Endometriosis Awareness💛🎗

Since the age of 13 I'd always suffered from painful periods. They were that bad that I was sent home from school or would spend days in bed in too much pain to do anything. I went to the GP about it and they reassured me it was all part of " becoming a woman" and would prescribe painkillers to help with the pain. I had a lot of faith in the GP's back then and believed what they were telling me. I just assumed that if they said so then this was all just a normal thing. It was trial and error from then as some painkillers worked and others didn't do anything for me except cause side effects. The next thing the doctors wanted to try was hormone treatments. They tried me on the contraceptive pill to see if that would help and gave me a pack to take for three months without a break but this made my pain worse and did nothing but play havoc with my mood. Pain became a common concern that I went to my GP about but none of them seemed to think it was a problem and just kept giving me painkillers and contraceptives to try. At the age of 16 I was sitting in front of a doctor who then told me that " the only way to get relief from the pain would be becoming pregnant," I remember her saying this to me and I was just sitting there not knowing how to respond. I was only 16 and teen pregnancy was being promoted?! I was starting to get fed up of trying to get them to listen that I just took the painkillers they prescribed and tried to deal with the pain the best I could. 

I was referred to gynaecology and seen as an outpatient. I remember the day very well I was undergoing training for a new job I was starting and the pain flared up. It was excruciating right up my back and into my abdomen it was like someone was dragging a knife down my back. I ran out of the room and into a toilet cubicle and was doubled over in pain vomiting and bleeding heavily. I phoned my GP surgery and they put an emergency referral in to gynaecology again and wrote me up for an antisickness. An appointment came through for two weeks later and  I was hoping they could give me some answers. The first consultant I'd seen was sure that it was "just period pain" and tried me on a contraceptive called provera which is a type of estrogen hormone. The first few weeks of taking it and it just didn't agree with me at all. I was still in pain and having to take time off work in order to rest because I didn't feel well and it made me feel depressed. I went back to see another consultant a few months later who then told me that my pain was most likely "dysfunctional" and maybe " there was no cause to it as it could all just be in my head." To be told that my pain wasn't real and I was imagining it was upsetting. I wanted someone to validate what I was experiencing not tell me it was all psychological. Just because they couldn't see it didn't mean it wasn't there. I was told that doing surgery would be pointless as it will show nothing and would affect my chances of having children. I was sent away again this time I was to try a transdermal patch which I would replace once a week and it would release hormones into my body. I argued that this was the same as the other hormones they'd given me but in a different form and I was told that it wasn't. I tried it anyway but it caused the same effects as the provera did and the feeling of being on edge was just too much to bare that my GP took me off it and requested me to be seen again. The amount of pain I was in was horrible and when the pain came the bloating started and I felt uncomfortable...

It wasn't until October 2016 the consultant decided that they needed to look further into my case so I was booked in for a laparoscopy. I had my preop assessment and then was asked to attend an appointment with a clinical nurse specialist. She sat me down and explained that I'd been referred to her and she wanted to chat to me before surgery as they were 100% certain I had endometriosis. She took me through what endometriosis was and wanted to hear what I'd tried already and how it had been getting someone to listen. The scary thing was she wasn't surprised by the responses I'd had from professionals! So many other women had experienced the same responses and it had taken so long for them to be listened to as well.

In December 2016 I was admitted to St John's Hospital and underwent a laparoscopy. The build up to the surgery was scary but my GP was so supportive. I had no idea what they were going to say and the thought of them finding nothing ran through my mind and if that was the case would they just say it was all in my head and leave it at that? I remember coming round from surgery and being back in the ward with the other girls. The consultant came round to talk about findings during surgery and when he came to see me he told me all the years of pain had been caused by endometriosis. He explained that he'd found endometriosis outside my uterus which he removed but also on my bowel but couldn't remove it due to the risks. After 6 years I finally had a diagnosis! 

2 days post-op 

I believe that there needs to be more awareness raised about endometriosis. It's a common condition but hardly anyone knows what it is. If there was more awareness raised this would lead to more women being aware of what is and what isn't normal. I wish that at school I was taught about this in PSE because then I would've noticed the signs a lot quicker and wouldn't have had to fight to get the answers which emotionally does take its toll. If I had to give a piece of advice it would be that you know your own body and if something doesn't feel right don't be afraid to get it seen to by a GP and never be afraid to seek a second opinion. I don't want any other girl to have to go through what I have. Together we can raise awareness of this horrendous condition.