A woman who gets so bloated she looks "pregnant" was diagnosed with a little-known womb condition - after being told having a baby might help ease her pain."

Grace Almey, 21, has always struggled with painful and heavy periods since she started them aged nine - and would sometimes bleed for three weeks at a time.

Her mum, Joanne, 56, took her to the doctors countless times and Grace tried various different contraceptive pills and the coil but nothing eased her symptoms.

She also struggled with bloating - so severely she looked "pregnant" - and her emotions but was just told she was "sensitive"."

Doctors continued to dismiss Grace's symptoms - and she says she was even told aged 15 'normally we'd tell women to have a baby' to help ease her pain.

In January this year Grace started getting back pain, gastro problems and her hair fell out but doctors still couldn't work out what was wrong.

She was eventually told they thought it was endometriosis and underwent a laparoscopy which instead diagnosed her with adenomyosis - a condition where the lining of the womb starts growing into the muscle in the wall of the womb.

Grace is now living with the condition as the only way to rid her of the pain is to have a hysterectomy - to remove her uterus.

Grace, who works in HR, from Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, said: "I'd often wake up with my stomach really swollen."

"It honestly looked like I was pregnant."

"If some saw me they genuinely think I was pregnant."

"I was just an emotional wreck."

"I was told 'you're just sensitive'."

"I was about 15 and they said there isn't anything we can do. Normally we'd tell women to have a baby."

Grace first started getting symptoms when she started her period - aged nine.

She said: "From the get go, I had really heavy periods and they were really painful."

"Sometimes they'd last for three weeks."

"My mum kept taking me to the doctors but at that age they just said it would settle."

But by the age of 12, Grace was still struggling with her periods - to the point she would have to take time off school.

She said: "I was constantly gong through pads. My mum was constantly washing my sheets. "

"Sometimes I'd just sit on the toilet to bleed."

She was offered the pill which helped regulate her cycles to start with but didn't ease any other symptoms.

Grace tried different types of combined pills, the injection and the coil over the years but nothing worked for her.

She said: "I started having really painful bowel movements - they'd make me sick and hot."

"Every time you go to the doctors - you're told there is not much we can do."

"You're basically told to get on with it. You become used to it."

"I'm trying everything they are recommending and nothing is working. At 18 I kind of admitted defeat."

Grace has even been told having a baby might help on three or four different occasions - and as young as 15.

She said: "One said 'we know you are young but if you decide to have a baby that does help'."

"It's bad narrative that having a baby will solve gynaecological issues."

Grace lived with her pain until she started getting bad back pain in January 2024 and a scan revealed a cyst on her ovary.

She was told the cyst would resolve itself but when her pain continued she was referred back to her GP.

She said: "I was having a lot of gastro problems - I couldn't keep food down."

"My hair was falling out."

Grace was told she could have a colonoscopy but there was a 12 month wait - and decided to go privately.

She said: "It was clear. I was really deflated."

"Between February and May I was trying to live life in anyway I could."

Grace ended up back in hospital in May with "horrendous" period pain and even found an ultrasound "unbearable"."

She was told they wanted to get her in for an laparoscopy as medics believed she had endometriosis.

Grace decided to go privately again after hearing horror stories on TikTok.

She underwent her surgery - costing between £5,000 to £6,000 - in July and her doctor came to see her afterwards.

Grace said: "He said we didn't find any endometriosis."

"I was absolutely heartbroken. I wanted validation for my pain."

"Then he said we think you have a condition called adenomyosis."

Grace was recommended she try and progesterone only pill and her only option to end the pain completely is to get a hysterectomy.

She said: "It's localised in the uterus and womb - you have it until you have a hysterectomy. It's the only way to 'cure' it."

"It's bittersweet to know there is something to help but it's not possible at a young age."

"I've got to live with this until I'm willing to have a hysterectomy."