A student nurse from Salford has bravely come forward to raise awareness of a little known chronic condition called endometriosis.
Holly, now 23, first started having symptoms of the debilitating illness when she was just 15.
Endometriosis is a common condition affecting an estimated 1.5 million women in the UK.
It can cause infertility and is an extremely painful condition for sufferers.
But it’s widely unknown among the general public.
It’s also one of the hardest gynaecological conditions to diagnose and treat, with no known cause and no cure.
Holly, who asked for her last name not to be published, told SalfordOnline.com: “My symptoms began when I was 15 years old when suddenly my periods went from a mild inconvenience to a heavier bleed and intense pain and cramps.
Holly has had to go through a number of painful surgeries
“My mum recognised the severity of the pain I was in when I started missing a lot of school, so she took me to my GP who thankfully had a background in gynaecology so was able to diagnose me with endometriosis really quickly.
“I was lucky, usually it takes much longer to get a diagnosis.”
“Endometriosis is often brushed off as just a bad period, which is why it can take so long to diagnose.
“Very few people actually know about the condition.
I think people need to be more aware of this condition and how much of an impact it can have on people’s everyday lives. It can affect work, social lives and self-confidence.”
The most common symptoms of endometriosis are pain in the lower abdomen, pelvis and lower back, bleeding between periods and pain during and after sex.
Other less common symptoms are persistent exhaustion and tiredness, discomfort when going to the toilet, and, depending on the severity of a particular case, coughing blood; this happens when the endometriosis tissue is in the lung.
A diagnosis can only be confirmed after a surgical examination called a laparoscopy which is carried out under general anesthetic.
Speaking about her diagnosis Holly says: “I was one of the lucky ones being diagnosed pretty quickly. The estimated diagnosis time for many is seven years.”
After Holly was diagnosed she underwent many operations to try and alleviate her symptoms.
Unfortunately these only relieved the symptoms for a few months, the signs of endometriosis returning after treatment each time.
Endometriosis UK is a London-based charity supporting tens of thousands of women with the condition every year.
It is raising awareness of Endometriosis on social media using the hashtag #EndoAware, and says through the annual Awareness Week every March it aims to shine a light on what can be a devastating condition for women worldwide.
Fun runs and events are are held throughout the year to support the charity.
Find out more at the Endometriosis charity website.
Endometriosis Awareness Week 2016 runs from 7 to 14 March.
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