According to Nurofen’s Gender Pain Gap Index Report1, one in six women are living with severe pain, yet it can be dismissed by healthcare professionals and is underrepresented in research. Why? Because ingrained gender biases leave many women’s painful conditions mistreated by healthcare professionals and misunderstood by family and friends, sometimes for decades. We spoke to nine women who had to persist for their pain to be taken seriously …
‘Undiagnosed endometriosis destroyed my mental health’
I’ve always had painful periods but they became debilitating when I was at university. Even now, some days the pain is so bad I can’t walk. I went to my GP on numerous occasions but was always made to feel like it was in my head, that menstrual pain was “normal” and I just had to deal with it. But it was so excruciating that I couldn’t, and my mental health became so bad that at one point I was signed off work for three months and considered taking my own life. Luckily, I moved house and changed GPs and felt listened to for the first time in more than 10 years when I was referred for a laparoscopy, resulting in an endometriosis diagnosis. I opened my eyes after that operation and asked: ‘Did they find anything?’ When the nurse said: ‘Yes’, I broke down with pure relief. They cleared my endo tissue, which gave me a few pain-free years but as it’s returning, I’ve paid to have another private procedure this spring. When I think of all those years I spent unable to work and live my life, I feel vindicated. It wasn’t all in my head and there was something that could be done, so why did it take so long? Lauren, 32, Sheffield
