FOR a substantial portion of the menstruating population, periods can be a burden that detrimentally impacts on quality of life on a monthly basis.

Endometriosis is a disease where tissue similar to the lining of the uterus grow outside the uterus, causing pain and in some cases, infertility.

Endometriosis awareness has grown over the last few years, with celebrities, social media influencers and medical professionals making space for conversations about endometriosis to enter the mainstream.

Pain during your period has often been dismissed as normal, but increasingly we have been told that extreme pain, that in which you miss work or school is not normal and should be investigated further by a medical professional.

March is Endometriosis Awareness Month, to help further shed light on the disease that effects one in nine women.

Yesterday, Prime Minister, Scott Morrison announced $85 million in funding, as part of the National Action Plan for Endometriosis, to improve endometriosis diagnosis and primary care support, helping more women to find appropriate care and better manage the impact of endometriosis.

Hamilton Medical Groups doctor, Leesa Walker said while there was currently no cure for endometriosis, there were steps people could take to improve their quality of life.

“There are lifestyle measures, hormonal therapies and surgery,” she said.

“Simple things like getting enough exercise and sleep and managing your stress are important.

“There are variety of hormones therapies that stop or reduce bleeding such as the oral contraceptive pill and the Mirena intrauterine device.

“Surgery aims to remove the areas of endometriosis or repair any damage caused by it and is usually done laparoscopically (keyhole surgery).”

With over 800,000 women in Australia suffering with endometriosis, you do not have to look far to find a sufferer.

Hamilton local, Letetia Tobin has had painful periods ever since she got her first period at the age of 11.

Letetia suffered with heavy, painful periods until she was 19 years old, when she undertook a lengthy and invasive medical investigation to discover what was causing such troublesome periods.

“I was 19 when I was finally diagnosed so I went to my doctor,” she said.

“I went through pap smears, test, every single thing before they would do anything, and it just got to a point where “I was working full time and could not work anymore because I was so sore.

“(I had) bad periods, I would have really bad pain in my stomach, down my leg and it was always on my left and then periods were excruciatingly heavy, like I would have to change my pad three or four times a day, I couldn’t wear a tampon because they were so heavy.

“And nothing would help, I was on the strongest pain medication, and nothing would help.

“I couldn’t have a day-to-day life anymore.”

While Letetia has now got on top of her endometriosis, with limited flair ups, it took her years to find solutions and that was only after trial and error, which left her around $3-4000 out of pocket.

For many women, the path to diagnosis and treatment is long and heartbreaking, Letetia said it was important that doctors listened to patients who raise concerns about their period.

She also said improved services need to be available locally, so women like her no longer have to travel over an hour to receive specialist treatment.

“(Treatment) needs to be individualised, if someone is going to a doctor, they need to listen and validate what we’re saying, and you’re not guaranteed that,” she said.

“It is hard talking to someone, it is like going to talk about your mental health and you take that big step, and no one wants to listen to you.

“Especially in Hamilton, my specialist is in Warrnambool, but you’ve got to get that referral and at the moment you’ve got to get in to get that referral, like it is taking two weeks to get into a doctor here.”