in Healthcare and Research

I started my period when I was 10 and I’m now almost 29. I’ve had severe period pain for nearly 2/3’s of my life now. My very first period was very painful - I was curled up in a ball on my bed and couldn’t stop crying. My periods stayed like that and I ended up being put on the pill when I was 11 to try and help with the pain. I had cycled through 4/5 different pills by the time I was 18. I was continuously told by my doctor that I was just unlucky that I had bad period pain but it was a normal part of being a woman. I didn’t think there was anything wrong because my doctor kept telling me it was normal. My symptoms got worse as I got older. I started to also get pain while I was ovulating, and eventually I was in severe pain 24/7. I missed school/college/work. My life was taken over by this pain. I had really heavy bleeding, ovarian cysts, pelvic pain, bladder pain, pain in my lower back and legs, migraines, nausea. I didn’t have a life anymore. I was on 27 tablets a day to help me function enough to get out of bed. When I turned 25 I saw a new doctor to get my first smear test, she was the first doctor to mention endometriosis to me and the first doctor to refer me to a gynaecologist. I saw two gynaecologists in Ireland, had two laparoscopies and was told I definitely did not have endometriosis. I was told by both gynaecologists that I was just unlucky with bad periods. My pain kept getting worse and in 2020 there was a three month period where I didn’t get out of bed. I had no quality of life and my mental health was suffering. In 2021 I saw my gynaecologist and I asked about the possibility of getting a hysterectomy (I know it’s not a cure for endo but he insisted I didn’t have it). At first he told me it was because I was too young, and then when I asked what age I would have to be to have a hysterectomy he said there were other factors to consider. He said he would have to consider what would happen if my sexual orientation changed, I divorced my wife, met a man and he wanted to have kids. At this point I realised I was getting nowhere with my healthcare in Ireland. I made the decision to go to an endometriosis specialist in London in December 2021. I had an ultrasound and was diagnosed with adenomyosis that day. I had my third laparoscopy in January 2022 in London and was also diagnosed with endometriosis. I’m ten months post surgery now and although it’s not completely cured it’s definitely better. I finally feel like I have my life back - but I’m still angry that I couldn’t get the care I deserved in Ireland. Another woman who had to go abroad for basic healthcare that should be provided by our own country.