Endometriosis: "It was a relief to know that I was not crazy," says a young woman who has spent 7 years without being diagnosed

The menstrual pains experienced by Alex Roach, a 24-year-old British woman, were such that they prevented her from performing her daily tasks.

However, doctors have diagnosed it as something "happening to women".

The young woman must wait seven years and consult many doctors to find out why she was suffering so much: she was suffering from endometriosis.

It is a disease that causes the inner layer that covers the uterus grows in other parts of the body and can result in infertility.

This Briton is not the only one who has had trouble getting diagnosed. British health authorities are asking doctors and health professionals to become more aware of the situation.

Roach, who works in a law firm in Cardiff, Wales, told the BBC that her problems had started when she was menstruating while she was a student.

And "it was not the typical colic, it was an intense pain"

"Many doctors have told me that I was a woman, that it was 39 was what had happened and that was painful for some. "

Her family took her to a gynecologist, but for years she still did not know what it was. was. this caused this immense pain that interfered with his school attendance and his activities .

"I have never heard of endometriosis during these years," he says.

Finally, a doctor suggested doing a laparoscopy. , an exploratory procedure in which a camera is inserted into the abdomen.

The surgeon was not an expert in endometriosis and claimed that he had found nothing. The young woman continued to take the hormonal contraceptives prescribed.

When she was in second year of university, she underwent a new laparoscopy with a specialist in endometriosis and finally, at the age of 20 – seven years after her first pain. Abdominal-diagnosed.

"(The news) was rather bittersweet – it was a relief to know that I was not crazy," says Alex.

What is endometriosis ?

• This is a disorder in which the tissue lining the uterus (endometrium) develops outside the uterus, for example in the ovaries or the uterus. fallopian tubes. Fallopian
• It mainly affects girls and young women of childbearing age. It is less common in postmenopausal women.
• This is a long-lasting condition that can have a major impact on daily life, but there are treatments that can help.
• Symptoms include: pain in the bottom of the abdomen. or in the back, which often worsens during menstruation, toilet pain, nausea, constipation, diarrhea or blood in the urine during menstruation, difficulty getting pregnant.
• For some women, endometriosis can lead to depression.

Diagnosis and surgery

Roach was operated on after his diagnosis.

"Half of the left side of my organs had fused (due to scars and adhesions), I had cysts.There were all kinds of things that I did not have planned, "she explains.

She was then operated on for gallstones and her gall bladder was removed due to problems caused by these stones.

Despite the diagnosis, five family physicians told him that there was no underlying physical cause and that he had paid for the scanner before finding that he had a huge cyst, which was later removed.

Roach now thinks that there should be a better understanding of this disease that affects one in ten women and its impact on their lives.

The young woman does not know if she will need more surgeries in the future, and neither one nor the other he knows what are his chances of doing it. ;have children.

"It must be acknowledged that is not used enough for to identify and diagnose illness but it is even worse not to know why." he.

"It is the leading cause of infertility and if one had diagnosed me before, it would have made a huge difference in my life and in that of many women, in addition to being overweight. to have avoided the damage that it had caused me ".

You can now receive notifications from BBC News World. Download the new version of our application and activate it to not miss our best content.

• Do you already know our YouTube channel? Subscribe!