Woman, 29, will NEVER have kids after docs ‘mistook painful womb condition for heavy periods for 10 YEARS’
WHEN she went to the doctors with severe stomach pain at the age of 16, she knew something wasn't right.
But, doctors told Nichola Barrett she was just suffering with heavy periods and advised she take painkillers.
She was told the cramps would subside.
But the relief she hoped for never came and she returned to see doctors various times.
It was 10 years later, after her pain became so severe it was taking over her life, that Nichola sought a specialist.
She visited a gynaecologist and was eventually diagnosed with endometriosis.
The condition means the lining of her womb grows abnormally, outside the uterus.
But Nichola's relief at finally having an answer was short-lived.
After an examination of her womb, doctors told her the scar tissue in one of her fallopian tubes was so severe she would never be able to have kids.
The fallopian tube connects the ovaries to the uterus and allows to fertilised egg to reach the womb, where it implants, attaching to the wall and begins to grow.
MOST READ IN HEALTH
She was just 25 years old and had always planned to have children.
Nichola, now 29, described the news as “like a punch in the face” – not something an otherwise healthy young woman is ever ready to hear.
Now, while her friends and family are having children and experiencing the joy of being a mum, Nichola is preparing for a hysterectomy to stop the pain caused by the condition and the build-up of scar tissue.
She said: “I remember thinking ‘how can I never be a mum’, I wasn’t bothered about the pain anymore, it was more about how I wanted to be a mum.
“I still can’t get my head around it even now; I am never going to be a mum.
“You plan a life and then to be told you can’t have that life, it is like a punch in the face.
“When I first found out, my sister had just got pregnant again, so it put me in a predicament with her because I thought ‘how can I be close with her’.
“I am really close with my sister but I struggled because she had these newborn babies and I couldn’t feel happy because it's what I wanted and my sister had it all.
“I started resenting my sister a little bit because she has now got five kids, it was really hard.”
WHAT IS ENDOMETRIOSIS?
Endometriosis is a chronic condition which occurs when tissue which behaves like the lining of the womb is found outside of the womb – in areas of the body including the ovaries, fallopian tubes, the abdomen and the bladder.
The exact cause of the condition isn’t known, but it’s thought it could be hereditary or due to environmental factors – namely the presence of dioxins in the environment.
Endometriosis can sometimes cause damage to the fallopian tubes or ovaries, leading to fertility problems.
Other complications can include painful ovarian cysts and adhesions – areas of tissue which can fuse organs together.
Symptoms:
- painful or heavy periods
- pain during and following sex
- bleeding between periods
- pain in the lower abdomen
- difficulty conceiving
- fatigue
- discomfort going to the toilet
How can it affect fertility?
In some cases, endometriosis can leave a woman infertile.
If the abnormal tissue is left untreated it can cause damage and scarring to the womb and other parts of the female reproductive system.
If the damage is severe enough, it may mean a woman will be unable to conceive.
Treatment:
There is no cure for endometriosis, but the symptoms can be managed.
Some women are prescribed pain medications that target inflammation.
Others are given hormonal treatments to limit the production of oestrogen, which encourages the abnormal tissue to grow.
However, some women opt to have a hysterectomy to completely rid them of the pain.
According to NHS guidelines, a hysterectomy – an operation to remove the womb – is rare, and usually only performed on women for whom other treatments haven’t work, and who have decided to not have any more children.
When Nichola was 16 she went to the doctors after she suffered persistent stomach pain.
But, looking back, she feels like doctors dismissed her concerns and told her the pain would just go away.
And she is not alone.
The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Women’s Health released a report last week that found about 40 per cent of women with endometriosis visited their doctor ten times before they were referred to a specialist.
It also noted that, for 10 per cent of women, it takes 15 years of seeking help to receive a diagnosis.
Endometriosis is a chronic condition which occurs when tissue which behaves like the lining of the womb is found outside of the womb – in areas of the body including the ovaries, fallopian tubes, the abdomen and the bladder.
The cause of the condition is not known but is thought to be hereditary.
In some cases it can damage the fallopian tubes and cause fertility problems.
Nichola believes had doctors diagnosed her condition sooner, she would still be able to fulfil her dream of becoming a mum.
She added: “They were basically saying ‘don’t listen to your body, it will go away’.
“They didn’t really do any tests.
THE ALL-PARTY PARLIAMENTARY GROUP ON WOMEN'S HEALTH REPORT
According to the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Women’s Health many women are often dismissed by GPs as imagining their symptoms.
It found about 40 per cent of those with endometriosis visit their doctor ten times before they are referred to a specialist.
The report noted for 10 per cent of women it takes 15 years of seeking help to become diagnosed.
The group interviewed 2,600 women who had suffered with the chronic condition and produced a 51-page report.
Paula Sherriff, the MP for Dewsbury, who chaired the all-party group, said: "The fact that almost 50 per cent of women did not feel that they were treated with dignity and respect is appalling."
“I think it would have been diagnosed [if they had listened sooner] but now I have to have an operation in the next 12 months to have everything taken out.
“To get my head around that is awful.”
Nichola has already undergone operations to have scar tissue and her abnormal tissue removed, but medics have told her the only way she will ever be completely rid of the pain is by having her womb removed.
She has shared her story in the hope that other women experiencing abnormal pain will push doctors to test for endometriosis.
She said: “If it is a different kind of pain I hope people will go to the doctor and get checked, I don’t want people to go through what I have gone through.
“I would like doctors to listen to the patients, we know our own bodies and we know different pains.
“At least I could help somebody.”
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