Before 2009
Looking back now although I did not realise it at the time, I do not think that I have ever had a proper period. My first period was when I was about 12 or 13 and at a Halloween fancy dress disco at the club where my dad was bar steward. Funny that looking back after all the problems that I have had with my periods and my first one was on Halloween should have picked up the hint then that they were going to cause me troubles. Anyway when I got older I ended up working behind that bar and it is where I met my husband. I remember always having heavy periods and after about a year they started to get very painful. I thought everything was normal and that I was just being a wimp after all everyone else had periods and they seemed to cope well with them.
I would become very lethargic during my periods. This made Physical Education (already my least favourite subject at school) even harder than it already was. I used to suffer from painful knees whilst growing up and sometimes they would swell up and be too painful for me to do PE. Anyway it got to the stage that when came on my periods I would try to tell my PE teacher that I could not do the lesson because I was on my period and that I was feeling very fatigued and in pain. The teacher would just say that it was no excuse and that the exercise would help with the cramps and she would then make me do the lesson. The problem was that it was not just cramps that I was experiencing but actual pain. In the end I just said that it was my knees playing up or just not bother turning up for the lesson. It got to the stage where my PE teacher would see me in the morning or even an hour before the lesson but not turn up for the lesson. My head of year said to me if I was going to skive off the lesson then he would rather know where I was so to sit in his classroom (as he had a free period) and I could do course work. My PE teacher even asked me "if I ever planned on doing PE again at my time at school" I sheepishly replied "no". I must say though that although I stopped going to PE I never missed a day off school due to my Endometriosis. Yes it was hard going through a school day when I was not feeling well at all, but then I did not know what was wrong with me and thought that everything was normal and that I was just being a wimp. After all every other girl in my year group seemed to get on OK and not feel like I was during their periods.
Anyway I left school after doing well in my GCSE's and went on to an agricultural college. I wanted to be a veterinary nurse but very early on into the course I realised that it was not the job for me and that I wanted to actually go into either farming or zoo work. By now my pains were getting worse but I still thought that it was normal after all everyone kept telling me that period cramps are normal. The problem is people can not feel what you are feeling. Then near the end of 2002 I started to get 2 full on periods a month. I would have 7 days of full on heavy bleeding then a 7 day break before another 7 days of heavy bleeding. After a couple of months I realised that maybe something was not right and in January 2003 I ended up going to my GP and went on the contraceptive pill. The pill made my periods go back to 1 a month and for about 6 months they were a lot lighter. I was still getting pains and the fatigue but I thought that this was normal.
I think that it was in April 2004 when I was in my second year at college. My friends and I were doing some coursework over lunch in the computer room that my next lesson was due to be in. Because of this I did not bother packing away my Microbiology and Biochemistry work at the end of lunch. However my tutor came in and told us that our lesson had been moved into another computer room (it was a free study lesson). This was a pain as I was already set up and in the middle of an awkward part of the coursework, after explaining this I still had to move rooms. I started to pack my work up and log out of the computer. That is when it hit me. I had such a shooting pain in my right lower side just below my rib cage. It felt as though someone had just stabbed me. I was in agony and could not move. I honestly thought that I was die as I could not breathe properly. After about 10 minutes (that seemed like an hour) my tutor came over and asked if I was faking it so I did not have to move. My friend always being the one that would not hold back said “does she look like she’s faking it”. What I did not know at the time is that she also suffers from Endometriosis. This meant that she knew what it was like to be in that much pain and she tried to stop me from crunching up in a ball so I would breathe easier. I must admit I did not listen to her I just wanted to get into the foetal position.My tutor called for a first aider who after a while (I think they called the NHS helpline) called for an ambulance. I think it was about 3.30ish by the time the ambulance had arrived – they were very quick once they were called. The paramedics were great. They managed to calm me down and told me that I had to go to the hospital. At first I did not want to go because I did not want to waste their time. This may be something you will notice me saying a lot. They took me to Accident and Emergency at the Royal Surrey Hospital. This was the second time in my life I had been taken to hospital in an ambulance. I do not remember the first time as I was only a baby my mum said that I had a temperature of around 40. My mum said that they did not know what was wrong with me then as it soon came down. My friend called my dad and told him what hospital I was to be taken too. At the hospital I was given some painkiller and anti-inflammatories. Looking back I do not think the pain was that bad but at the time it was the worse pain that I had ever experienced. I believe the theory the more pain you experience in your life and the more times you have pain the stronger your pain threshold gets. But I was still young and although I had painful periods I had not experience much pain. So anyway this pain was the most pain I had ever suffered. So you can imagine my embarrassment when they said it was just a pulled muscle. I was mortified the last thing I wanted to do was waste their time over a pulled muscle especially when you look at how busy hospitals are. So they gave me a box of painkillers and anti-inflammatories and sent me on my way.
