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 pain suffered by Alex Roach, a 24-year-old Briton, prevented her from performing her daily tasks.

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

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

It's a disease that causes the inner layer that covers the uterus grows in other parts of the body, and this can lead to infertility.

This Brit is not the only one to have had problems to diagnose. British health authorities are calling on doctors and health professionals to become more aware of the situation.

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

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

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

Her family took her to gynecologists, but for years they still did not know what was causing this terrible pain. interfered with his presence at school and his activities.

"I've never heard of endometriosis during those years," he says.

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

The surgeon was not an expert in endometriosis and stated 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 another laparoscopy with an endometriosis specialist and finally, at the age of 20 – seven years after her first abdominal pain – they Have diagnosed.

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

What is that is the Endometriosis?

• Is a disorder in which the tissue lining the uterus (endometrium) develops outside the uterus, for example in the ovaries or fallopian tubes.
• It mainly affects girls and young women of childbearing age. It is less common in postmenopausal women.
• It's a long-term disorder that can have a major impact on everyday 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, pain in the toilet, 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 scarring and adhesions), I had cysts, I had internal bleeding, all kinds of things were happening that I did not have. Had not planned, "he says.

She was then operated on for gallstones and her gall bladder was removed due to problems caused by the hormones that she was taking.

Despite the diagnosis, five doctors of family they told him that there was no underlying physical cause and only when he paid to have a scanner discovered 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 nor what are her chances of having children.

"There must be recognition that it's not enough for identify and diagnose the disease. It's terrible to suffer from these pains, but it's even worse not to know why they happen, "he says.

"This is the main cause of infertility and if I had been diagnosed before, I would have made a huge difference in my life and in the lives of many women, in addition to have avoided the damage that it had caused me. "

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