Rebecca talks about hard-tospot illness
Symptoms of endometriosis can be hard to diagnose
A WOMAN with a crippling illness that went misdiagnosed for five years is working to educate schoolgirls in Hinckley about its symptoms.
Rebecca Collings started having irregular periods and severe bouts of pain when she was 13, but it took doctors several years to discover she had Endometriosis.
The disease is thought to affect one in 10 women and involves the tissue that usually lines the womb developing in other parts of the body, typically around the ovaries and fallopian tubes.
It normally takes three or four years and keyhole surgery to diagnose, while extreme cases may be detectable in an MRI scan.
Rebecca’s symptoms started while she was a student at Hastings High School, with the pain so bad at times it would cause her to faint.
She was at first thought to have Irritable Bowel Syndrome or Crohn’s Disease, before a laparoscopy into her abdomen revealed the real cause.
The 24 year old said: “It’s an awful disease. The pain can be so bad you get to the point where you don’t know what to do.
“They now believe my Endometriosis has spread to my bowel and stuck my ovary to bowel.
“I don’t know if I’m going to be able to have children.”
Rebecca works for Cadent at Fosse Park, though she often has time off when the pain is especially bad, and she keeps a hot water bottle with her to work to alleviate the discomfort.
She has had three operations in the past three years
Rebecca is now marketing manager for Women With Endometriosis and has been to London with other members of the charity to see the start of an All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) dedicated to raising awareness of Endometriosis.
She met with four MPs who backed the APPG, including Anna Turley (Labour Co-operative, Redcar) and Paula Sherriff (Labour, Dewsbury), who both have the disease.
Rebecca and others from her charity also did an assembly at a school in Essex where they spoke to some 80 girls aged 14 to 15 about the condition.
One girl came forward saying she might have symptoms, and was advised to visit her GP.
The campaigner has also contacted Bosworth MP David Tredinnick to ask for his support.
She said: “By campaigning and raising awareness of the disease we are hoping to educate young girls and women on the symptoms to look out for as not many women have heard of this disease.
“The sooner the diagnosis the better the treatment options.
“I am hoping will help prevent other girls suffer the way I am now after being left so long undiagnosed.”
She said: “To anyone suffering from any of the symptoms please push for a referral to an Endometriosis specialist for investigation.
“We have one at the Leicester Royal Infirmary.
“Whenever you suffer from symptoms of Endometriosis it is so important to speak out and gain support.”
For more information about Women with Endometriosis, visit the charity website or Facebook page.
The charity also has a Health Unlocked Community, an online forum offering support.