Hello my name is Megan and I am 16 years old. I was diagnosed with endometriosis on the 14th of February 2018. I was only 15.
Since I was 13 I was in and out of hospital with stomach pain, sickness, headaches, had periods and the lack of energy. I was told multiple times by the hospital I was overreacting and it was just bad periods. When I was 14 I got taken to hospital and left in the children’s play room on the children’s ward. I was left there for 6 hours waiting to be seen to be admitted. By the 9th hour I could no longer hold up my own body weight and I was lying on the floor in a ball unable to move. I was screaming and crying out in pain.
A few hours later a nurse came to me and took me to a bed. The next day I was sent for an emergency ultrasound which revealed I had cysts on my ovaries. Later the same day I was discharged from hospital being told I had unexplainable abdominal pain.
Fast forward a year
Just a few months before my 15th birthday when I saw a gynaecologist for the first time ever, who advised me to start the contraceptive pill. I stopped taking this 9 months later due to non stop bleeding. My gynaecologist at this point arranged for me to have a laparoscopy and have the Mirena coil fitted.
Fast forward to now
The Mirena coil is not helping and just making me gain weight and have really bad mood swings. In May last year I was put onto prostap at 15 and stopped it in October at 16. This helped a little but not very much. I now take oramorph for pain control.
Endometriosis affects me daily as it stops me going to my studies on days where I cannot get out of bed.
Endometriosis makes me feel awful about my body, my size, and my heath, destroying my confidence and making me worry about my future and my studies.
I just want people to realise that this is a disease that can affect young people and that its consequences can be devastating on a young person’s self esteem and self worth.