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WELLBEING WEEK
Don’t ignore painful periods
WELLBEING WEEK
Image: Sarah Harris
AMNA AKRAM spoke to two women who both have endometriosis about their experiences of the condition and what can be done to improve care around the UK
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was missing lectures, I couldn’t see my friends, I literally could not leave the house because I was changing my super jumbo pads every hour and I was still bleeding through everything.” This is the experience of journalist Sarah Harris from Nottingham. She first got her periods at nine years old, but it wasn’t until she was twelve that it started to become extremely painful and still affects her daily life up until this day. Doctors often dismissed her pain as being normal, despite weekly visits and they even pulled her parents aside claiming it was ‘all in her head’. In the second year of university things took a turn for the worst when Sarah had her periods for longer than six weeks and decided that she had enough of not being taken seriously. The 24-year-old said: “I went to the doctor one morning, and he said the same thing as always - come back next week, a few hours later I went back again because I was so sick of it, and I just wanted someone to figure out what was happening to me.” After being seen by a technician it was confirmed that Sarah had Endometriosis. In 2017 Sarah had her first surgery many risks were involved including ovarian damage, but the result was tremendous as the journalist was able to live a normal life for two
years having completed her undergratude degree, started a masters and travelled the world. The condition seemed to have reappeared just before the national lockdown was enforced in 2020. Since then, Sarah has been put on multiple waiting lists to get an appointment due to Covid-19 restrictions. She did manage to get a second surgery after years of pressure but it seems to not have worked as her organs are starting to stick again. Sarah said that organisations and the school curriculum need to teach women about endometriosis from an early age to prevent long term pain. She said: “Organisations and the school curriculum in general need to be really clear when they teach you about endometriosis because otherwise, you’re just questioning how much period pain is normal your whole life and because it’s such a taboo topic you’re afraid to ask the people around you.”
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ndometriosis is a gynaecological condition where tissue similar to the lining of the uterus grows in other places such as the ovaries and fallopian tubes. Symptoms may include chronic pelvic pain, heavy menstrual flow, infertility, pain during intercourse,
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It’s a taboo subject nobody wants to hear about your period pain you just get on with it and that is part of the problem
painful bowel movements and painful urination during periods. The severity of these symptoms experienced depends on the stage a person is at with the condition. For several years March was a month dedicated to raising awareness on the often ignored and hidden condition which affects one in 10 women in the UK. From 2022 onwards, charity organisation Endometriosis UK is now challenging traditional norms and the healthcare system by referring to it as an action month. The aim is to reach a wider audience by launching public campaigns to improve endometriosis diagnosis and care across the UK.
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Image: Lizzy Emmerson
izzy Emmerson, co-leader of Merseyside Endometriosis UK Support Group, has had similar experiences of not being taken seriously by doctors and feeling ignored for years due to the social stigma. In fact, Lizzy didn’t even know endometriosis had existed until five years ago when she went in for a scan and got diagnosed with the condition. Even after the diagnosis doctors kept prescribing her the contraceptive pill which was making no difference until surgery. She said: “I did eventually get the help I needed and had a diagnostic laparoscopic with excision, I actually
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found someone who did listen to me and the difference it made to both my condition and mental state was incredible, so just having that support from the people who should be there to help you makes such a difference.”
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national representative poll of more than 2,000 people conducted by Census wide reveals that across all age groups, 47% of women in the UK would feel concerned if they had to tell their employer about the condition that was causing them debilitating pain in the workplace. After her recent experience Lizzy doesn’t feel awkward or ashamed about having discussions on this important matter with friends and colleagues. She said: “In the last year or so I’ve managed to normalise it in my life, and I now have very open discussions with my manager at work.” To play her part in endometriosis action month the co-leader will be challenging herself by doing 10 minutes of squats every day for the rest of the month. There are also plans put in place for the Merseyside support group to meet in person for a walk and get to know each other, now that there are no Covid restrictions - to make up for lost time, create connections and share each other’s experience of endometriosis.
