A mum-of-two left in so much pain she couldn't cook or shower ended up flying to Poland after UK doctors failed to diagnose her endometriosis.

Agnieszka Gray, who lives in Edenbridge, spent one-and-a-half years unable to do simple tasks by herself due to the debilitating condition and estimates she spent £1,000 on painkillers alone in that time.

The 45-year-old said: "In March 2021 I was at a point where I was in constant pain, and I had awful discomfort 24 hours a day.

"At the beginning the pain was just vaginal but very quickly it spread to my pelvis and groin.

"I asked my GP to be sent to a gynaecologist and had to wait a long time for that, they just put me on a waiting list."

In the end, she went to a private gynaecologist. However she says when she went back to her GP she was told she'd need to see an NHS one anyway.

Agnieszka ended up going to A&E four times over the course of the 18 months, but says no one listened to her.

She said: "On the third visit I asked the doctor to send me for an ultrasound – he booked me in for two weeks' time, which was May this year.

"They told me it could be an infection so gave me antibiotics for two weeks, which I took but the pain was still there.

"On another one of the visits I asked the doctor to send me for a pelvic X-ray because I didn't know what was going on. They gave me one and said everything was okay.

"However next day I got a call saying I had something wrong with my hips and that she would send me for physical therapy – which never ended up happening."

She ended up having an MRI which showed a small cyst on her ovaries, which she later discovered was endometrioma - cystic lesions on her ovaries found in 17–44% patients with endometriosis.

She then had surgery in April, but was still in "agony".

Endometriosis is a condition where tissue which is similar to the lining of the womb grows in other places, like the ovaries and fallopian tubes.

The symptoms include intense period pain, pain during sex, pain in your back and lower stomach and can cause difficulties getting pregnant.

The mum-of-two said that at one point doctors gave her antidepressants.

She continued: "I couldn't even shower by myself my husband had to hold me up, and I couldn't put pizza in the oven for my children because I couldn't bend – I was completely bed-ridden.

"In the end I'd had enough. Luckily I have family in Poland who lent me some money to look for a specialist."

On June 12 this year, Agnieszka travelled to Medicover in Warsaw Wilanow – leaving her husband and two children behind.

After waiting around two months to see a specialist, she was diagnosed with endometriosis within minutes and spent £5,000 on a private operation.

"I went in for surgery with him on September 13 and he found endometriosis absolutely everywhere," she said.

"For two months afterwards I was on a baby food, but I feel so much better now. I'm still tired and recovering but the pain is much more manageable now.

"The doctor saved my life and if I'd have waited I don't know what could have happened."

She came back home on November 4, after not seeing her family for months.

On top of the mental toll, she estimates that she spent between £10k-£15k over the year-and-a-half - including on private treatment in the UK and Poland.

"I probably spent £1k on just painkillers," she said.

"All my family suffered because when I was in pain I couldn't do anything – I couldn't play with my children, I couldn't cook for them.

"It's a lot of stress when you're being told that there was nothing wrong with you when you know there is.

"The doctor gave me my life back - when I was diagnosed I cried with relief because someone finally believed me and helped me."

According to charity Endometriosis UK, the average time to get a diagnosis - and therefore treatment for the disease - is eight years.

In 2020 doctors were urged to more seriously consider the diagnosis of the disease, following a critical report by the he All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on endometriosis which claimed not enough had been done in the past 10 years to improve the situation.

Some patients reported visiting the doctor more than 100 times before being referred. Many felt they were not being taken seriously by medical staff.