The next day I was back at college with my painkillers. Over the next few weeks (it could even have been a couple of months as that is what I am like because I never want to waste their time and after being told I just had a pulled muscle this increased this) the pain did not seem to ease or if it did it would come back a short time later. It was bearable so I could continue with my college work but still painful. At the time I did not realise that the pain was worse during my periods. I was not tracking them at the time and therefore did not notice any connection. I finally went back to my GP. This is where I had a bit of a falling out with him as I explained that I had been taken into accident and emergency via ambulance with pains and they were not easing, he had a look at my notes. I do not know what happened but he said that there was nothing in my notes saying that I had been taken to hospital. He fobbed me off and as good as said that I was lying. I remember leaving the doctors surgery feeling really deflated. Was I just making a fuss about nothing? I was almost in tears when I told my mum. I was only young and my view was that he is the doctor, he is the trained one so therefore he must be right. If it had happened now I would probably have argues with him or got a second opinion. I would make him listen. Any way he has now retired, but I would love to go up to him now and show him all that has happened since that moment and then see if he would say I was making it up. Anyhow like I said he retired and I got a new doctor a woman doctor, but the damage had been done I had been put off I thought I was making a huge fuss about nothing and was wasting their time which is the last thing I wanted to do. I think I did go back for painkillers to control the pain but I cannot remember much and seem not to have any letters from hospitals until 2008.
By 2008 I had worked in various stables, behind the bar where I had met my husband (who even in the early days understood and supported me with my pain, which was gradually getting worse) I had also started work at CWR – Waverly Abbey House, which is where I still work today. I started at CWR as a casual waitress and then was offered more permanent hours. In April 2009 I was to start housekeeping on full time hours. The pain was becoming an unbearable constant in my life and I was starting to take more and more painkillers such as Tramadol.
My earliest discharge letter stated that my admission date and time is 13/03/08 at 9pm. I remember I was in a lot of pain it says that I was discharged 16/03/08 but I only remember being in for one night around this time but obviously I was in for a couple of days. All my hospital visits just blur into one when I think about that time. I was admitted via Accident and Emergency at Frimley Park Hospital with increasing severe pain in my side. The pain was constant and worse when I moved and when the doctor inspected my side. Looking at the information the pain must have been going around to my lower back. I had no fever. They done an abdominal ultra-sound and no gall stones were found. This must have been around the time that they were thinking I had gall stones even though I was not in the “at risk criteria” after all I was (and still am) skinny (I was varying between 7 ½ stone and 8 stone at my heaviest) active and young. The diagnosis was Musculoskeletal back pain. The pain was controlled and I was discharged with Paracetamol and Tramadol.
By June 2008 I had my follow up appointment and by then I had finally began to notice that my pain directly correlated with my period and seemed to completely go (or ease significantly) in-between. This is the first time that endometriosis is mentioned or something else relating to my periods. My GP was advised to refer me to the gynaecologists if the pain was to persist. I was told to see her if that was the case as the pain seemed to be settling down.
I would become very lethargic during my periods. This made Physical Education (already my least favourite subject at school) even harder than it already was. I used to suffer from painful knees whilst growing up and sometimes they would swell up and be too painful for me to do PE. Anyway it got to the stage that when came on my periods I would try to tell my PE teacher that I could not do the lesson because I was on my period and that I was feeling very fatigued and in pain. The teacher would just say that it was no excuse and that the exercise would help with the cramps and she would then make me do the lesson. The problem was that it was not just cramps that I was experiencing but actual pain. In the end I just said that it was my knees playing up or just not bother turning up for the lesson. It got to the stage where my PE teacher would see me in the morning or even an hour before the lesson but not turn up for the lesson. My head of year said to me if I was going to skive off the lesson then he would rather know where I was so to sit in his classroom (as he had a free period) and I could do course work. My PE teacher even asked me "if I ever planned on doing PE again at my time at school" I sheepishly replied "no". I must say though that although I stopped going to PE I never missed a day off school due to my Endometriosis. Yes it was hard going through a school day when I was not feeling well at all, but then I did not know what was wrong with me and thought that everything was normal and that I was just being a wimp. After all every other girl in my year group seemed to get on OK and not feel like I was during their periods.
Anyway I left school after doing well in my GCSE's and went on to an agricultural college. I wanted to be a veterinary nurse but very early on into the course I realised that it was not the job for me and that I wanted to actually go into either farming or zoo work. By now my pains were getting worse but I still thought that it was normal after all everyone kept telling me that period cramps are normal. The problem is people can not feel what you are feeling. Then near the end of 2002 I started to get 2 full on periods a month. I would have 7 days of full on heavy bleeding then a 7 day break before another 7 days of heavy bleeding. After a couple of months I realised that maybe something was not right and in January 2003 I ended up going to my GP and went on the contraceptive pill. The pill made my periods go back to 1 a month and for about 6 months they were a lot lighter. I was still getting pains and the fatigue but I thought that this was normal.
