EVEN as a teenager, Alexandra Bennett somehow knew she would have problems getting pregnant when she was older.

She had suffered with debilitating period pains throughout her late teens - some were so strong she would pass out in agony - but the contraception and pain relief doctors prescribed had little effect.

It took around four years for Alexandra to be diagnosed with endometriosis. She woke up from surgery 18 months ago only to be told the news she had always feared - that she would be unable to conceive naturally.

"It's very emotional for me to talk about," said Alexandra, 27, who lives in Kidderminster. "I remember waking up from the first surgery and they told me straight away.

Kidderminster Shuttle: Alexandra Bennet, from Kidderminster, was diagnosed with endometriosis 18 months agoAlexandra Bennet, from Kidderminster, was diagnosed with endometriosis 18 months ago

"I always knew I wanted a family but somehow I knew, it's so weird. When I was about 18 years old, I said to my mum that I would have problems. I would say, 'mum, I can feel something is wrong. It's never going to happen for me'.

"As a woman, you know when something isn't right."

After being on the contraceptive pill and then having a coil fitted didn't stop her agonising period pains, Alexandra was referred for scans and was then sent in to hospital for key hole surgery.

She said: "I was in surgery for three and a half hours. They opened me up and found two large ovarian cysts. They were bigger than golf balls. That's what was causing a lot of the pain.

"When I woke up, the surgeon told me I had this condition, endometriosis, and it was stage four. They said that basically my fallopian tubes were blocked and it had also spread onto my bowel.

"I paid privately for my next procedure because I was in so much pain and the waiting list was over a year. I just couldn't wait that long and I wanted to try and have a baby.

Kidderminster Shuttle: Alexandra Bennet, from Kidderminster, was diagnosed with endometriosis 18 months agoAlexandra Bennet, from Kidderminster, was diagnosed with endometriosis 18 months ago

"I was in surgery for three hours and they had to get a bowel specialist surgeon in. That's when they told me there was definitely no chance of me conceiving naturally, that I would have to have IVF."

The painful disorder, which sees cells like the ones lining the womb grow outside the uterus, affects around one in 10 women in the UK. That's roughly the same as the number of women diagnosed with diabetes.

But despite its commonality, it takes women an average of seven years to be diagnosed with the condition.

Alexandra said: "A lot of women get told it's just painful periods and they really have to push to get a genealogical referral to get diagnosed. It can take years.

"I hadn’t heard of it myself until I started Googling my symptoms, which of course you're not meant to do because it can often be your worst enemy.

"I was trying so hard to get referred through my GP and this condition kept cropping up online. I read about it and I thought this is exactly how I feel - but nobody I spoke to had heard of it.

"I think because it's about women's private parts, it's a bit of a taboo subject and no one wants to talk about it. But if every woman had it and everyone couldn't give birth, the world would stop. It's a big deal."

To mark Endometriosis Awareness Month in March, Alexandra is walking 10,000 steps a day and is raising money for Endometriosis UK at justgiving.com/fundraising/alexandra-bennett9.

G Herbert Banks in Great Witley, where Alexandra works as a senior sales negotiator, has also signed up to be an Endometriosis Friendly Employer - one of just 40 businesses to do so in the UK.

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To anyone suffering with symptoms, Alexandra gave this advice: "Just don't give up. Keep going to the GP if things don't get better, keep mentioning it.

"As soon as my eight months was up on the contraceptive coil, I was straight back onto the doctor. You have to be really persistent."

Alexandra and her partner plan to start looking into her options for IVF this summer.

For more information about endometriosis, its symptoms and the treatments available, visit endometriosis-uk.org.