A woman has told how her endometriosis pain is so severe it has stopped her sex life in its tracks.
Kerry Morris, 28, has always suffered from incredibly painful and heavy, irregular periods since the age of 13.
But the marketing manager from Stafford was repeatedly told by doctors that the pain she suffered was psychological.
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Kerry even went under the invasive laparoscopy operation (examining the lower abdomen or pelvis) in 2012, but over a dozen healthcare professionals had dismissed an endometriosis diagnosis as they could not find any evidence for it.
But for Kerry, sex was incredibly painful, and she could not even manage to use tampons as the pain was so bad.
She was adamant that she was suffering from endometriosis, a condition where tissue similar to that found in the lining of the womb grows in other places such as on the ovaries, but struggled to convince doctors that this was causing her pain.
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Speaking about her experience, Kerry said: "I have always had trouble with painful periods and was put on the birth control pill to help at age thirteen.
"I had my first operation in 2012 but they didn't find any sign of anything being wrong.
"When I had the operation and they couldn't find it, it was a massive kick in the teeth.
"It hurt to use tampons and the pain during sex was unbearable. Then I had another operation in 2014, but again they couldn't find anything physically wrong with me."
With doctors believing that Kerry's pain around sex had psychological causes, she was assigned a psychosexual therapist in a bid to "retrain her brain" around sex.
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"I was told by doctors that I was making it up and that the pain was all in my head," Kerry said.
"It was always really painful when having sex and it took a toll on my relationship as I didn't want to try and have sex in case it hurt me.
"They said I would tense my body and I was causing my pain, so whenever I was in pain it led to a few arguments because he thought it was my 'giving' myself pain that wasn't actually there.
"Even though I was going through all of this therapy, my pain was very much still there."
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However, when Kerry split with her partner, she was discharged from the psychosexual clinic as she was no longer in a relationship.
"Someone telling you that they can't help you because you've not got a boyfriend really affects your mental health," she said.
"I had constant headaches, fatigue, and hotness and even fainted whilst in a cold shower - the pain was that unbearable."
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It wasn't until 2017, and Kerry's third operation, that a surgeon found evidence that she was suffering from endometriosis.
And despite a fourth operation at the start of the year, Kerry still has to live with the pain of the condition every day, with endometriosis having an effect on her sex life with new boyfriend Aaron.
The act of intercourse is so painful that it can make Kerry's body shake for hours afterwards. However, Aaron is incredibly understanding of her condition, something that has not always been the case in previous relationships when the pain has stopped her from wanting to even attempt sex.
She is now trying to raise awareness on Instagram about just how debilitating and difficult this condition can be.
"The experience of having it and having to try and explain it to countless doctors, surgeons and receptionists on the phone is so frustrating as hardly anyone knows what it is," Kerry said.
"There are so many girls that suffer in silence and so many people that have no clue what it is.
"It needs to be discussed openly in school and be compulsory in sex education. Young girls need to be aware that it is very common and they are not to blame.
"Boys need to be made aware of what it is and that it's not a girl's fault. At first I was scared of opening up and telling my story, but there is a huge lack of awareness out there.
"If I can even help just one person, that's good enough for me."
Featured Image Credit: Media Drum WorldTopics: Endometriosis, Life News, Life, Real Life, Health