25-year-old BBC Presenter Ellie Colton has suffered since the age of 11 with endometriosis and has spoken out on how this condition affects her life everyday.
March is Endometriosis Awareness Month however the condition still remains silenced and belittled despite disrupting the lives of over a million women in the UK.
Ellie said: “I wish people would believe the pain. You constantly feel like you need to prove how sick you are. Every day I wake up in pain, spend the day in pain, and go to sleep in pain. That’s endometriosis. More specifically, endo is a whole-body disease and every day – not just on your period as people might assume who understand the basics of the condition.
“Endometriosis needs to have people screaming from the rooftops about the symptoms. I am the only person in my workplace with the condition and I have no issues shouting about it in a room filled with men!
“We shouldn’t be embarrassed, all health is important no matter physical, emotional, sexual, or mental.”
Endometriosis is ranked by the NHS as 1 of the top 20 most painful conditions.
She said: “The ‘aftercare’ if you can call it that, by the Endometriosis sector at the hospital is terrible. There is no cure for endo, and there is no support for those that have it.”
Symptoms include brain fog, severe fatigue pain in the back, legs and severe period pain that people often liken to pregnancy contractions, not to mention bimonthly flare-ups that Ellie describes as “Endometriosis on steroids”.
When asked about advice for young girls being newly diagnosed, Ellie said:
“Do not be gaslighted by people who think Endometriosis is just a bad period, you know your own pain. I would follow every page on social media connected to Endometriosis and find new friends through the community. Everyone who has it is very supportive of one another.”
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Organisations like Endometriosis UK are appealing for an improvement in endometriosis diagnosis and treatment and have issued a report urging for a change.
Emma Cox, CEO of Endometriosis UK, says: “Taking almost nine years to get a diagnosis of endometriosis is unacceptable.”
If you need more information on endometriosis click on this link- https://www.endometriosis-uk.org/