"I'm begging for help for endometriosis"
Living with seizures and crippling pain, Zara Corbett says she's "begging for help" as she copes with endometriosis.
The 21-year-old told BBC News NI that if she had any other condition she would be receiving help.
"With gynae problems, particularly endometriosis, you are left waiting for years."
"Women should not be left suffering this pain, it's not good enough," the beautician said.
Zara has been put into early menopause - which is one potential treatment for endometriosis.
The County Down woman said Northern Ireland needed a dedicated centre to provide specialist support.
"I am begging for help from medical professionals including support from a multi-agency network because we are at our wits end - life cannot go on like this," she said.
Endometriosis UK, an organisation that helps women with the condition, said it was shocked and saddened that it does not see "good, prompt care" in Northern Ireland.
Its chief executive, Emma Cox, who visited Belfast in May, said services in Northern Ireland were "lagging behind" the rest of the UK.
"We hear of the very long waiting lists to access gynaecologists to get a diagnosis but also waiting lists to access surgeons, it's about the disease being taken seriously," Ms Cox said.
Source: BBC News, 6 December 2023