children.

Claire Nicholls, 29, has been in pain for years with the condition - which involves tissue similar to the lining of the womb growing elsewhere.

Northern Ireland has the longest gynaecological waiting lists in the UK, according to a professional body.

It is calling for two regional endometriosis centres.

The Department of Health said it could not comment on individual cases but added that specialist centres would require investment.

Ms Nicholls, who owns a beauty business, says she is angry and hurt, and she knows a lot of women in a similar position because they were also not listened to.

"I was told the pain was in my head and that it was normal to experience this amount of pain - pain that was there almost every day and not just around my period," she said.

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