Madeleine Lawrence's story

My periods started when I was 16 years old. I remember my first one being extremely heavy and painful, and this is how they continued. They were also irregular, but I thought this was a normal part of puberty.

When I was 19, I started university. I decided to go on the combined contraceptive pill (Microgynon) to make my periods more regular and less painful.
In 1998, I met the man who later became my husband. I came off the pill shortly afterwards and became pregnant with my first daughter who is now nine. After this my periods were painful again, but this time even more noticeably. My GP put me on the mini-pill as I was breastfeeding at the time. Another GP diagnosed me with IBS, as I had complained about bad abdominal cramps.

I stayed on the mini-pill, as it seemed to suit me better than the combined pill and in 2005, I had my second daughter. Over the years, I visited the GP on numerous occasions with painful periods. I also had lots of tests for STI’s, all of which came back negative, and none of which ever explained the pain and excruciating cramps I used to suffer from.

It was only when I changed GP surgery in 2005 and saw a GP that seemed to specialise in gynaecological conditions that my symptoms were taken seriously. Previously every time I saw a doctor I felt as if I was being fobbed off and that painful periods were normal. You just had to take painkillers and get on with it.  

"I want to tell my story

to provide information

and support for others"

I was eventually referred to the gynaecology department at my local hospital and I had a diagnostic laparoscopy in November 2006. I got the results of the surgery straight away. They had found mild endometriosis.

So, after what seemed a lifetime, I finally had a name as to what was causing all my pain. It was a relief to know that I wasn’t imagining my symptoms and that I eventually had a word for what I had been suffering from for all those years.  

My gynaecologist put me back on the combined pill, but it triggered migraines, so I tried the coil without any hormones. The coil was horrible, I had infections and because of this I was again tested for STI’s. The coil made my periods painful not better and when I had it removed I had heavy bleeding for three days afterwards. So, I decided the best course of action was to go back on the mini-pill. After several attempts at finding the right pill, I stuck with Cerazette.

More recently, since I have had my second daughter, I have had new symptoms appear, which are related to endometriosis. My symptoms before this already included painful intercourse, which meant that I would be in pain for days afterwards, problems on opening my bowels, looking pale, and extreme fatigue.

In March 2009, I had another laparoscopy. This time it was exploratory. The operation showed I had endometriosis on my pouch of Douglas, as well as adhesions, which they managed to divide, and adenymosis. Adenymosis is endometrial tissue that grows in the muscle layer of the wall of the womb.

So far, I have undergone many treatments for the condition, namely the contraceptive pill both combined and mini versions, the coil and surgery twice. I currently take codeine when the pain is chronic, Amitriptyline (even though it is classed as an anti-depressant) which is good treatment for nerve pain in small doses, evening primrose and starflower oils.

At the moment, I seem to have good and bad days. I feel constantly exhausted with abdominal cramps and IBS. I am glad that they don’t all happen at once. I have also joined Endometriosis UK and regularly attend my local support group in Oxford, which have been a godsend.

I wanted to tell my story in order to share my experiences of the condition and provide support and information for others. If at least one person goes to their GP from reading my story, then I know that can only be a good thing.