Emergency call handler Laura Anderson has lived with endometriosis agony every day for five years.
When she gets flare-ups, it is so debilitating she is doubled over in pain, unable to speak. Laura, from Musselburgh, East Lothian, was diagnosed with the condition after surgery two years ago.
She said: “Flare-ups can bring me to tears. It is like someone taking a double bladed item in my stomach and pulling it down. I am bent right over and can’t stand up.
“I can’t speak. It stops me doing what I want to do until the pain starts receding. I can be shaking, feeling sick and like I am going to pass out. I can be emotional.”
Laura, 24, is taking part in a clinical trial to see if removing the tissue helps.
She added: “The care of the doctors and nurses has been outstanding. If I was asked to do something, I wouldn’t hesitate.”
Scots experts hope to improve the lives of millions of women with a cure for crippling endometriosis.
The agonising illness, which causes painful growths in the womb and other organs, affects 10 per cent of females. But a team at Edinburgh University is working on projects which could detect, treat and even cure the condition.
To mark Endometriosis Awareness Month, Professor Andrew Horne has revealed some of the groundbreaking work he and his XPECT team are doing. One of the key areas of research is in trying to find a test which could diagnose the condition.
The team is also looking at a drug called dichloroacetate which has been tested in cancer trials.
Prof Horne said: “It is difficult to diagnose because the symptoms can mimic other chronic pain conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome. It is also largely diagnosed by surgery so patients need a general anaesthetic before they can get a diagnosis.
“There is also a lack of awareness in clinicians and the public. There is a need for a blood test or a urine test without the patient having the surgery. There are groups round the world trying to develop a biomarker.
“We are recruiting to a surgical trial where all the patients are being asked to give a blood sample so we can look at a panel of biomarkers to see if we can predict endometriosis.”
The work being done in Edinburgh has such global recognition that the city will host a World Congress on Endometriosis in May, with 1200 experts expected to attend.
Don't miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond - Sign up to our daily newsletter here.
