TEENAGER tells of her struggle for diagnosis over two years after doctors dismissed her severe abdominal pain. “just anxiety.”
Lara Fox-Hill (16) was given a leaflet on mental health care after seeking medical attention in 2019.
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The excruciating pain she felt was due to endometriosis, which was eventually diagnosed.
According to medics, the pain she felt was caused by her mind playing tricks.
Lara said: “Being gaslighted by medical staff was quite isolating.
“They tried to make me believe I had anxiety and that was causing me physical pain.
“I was 14, I was just becoming a teen and building my confidence; it was quite a scarring experience.”
According to the schoolgirl, she also claimed that she was given two paracetamol tablets when she returned to Wexham Park Hospital in Berkshire on March 20, 2021.
She said: “It was during lockdown and I had to go alone.
“I had packed an overnight bag because the pain was so intense I thought I’d be hospitalised.
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“Instead they gave me pain killers and dismissed me.
“I dragged my bag to a bench and then I sobbed until my parents arrived.”
Lara claimed that staff members would not believe Lara was old enough for endometriosis.
One in ten women suffer from this condition. It is caused by tissue that looks similar to the lining in the uterus growing outside of the abdomen and then bleeds.
Some common symptoms and complications are heavy periods, pain during intercourse, infertility, excessive menstrual cramps, and heavy periods.
Lara was treated with three operations and took her 18 months to recover.
She said: “The doctors would say that I was too young to experience such a grown up woman problem, or that I didn’t have the ‘right’Type of pain
“But at some pointI was continuously bleeding and fainting 3 times per week. I couldn’t walk..
“Every day I would get no sleep, get up and take up to six baths a day to be able to manage the pain enough to read a book in the afternoon.
“After consulting numerous experts I received my final surgery by the NHS in June and it was like I was reborn.”
I was bleeding 24/7, fainting three times a week and was unable to walk
Lara Fox-Hill
Lara’s mum, Diane Fox-Hill, 54, also suffers from endometriosis.
Despite her knowledge, she was unable to find the help she needed for her child.
Diane said: “Because Lara was under 16, we needed a competent paediatric gynaecologist, a paediatric surgeon and a paediatric theatre for the operation, which are not easy to find.
“There is so much work to do in the UK to allow young women to be diagnosed at an earlier stage and give them a pain-free life.”
Lara refused to let her pain stop and she bravely recommenced school work that she had neglected.
And in September she returned to Sir William Borlase’s Grammar School in Marlow.
She said: “Being back in a classroom was like a prize.
“I went on a journey and my body didn’t feel mine for so long.
“I’m excited that my new classmates will get to know me pain-free. I am myself again.”
Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust, which manages Wexham Park Hospital, said: “We are sorry to hear about Lara’s experience and would encourage her and her family to contact our Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) team so we can review her case.”
Endometriosis UK said: “Sadly, we often hear stories of those experiencing symptoms of endometriosis being dismissed, or told that they’re being overdramatic or that it’s all in their head, and having to visit their GP or attend A&E multiple times before finally being believed and taken seriously.
“Endometriosis awareness and understanding grows. We hope comments like these become passé.
“It’s important that anyone reporting symptoms of endometriosis is listened to and believed, and offered the right care at the right time, which could include mental health support if they want to access it.
“Period pain that interferes with your life is not just ‘part of being a woman’ and something you simply should be expected to put up with.”
What is endometriosis and how can it be treated?
Endometriosis UK said: “Endometriosis can affect all women and those assigned female at birth, with the disease being most active from puberty to menopause, although the impact can be felt for life.”
This is a condition in which cells that are similar to those found in the womb are found in other parts of the body, most often within the pelvic cavity.
These cells react to each month’s menstrual cycle, building up and breaking down. This blood is not like cells in the womb which leave the body as a period.
This causes inflammation, pain, scar tissue formation (adhesions), and can lead to chronic inflammation.
The disease affects one in ten women and those assigned female at birth from puberty to menopause, although the impact may be felt for life – that’s 1.5 million in the UK.
Endometriosis can be treated with medications, but there is no cure.
Some endometriosis sufferers may only experience mild symptoms, others may have severe and persistent symptoms.
These symptoms can include painful periods, pain on urination, pain during pregnancy, fatigue, and chronic pelvic discomfort.