‘It made me isolated as a girl when I thought pain and suffering was normal’
Tara Bachoo, from Aberdeen, was a National Level swimmer for eight years, until endometriosis ended her enjoyment and dedication to the sport.
With the first symptoms developing at age 11, by the time Bachoo was 13 she was suffering debilitating abdominal pain, heavy periods, and nausea. She said: “I felt very isolated as a teenager because of endometriosis. I was not around individuals who were comfortable talking about their own menstrual cycles. I tried to ignore a lot of the suffering I was going through thinking it was normal.
“Three weeks out of every month were filled with 10-hour bouts of nausea and crippling pain so severe I couldn’t even sleep or walk from one room in the house to another.
“Consequently, I had to work three times as hard as everyone else to get through the school term, and this is still the case while at university since I can never predict when I will or won’t feel well.
“I have wonderful support from my family but my first visit to the GP at age 15 was unhelpful because I did not get any answers or a diagnosis.
“I’d always enjoyed swimming, but I ended up quitting since I could not cope with the intense training timetable alongside such a lack of sleep due to severe cramps and juggling school work.
“Now, at university, I am lucky to have an incredibly supportive circle of friends, who are always there to help me through the tough days.
“As a young woman who wants to have a family in the future,
I’m deeply concerned endometriosis will make the ability to conceive very complex.
“Before coming to university, I ended up having laparoscopic surgery although it is important to stress that this is not a one-stop solution. With future concerns of fertility there is a very high chance of needing further and potentially more complicated surgery.
With a scientific career behind me, I hope to help others with this condition and increase the discussion about what is and isn’t a normal menstrual cycle.
“This will undoubtedly help raise the profile of this condition, produce an earlier diagnosis and design better and less invasive treatments, just like the wonderful Dame Deborah James did with Bowel Cancer.”