This is Taya's Story
I first started my period age 11, just two months later my symptoms began. I spent Christmas that year doubled over in pain, bleeding heavily and panicking, honestly thinking I was going to die. By the following year, I had begun to develop severe migraines, a trip to the doctors told me these were being triggered by how low my iron levels were. My GP asked how my periods were, but when I told them they were heavy and painful it was shrugged off, given some iron tablets and sent on my way. The pain continued, even ending up in a trip to A&E a few weeks before my 14th birthday. Once I began tracking my periods at 15, still experiencing that pain every month, I quickly linked that severe pain to ovulation but after being sent to hospital and having my very real pain dismissed, I felt silly going back to a doctor.
I began to realise though that it wasn't normal to need a week off school every month for my cramps, then more for the migraines, nausea, ovulation pain, etc. None of my friends experienced this and I couldn't understand why I did. This sparked an urge to research myself. I began to look up my symptoms and eventually found endometriosis. It all began to make sense.
I knew I might not get a doctor to listen to me without hard evidence, which is when I began tracking my periods, at the point of writing this I have almost 11 years of symptoms consistently tracked. This taught me an incredible amount about how my body works and when I eventually found a lovely GP who took my pain seriously, having all of that information to hand helped significantly.
In early 2024, I had one of the worst pain flares I have ever had, I couldn't even stand up, which is where I drew the line and made it my goal to find a doctor who would listen. Thankfully I did, and after a scan that showed an ovarian cyst and a repeat scan that showed this had increased in size, I got my gynae referral.
My first appointment was awful, I was belittled, dismissed and told they didn’t understand why my GP had referred me. I was pushed to try various hormonal treatments, but what I wanted was a diagnosis and a reason for the pain. I was even told "too many women worry about endometriosis". My GP took my concerns seriously, but this experience left me distraught, anxious and disappointed in the system.
A few months later I saw a new consultant who was happy to go for a 'diagnosis first' approach. I had my diagnostic laparoscopy at age 25 in July 2025, which showed I had endometriosis and I am now waiting for an appointment with the endometriosis specialist team to get further surgery, which may need to be a multi-team surgery due to my ureter being trapped under the adhesions.
Throughout my whole journey, I have always referred back to Endometriosis UK, I have used their support chats with the volunteers, the forums, the resources to take to appointments, and just general advice. All of this has been a massive help to get me to the stage I am at today and I'm not sure I'd have been able to do it without that.
Thank you Taya for sharing your story.
Taya's story highlights the urgent need for improved awareness and understanding of endometriosis, and the importance of symptoms being taken seriously.
Taya also shares how tracking her symptoms helped her both to understand her own body, and to advocate for herself at medical appointments. If you are struggling with endometriosis symptoms, our Symptom Checker and Symptom Diary Template may be useful.
