Mutale is 30 and lives in Sheffield. Mutale was diagnosed relatively quickly after presenting with symptoms of endometriosis in 2015. While it hasn’t been an easy ride, she is grateful to the doctors who recognised she needed to be seen by a specialist straight away.
It was in the middle of 2015, a week after I had finished my period that I had slight pain that felt like period pains. I thought this was a bit odd so decided to observe the next two cycles. After each cycle the pain was slightly more and mostly in my left lower abdomen. I arranged to see my GP and my appointment happened to be at a time when I was experiencing the pain. After examining me, my GP referred me for an abdominal scan as she suspected I had a cyst. I was later referred to the gynaecology clinic.
The pain after each cycle was starting to get worse and I would have to leave work 2 hours into my working day. I could not explain what I was feeling but I found myself being very emotional and being very uncomfortable with pain that did not go away even after taking painkillers. Every month after my cycle I would experience fatigue. If I had pain whilst at work, I found that I could not concentrate and would request to get the rest of the day off. My stomach used to get bloated to the point where I was asked if I was pregnant. The pain usually came on unexpectedly and would go on for hours. The side effects of the hormone injections I used to get monthly would drive me mad.
2016 was a challenging year. I had two laparoscopic surgeries to drain a 12cm cyst and to treat the endometriosis, especially around my bowel. I’m grateful to the surgeons that worked on me and the doctor that recognised I needed to be seen by a specialist straight away. It has been 4 months since my last surgery and I have not had any pain. I hope that it will not come back.