I think that it was in April 2004 when I was in my second year at college. My friends and I were doing some coursework over lunch in the computer room that my next lesson was due to be in. Because of this I did not bother packing away my Microbiology and Biochemistry work at the end of lunch. However my tutor came in and told us that our lesson had been moved into another computer room (it was a free study lesson). This was a pain as I was already set up and in the middle of an awkward part of the coursework, after explaining this I still had to move rooms. I started to pack my work up and log out of the computer. That is when it hit me. I had such a shooting pain in my right lower side just below my rib cage. It felt as though someone had just stabbed me. I was in agony and could not move. I honestly thought that I was die as I could not breathe properly. After about 10 minutes (that seemed like an hour) my tutor came over and asked if I was faking it so I did not have to move. My friend always being the one that would not hold back said “does she look like she’s faking it”. What I did not know at the time is that she also suffers from Endometriosis. This meant that she knew what it was like to be in that much pain and she tried to stop me from crunching up in a ball so I would breathe easier. I must admit I did not listen to her I just wanted to get into the foetal position.My tutor called for a first aider who after a while (I think they called the NHS helpline) called for an ambulance. I think it was about 3.30ish by the time the ambulance had arrived – they were very quick once they were called. The paramedics were great. They managed to calm me down and told me that I had to go to the hospital. At first I did not want to go because I did not want to waste their time. This may be something you will notice me saying a lot. They took me to Accident and Emergency at the Royal Surrey Hospital. This was the second time in my life I had been taken to hospital in an ambulance. I do not remember the first time as I was only a baby my mum said that I had a temperature of around 40. My mum said that they did not know what was wrong with me then as it soon came down. My friend called my dad and told him what hospital I was to be taken too. At the hospital I was given some painkiller and anti-inflammatories. Looking back I do not think the pain was that bad but at the time it was the worse pain that I had ever experienced. I believe the theory the more pain you experience in your life and the more times you have pain the stronger your pain threshold gets. But I was still young and although I had painful periods I had not experience much pain. So anyway this pain was the most pain I had ever suffered. So you can imagine my embarrassment when they said it was just a pulled muscle. I was mortified the last thing I wanted to do was waste their time over a pulled muscle especially when you look at how busy hospitals are. So they gave me a box of painkillers and anti-inflammatories and sent me on my way.
The next day I was back at college with my painkillers. Over the next few weeks (it could even have been a couple of months as that is what I am like because I never want to waste their time and after being told I just had a pulled muscle this increased this) the pain did not seem to ease or if it did it would come back a short time later. It was bearable so I could continue with my college work but still painful. At the time I did not realise that the pain was worse during my periods. I was not tracking them at the time and therefore did not notice any connection. I finally went back to my GP. This is where I had a bit of a falling out with him as I explained that I had been taken into accident and emergency via ambulance with pains and they were not easing, he had a look at my notes. I do not know what happened but he said that there was nothing in my notes saying that I had been taken to hospital. He fobbed me off and as good as said that I was lying. I remember leaving the doctors surgery feeling really deflated. Was I just making a fuss about nothing? I was almost in tears when I told my mum. I was only young and my view was that he is the doctor, he is the trained one so therefore he must be right. If it had happened now I would probably have argues with him or got a second opinion. I would make him listen. Any way he has now retired, but I would love to go up to him now and show him all that has happened since that moment and then see if he would say I was making it up. Anyhow like I said he retired and I got a new doctor a woman doctor, but the damage had been done I had been put off I thought I was making a huge fuss about nothing and was wasting their time which is the last thing I wanted to do. I think I did go back for painkillers to control the pain but I cannot remember much and seem not to have any letters from hospitals until 2008.
By 2008 I had worked in various stables, behind the bar where I had met my husband (who even in the early days understood and supported me with my pain, which was gradually getting worse) I had also started work at CWR – Waverly Abbey House, which is where I still work today. I started at CWR as a casual waitress and then was offered more permanent hours. In April 2009 I was to start housekeeping on full time hours. The pain was becoming an unbearable constant in my life and I was starting to take more and more painkillers such as Tramadol.
My earliest discharge letter stated that my admission date and time is 13/03/08 at 9pm. I remember I was in a lot of pain it says that I was discharged 16/03/08 but I only remember being in for one night around this time but obviously I was in for a couple of days. All my hospital visits just blur into one when I think about that time. I was admitted via Accident and Emergency at Frimley Park Hospital with increasing severe pain in my side. The pain was constant and worse when I moved and when the doctor inspected my side. Looking at the information the pain must have been going around to my lower back. I had no fever. They done an abdominal ultra-sound and no gall stones were found. This must have been around the time that they were thinking I had gall stones even though I was not in the “at risk criteria” after all I was (and still am) skinny (I was varying between 7 ½ stone and 8 stone at my heaviest) active and young. The diagnosis was Musculoskeletal back pain. The pain was controlled and I was discharged with Paracetamol and Tramadol.
By June 2008 I had my follow up appointment and by then I had finally began to notice that my pain directly correlated with my period and seemed to completely go (or ease significantly) in-between. This is the first time that endometriosis is mentioned or something else relating to my periods. My GP was advised to refer me to the gynaecologists if the pain was to persist. I was told to see her if that was the case as the pain seemed to be settling down.