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A British woman has visited the emergency room over 200 times and lost two jobs due to her agonising condition.
Sinead Smythe, from Brighton in the UK, was diagnosed with endometriosis – a painful disorder in which tissue grows outside the uterus – after battling with excruciating stomach cramps since she was 11 years old.
The 20-year-old says she’s visited the emergency centre more 200 times, undergone two operations and has even lost jobs due to her unbearable condition.
"I lost two jobs in 2015 and 2016 as a receptionist due to endometriosis as I became unreliable due to the daily pain,” Sinead said.
"My employers didn't understand, they looked at me as if I was lying because I didn't physically look unwell. Anyone who doesn’t understand calls it 'a bad period’.
"But it’s so much worse than that and so misunderstood by those who aren't affected.”
Before being diagnosed the young woman visited emergency rooms numerous times and was first diagnosed with Pelvic inflammatory disease (PID). She was treated with antibiotics but nothing relieved the crippling pain.
"Throughout the years I have visited both the doctors and A&E (accident and emergency department) hundreds of times without any help at all.
"I even decided to take myself to a sexual health clinic as a last resort of trying to find out what was wrong.”
It wasn’t until January 2016 that Sinead was diagnosed with endometriosis and underwent surgery to alleviate the pain.
"I underwent a surgery called laparoscopy so doctors could see what was going on inside my stomach.
"It was then that they realised I had the condition and they removed as much of the endometriosis as possible.
"However I had no idea it was a recurring illness and the pain was back just three months later.”
Sinead says she decided to start a blog to raise awareness of the condition and document how it affects her life on a daily basis.
"If we all stand together against this awful condition then we’ll help others understand and hopefully no other women will feel alone in this fight,” she says.
Her first heartrending social media post about endometriosis was shared more than 20 000 times and Sinead revealed she continues to receive messages from women suffering from the same painful condition.
“I was in complete and utter shock. I was speechless, it wasn’t just me who was suffering from this horrendous illness.
“It made me so emotional knowing there are so many women out there who feel exactly how I'm feeling,” she says.
The strong reaction from her followers has encouraged the receptionist to have a positive outlook on her life.
“Living with a long-term, incurable, invisible illness is hard but you can’t let endometriosis take over your life,” she says.
“You can’t let endometriosis win this battle because it has the power to destroy you and stop your dreams!”
"One small positive thought in the morning can honestly change your whole day! A negative mind will never give you a positive life."
Source: Magazine Features
